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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguar... Read all A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe. A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Pierre Christin
Jean-Claude Mézières
Dane DeHaan
Cara Delevingne
1.2K User reviews
399 Critic reviews
51 Metascore
11 nominations

Top cast 99+

Major Valerian

Sergeant Laureline

Commander Arun Filitt

Jolly the Pimp

Defence Minister

Sergeant Neza

General Okto-Bar

Bob the Pirate

President of the World State Federation

Captain Crowford

Captain Norton

Captain Welcoming Mercurys

Captain Welcoming Palm Müret

Captain Welcoming Arysum
(as Benoit Jacquot)

Captain Welcoming KCO2

Captain Welcoming Martapuraïs

Kortan Dahük
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Trivia There are 200 different alien species in this movie. Writer, producer, and director Luc Besson wrote a 600-page book describing in detail all the species. The actors had to read that book prior to filming so they could adjust their performances depending upon the species with whom they were interacting.
Goofs When Valerian gets the 'Update' when they arrive at Alpha, Alex says that since leaving Earth the station has traveled almost 700 million miles (7.5AU), which, if true, would mean that in 400+ years they hadn't even reached the orbit of Saturn yet (which is 9.5AU from the sun), something that probes can do in under 10 years. A good example is Voyager 1, which in 40 years has traveled over 12 BILLION miles from Earth and is now in interstellar space.

Doghan-Dagui : We know how humans work.

Doghan-Dagui : They're all so predictable.

Sergeant Laureline : Clearly you've never met a woman.

Crazy credits The subtitle of this film, City of a Thousand Planets, is an amalgam of the titles of the first two Valerian comics, "City of Shifting Waters," and "Empire of a Thousand Planets."
Connections Featured in Alexiane: A Million on My Soul (2017)
Soundtracks Space Oddity Written by David Bowie Performed by David Bowie (c) Onward Music (p) Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC With courtesy of Fairwood Music/Editer à Paris

User reviews 1.2K

Jul 19, 2017
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July 21, 2017 (United States)
United Arab Emirates
United States
Valerian y la ciudad de los mil planetas
Studios de Paris, La Cité du Cinéma, Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
TF1 Films Production
Orange Cinéma Séries
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$177,200,000 (estimated)
$41,189,488
$17,007,624
Jul 23, 2017
$225,973,340

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 16 minutes
Dolby Surround 7.1
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Digital

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‘Valerian’ Reviews Range From ‘Mind-Meltingly Beautiful’ to ‘Dramatically Clunky’

Critics are confounded by Luc Besson’s wild sci-fi epic, and reactions are as vast as the universe itself

STX/EuropaCorp’s “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” has completely confounded movie critics, who have had a wide range of opinions about the dense sci-fi fantasy created by cult hit director Luc Besson.

With early reviews still coming in, “Valerian” currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 73 percent, with critics’ opinions varying wildly depending on what element of the film they’re discussing. Most seem to agree that the movie’s visuals are fiercely, unapologetically original, with some even saying they exceed those of James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films.

But others criticize the film’s wild tonal shifts and relentlessly fast-paced plot, which they say some moviegoers will find alienating. What’s more, Dave Schilling of Birth.Movies.Death. says that Besson’s film doesn’t seem to care if you can’t keep up with it.

“‘Valerian’ is like getting slapped in the ass with a bedazzled lawn gnome. It’s either your thing or it isn’t, but you will remember it forever,” he writes. “As Hollywood wrings its hands over a perceived ‘ franchise fatigue’ and audiences beg for fresh ideas, ‘Valerian’ offers that breath of fresh air people are craving.”

Schilling adds: “But what film fans and critics are really asking for usually isn’t something actively strange, it’s an old idea with a new coat of paint or a film like ‘Baby Driver’ that taps into warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia and breathless teen romance. The only thing ‘Valerian’ taps into is the boundless imagination of Luc Besson and the stories he was obsessed with as a child.”

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“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” hits theaters July 21. For more of the wide range of opinions the space epic has spawned, check out more of the reviews here:

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap

“‘Valerian’ might well represent the apotheosis of Besson’s singularly loony brand of filmmaking. It’s bonkers and gorgeous and confusing and thrilling and tiring and overflowing with ideas. This is the kind of movie that soars beyond adjectives like ‘good’ or ‘bad’: It’s sincere but overstuffed, visually gorgeous but dramatically clunky, and it represents a singular vision while simultaneously featuring two wildly miscast actors in the lead roles.”

Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice

“‘Valerian’ is at times so mind-meltingly beautiful and strange that I’m still not sure I didn’t just dream it all. My favorite bit involves the mundanely named Big Market, a cluttered, multilevel, Möbius-inspired mall city of a million shops — think Istanbul’s Covered Bazaar meets the Death Star — that exists in another dimension, so that you have to enter it via special glasses and gloves.”

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

“‘Valerian’ isn’t a children’s film, exactly. But it’s certainly a childish one, full of ridiculous alien creatures, hammy human performances and characters as deep as strip of celluloid. It’s like “Barbarella” without the ’60s camp and zipless sex. And what fun is that?”

Susana Polo, Polygon

“Often, ‘Valerian’ seems to treat itself as an excuse to show as many wild things to the audience as quickly as possible. And as long as it is showing you those wild things — and they are just as wild and creative and wondrous as any fan of ‘The Fifth Element,’ ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Doctor Who’ could ask for — Valerian succeeds.

It’s when ‘Valerian’ stops to explain anything, or when it pauses to give the relationship between its leads any screen time, that its interstellar flight starts to feel the inexorable pull of gravity. And beyond a certain point, Valerian traps itself in the stale atmosphere of its underwritten dialogue and its director’s love of some adventure fiction cliches better left to gather dust.”

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“‘Valerian’ imagines a multi-cultural future where diversity has assumed extraterrestrial dimensions, where life is so varied and fractured that entire species can be wiped away without anyone asking questions. Besson presents a future in which people are the least interesting things in the universe, and yet the world still revolves around us. A white dude is still pulling the strings of power. Equality is still hard because erasure is still easier. There are 394 million stories on the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian’s might be the only one we’ve seen before. Still, any excuse to visit this place is one worth taking.”

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Every summer movie season needs at least one out-of-left-field entry that is so cheerfully bonkers it stands as a living rebuke to an industry that churns out noisy and soulless garbage like “ Transformers: The Last Knight .” This year, that film is “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” a deliriously entertaining film that finds writer/director Luc Besson swinging for the fences in his efforts to make a weirdo sci-fi epic for the ages and coming up with a virtual home run derby. It’s a film filled with humor, charm, excitement and so many memorable images that many viewers will find themselves struggling to keep from blinking so as not to miss any of the eye-popping delights crammed into each overstuffed frame.

The film is inspired by Valerian and Laureline , a French comic book series created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mezieres that is said, especially among European comic book buffs, to have influenced the look of any number of films over the years, including “ Star Wars .” The comics also helped to instill an interest in the genre in a ten-year-old Besson, who would eventually go on to employ Mezieres to help design the look of his own elaborate sci-fi epic, “ The Fifth Element .” Besson may be one of the leading players on the international moviemaking scene, but while watching “Valerian,” he has reverted, in the best possible way, to the mindset of a kid helplessly enthralled by the wild plotting, bizarre alien worlds and breathless derring-do on display—albeit a kid who has been able to marshal together armies of cutting-edge visual technicians and a near-$200 million budget (the largest in French film history) to bring it all to life exactly as it played in his head.

Set in the 28th century, the film centers on Valerian ( Dane DeHaan ) and Laureline ( Cara Delevingne ), a pair of special operatives fighting crime throughout the universe. As the story begins, the two are sent off to Big Market, a virtual-reality bazaar whose hordes of vendors can only be seen and approached after donning special equipment, to confiscate an ultra-rare and powerful Mül Converter, an adorable creature capable of reproducing anything that it eats. The cocky Valerian soon finds himself being pursued by any number of creatures while the far more cool and collected Laureline is charged with saving his bacon, presumably not for the first time.

The twist this time is that, due to a technological malfunction, Valerian is also trapped between two different levels of reality with most of his body in the real world while his arm is stuck in the virtual universe. This may not make a lot of sense in the explanation but the end result on the screen is a hilarious and exciting thing of crackpot beauty that is just one high point of a film filled with them.

After securing the Mül Converter, Valerian and Laureline report to Alpha, a massive floating city that began centuries earlier as the International Space Station and has expanded over the years to serve as a home away from home for aliens from throughout the universe to live together in harmony. Now Alpha’s very existence is being threatened from within, and Valerian and Laureline are charged with getting to the bottom of things before it is too late. The two uncover evidence of a massive government conspiracy to cover up a ghastly mistake. As they try to unravel the scheme before all is lost, the two are separated and have a series of adventures involving a wild collection of creatures, the most memorable of which is a shape-shifting “glampod” played by pop princess Rihanna, who turns up to help Valerian rescue Laureline.

Besson has long been one of the most stylish filmmakers, but he outdoes himself here. There is not a scene in the film that does not contain a visual worth savoring, whether it is an unusual creature, an extravagant costume or just a throwaway oddity lurking in a corner. (This is one of the rare recent films in which the 3-D option is clearly the way to go.) At the same time, though, Besson is using his visual skills as a way of telling the story instead of merely serving up bits of gourmet eye candy. Take the extended early sequence set on a bucolic distant planet whose sleek and iridescent inhabitants go about their business before being interrupted by a cataclysmic event. The scene is an initial grabber because of the absolutely gorgeous design of the planet and its inhabitants. But as it goes on, we quickly get a sense of who they are in relation to each other and how their world functions without a single word of dialogue to explain any of it.

Some will complain that the screenplay is little more than a series of action sequences linked together by a story that doesn’t make any sense and absurdly clunky dialogue. While some of the criticisms are valid—there are times when the dialogue sounds as if it underwent one pass too many through translation software programmed by George Lucas —Besson’s narrative is more ambitious than usual this time around and, for all the silliness on display, ultimately touches on real-world concerns such as political corruption and the international refugee crisis in ways that lend real emotional weight to the proceedings. At the same time, “Valerian” is unusually optimistic in its depiction of the future from the charming prologue showing the evolution of Alpha to the sight of its inhabitants living together in peace. At a time when virtually every futuristic film envisions some form of dystopian nightmare, the sunnier take shown here is refreshing.

The only weak element to “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” ironically enough, is Valerian himself. Throughout his career, Besson has never shown much interest in telling stories based around conventionally masculine heroes. Most of his films have centered on tough and resourceful female characters, and when guys have been front-and-center, Besson has subverted their macho natures in some way (such as dressing Bruce Willis in Jean-Paul Gaultier in “The Fifth Element”). Here, Valerian should be brave, bold and resourceful, but as inhabited by DeHaan, he comes across more like a callow kid struggling to emulate the effortless cool of Han Solo. Besson is clearly more interested in the character of Laureline, and viewers will be, too, thanks to Delevingne’s performance. She is funny, convincing in the fight scenes, charismatic as hell, and capable of taking an absurdly melodramatic speech like her climactic oratory on the importance of love and making it work. Thanks to films like “ Wonder Woman ” and the recent “Star Wars” entries, we are in a new age of exemplary female heroes at the multiplex, and Laureline is fully deserving of a place among them.

“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” is an utter delight and one of the most gorgeous fantasies to hit the screen in recent memory—the kind of film that can take moviegoers logy from the usual array of craptaculars and render them giddy with its pure fun. The question, of course, is whether viewers will be willing to give its weirdo charms a chance. But if you want to come away from a film feeling dazzled instead of simply dazed, this is an absolute must. Besides, it is almost certainly going to become a cult favorite in a few years, so why not get in on the ground floor while you can?

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

Aymeline Valade as Haban-Limaï
Clive Owen as Commander Arün Filitt
Dane DeHaan as Valerian
Kris Wu as Sergeant Neza
Elizabeth Debicki as Haban Limaï (voice)
Rihanna as Bubble
John Goodman as Igon Siruss (voice)
Cara Delevingne as Laureline
Julien Bleitrach as Martapurai #2
Ethan Hawke as Jolly the Pimp
Alexandre Desplat

Writer (comic book)

Jean-Claude Méziéres
Pierre Christin

Cinematographer

Thierry Arbogast

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Is a One-of-a-Kind Space Odyssey

Luc Besson’s new sci-fi epic is a visual sensation that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a film that refuses to let a single action sequence play out simply. Its director, Luc Besson, has long excelled at set pieces with a twist—think of the backwards car chase in his last feature, Lucy. But for his newest project, he’s painting on a far grander canvas: A tense showdown at an alien bazaar unfolds in two different dimensions that exist in the same space. In a chase scene, the movie’s hero has to blast straight through dozens of walls in a space station to have any hope of catching his quarry. A high-dive rescue mission gets complicated by the presence of aliens fishing for humans with giant poles.

In an era of expensive, paint-by-numbers blockbusters, Besson’s latest, and biggest, film is a day-glo delight, a true original that deserves to be remembered despite—or perhaps partly because of—its various silly excesses. The movie is based on the landmark French comic series Valérian and Laureline , a ’60s pop sci-fi classic about two “spatio-temporal agents” who travel the galaxy together fighting crime. To do this widely beloved work justice, Besson has aimed as high as possible, delivering a $200 million-plus epic that hardly lets a minute go by without lobbing some new bit of visual trickery at the viewer.

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Valerian is the rare film I’d actually recommend trying to see in 3-D; the effects, while plentiful, are rendered with gorgeous clarity. Like a lot of Besson’s work, it’ll probably largely be dismissed as a stylish mess upon release, eventually becoming a cult classic one can imagine captivating midnight theater-goers for decades to come. But Valerian is animated by the same humanist impulses that have driven all of Besson’s best movies—from Léon: The Professional to The Fifth Element —and it has much more to offer than just dizzying spectacle.

Valerian opens with a wonderful montage charting the creation of the massive interstellar city of the film’s title, Alpha—a conglomeration of space stations and hundreds of alien races that has slowly grown over the centuries. But the story is also concerned with an unnamed paradise planet, populated by big-eyed, gem-farming aliens, that was destroyed in a mysterious cataclysm. That Armageddon event is somehow tied to strange goings-on at Alpha, and it’s up to the space-soldiers Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) to investigate.

The dastardly plot at the center of it all is straightforward enough. But Besson (who also wrote the script) layers in absurd side stories and complicated pieces of world-building, much of it surely straight from the comics, to keep the film’s hefty 137-minute running time from feeling slack. After the early mission at the multi-dimensional bazaar, both Valerian and Laureline get to indulge in their own solo missions and interact with various wacky supporting characters (the most important of whom is Bubble, a shape-shifting alien played by Rihanna) before finally solving the main puzzle of the doomed beach planet.

The convoluted plotting and manic visuals are easy enough to get on board with, especially if you’re fond of space operas like Star Wars ( Valerian especially reminded me of George Lucas’s prequels, except it knows how to have fun) or the Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending . But, as with those movies, the dialogue is at times overly expositional, and attempts at humor or romance can be remote and clunky—Besson’s skill as a writer has never been his banter, which this film has plenty of, especially when it’s introducing the dynamic between Valerian and Laureline.

But stick with it through its awkward early moments, and Valerian will yield deeper insights into Besson’s overall artistic philosophy. DeHaan’s deadpan work quickly grew on me once I understood the arc he was going for: a hard-bitten soldier becoming more comfortable with disobeying orders in the name of the greater good. I hadn’t bought the hype on Delevingne as a movie star before now—her biggest roles were in the young-adult drama Paper Towns and the train wreck that was Suicide Squad —but she’s magnetic here, perfectly embodying Besson’s conception of heroism (which tends to be more open-hearted than the wise-cracking, aloof version typical of Hollywood movies).

Valerian is the kind of science-fiction film that doesn’t get made enough anymore. It’s unafraid to embrace the expansive potential of its genre, to make each new location, costume, and alien creature feel like the wildest version of itself. Besson’s ambitions remain as limitless as they were in his first go-round at the genre, 20 years ago, and they may doom Valerian to “intriguing curio” status rather than out-of-the-box sensation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Valerian deserves to be seen by as many people as possible, a cinema experience that takes advantage of every moment it has with you.

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The best critics' slams of 'Valerian': 'It really is THAT bad'

It's not that movie critics hate Valerian , the eye-popping sci-fi adventure starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, which, as of Friday, was pulling in a just-fine 57% on Rotten Tomatoes .

Critics just seem baffled by the Luc Besson film, which USA TODAY called one of the summer's riskiest Hollywood gambles "with no big-name actors, a hefty $180 million budget and out-there source material that's little known to U.S. audiences."

From the looks of the internet's harshest reviews, Valerian "is really that bad." Read a sampling below.

The New York Times

"To say that Valerian is a science-fiction epic doesn’t quite do it justice. Imagine crushing a DVD of The Phantom Menace into a fine powder, tossing in some Adderall and Ecstasy and a pinch of cayenne pepper and snorting the resulting mixture while wearing a virtual reality helmet in a Las Vegas karaoke bar. Actually, that sounds like too much fun, but you get the idea."

The Hollywood Reporter

"The Razzies don't need to wait until the end of the year to anoint a winner for 2017. The Golden Turkey Awards should be republished with a new cover. Euro-trash is back, while sci-fi will need to lick its wounds for a while.

"Dane DeHaan, who has starred in two of the most egregiously bloated misfires of the year with A Cure for Wellness and now this, should do a couple of indie films, while Cara Delevingne needs to learn there is more to acting than smirking and eye-rolling. Rihanna should pretend this never happened. And the Hollywood studio chiefs can breathe easy that, this time, at least, they'll escape blame for making a giant summer franchise picture that nobody wants to see since this one's a French import."

Vanity Fair

"Most glaring of all is an unbearably clunky stretch of the film involving Rihanna as a shapeshifting and bizarrely (not in the good way) wisecracking burlesque performer, and a horde of slobbering and stupid aliens who are, rather uncomfortably, clad in tribal garb that looks a bit too much like stuff that’s worn here on Earth by non-white people. It’s an ugly portion of the movie, in many senses, while Besson’s whopping $180 million budget runs thin and the narrative slows to a crawl."

Rolling Stone

"Dane DeHaan stars as Major Valerian, a special-ops agent assigned to maintain order in the universe, or at least in the human territories. It's a big job for this sylph-like manchild and despite numerous feats of derring-do, never once does he seem remotely up to the task. DeHaan can act: Check him out in Chronicle, The Place Beyond the Pines and Kill Your Darlings. But here, he's mostly asked to joke and flirt until stuntmen take over for the dangerous stuff.

"But if it's hard to root for Valerian, it's even harder to muster up interest in his partner, Sergeant Laureline. As played by model Cara Delevingne with a smirk that just won't quit, Laureline is way ballsier than Valerian, who still looks in need of a mother's love. She can pose and preen like an expert in her space gear – and those eyebrows! – but there's no there there. In place of characters, we get attitudes. Sorry, that just doesn't cut it."

"Too bad Valerian himself is such a dud. Written as a kind of cocky intergalactic lothario, Valerian ought to be as sexy and charismatic as a young Han Solo, though Chronicle star Dane DeHaan — so good in brooding-emo mode — seems incapable of playing the kind of aloof insouciance that made Harrison Ford so irresistible. Despite holding the rank of major, Valerian looks like an overgrown kid, overcompensating via an unconvincingly gruff faux Keanu Reeves accent (with the questionable dye job to match)."

"The cameo to end all cameos comes from Rihanna as a burlesque performer — complete with stripper pole — an appearance every bit as gratuitous as that sounds, bringing the movie to a grinding halt.

"Not that there's really much momentum to stop. While the look is vibrant and the design imaginative, Besson undermines the action with the cheeky tone, which isn't clever or funny but does manage to rob the film of any semblance of jeopardy. The result is an exercise that simultaneously calls attention to how much the producers spent translating this vision to the screen and what a colossal waste that feels like."

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‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ review

‘valerian and the city of a thousand planets’ looks lovely, but makes no sense.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a case study in what to avoid when trying to establish a sci-fi universe. At first glance, the comic-inspired sci-fi action flick from Lucy director Luc Besson seems to channel his 20-year-old cinematic high-point, The Fifth Element — A shoot first, ask questions later action movie set in a vibrant and enchanting vision of the future. When I took on the task of writing our Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets review, I had hoped I’d be evangelizing the second coming of that classic film. Instead, I found an almost inscrutable movie baked in a hollow, sometimes flashy, world.

The movie follows the eponymous hero Valerian, a major in the universal human military, and his partner (and love interest), Sergeant Laureline, as they investigate a mystery that threatens to destroy Alpha, an enormous space station that plays home to millions of species from across the universe. The threat serves as an entry point for the duo to discover and unravel a massive cover-up spanning space (and time).

The movie goes out of its way to keep the story and the action separated

It also isn’t that important. The mystery on Alpha station is the primary conflict of the movie, but it mostly serves as an ancillary support system for Valerian and Laureline’s aimless wandering. The duo chase conspirators and go on rescue missions to save each other from random alien threats. Their investigation takes long, winding turns across Alpha — facilitating chase scenes in spaceships and submarines, gunfights, and a sequence where Valerian kills off an entire room of gray brutish creatures with a sword. None of their meandering moves the plot along.

Instead of integrating the mystery into these scenes, many of the movie’s action sequences are punctuated by short conversations in Alpha’s human military headquarters, far away, where secondary characters, who you’d normally deem unimportant, discuss how they’re solving the plot’s core problem, step-by-step. The movie seems to go out of its way to keep the story and the action separated: At one point, key information is literally delivered by omniscient duck-billed information brokers, rather than worked into Valerian and Laureline’s story.

Valerian, played by Amazing Spider-Man 2 ’s Dane DeHaan , is technically the star, but he and Laureline ( Suicide Squad ’s Cara Delevigne ) are propped up early on as a sloppy, but effective space cop duo and love affair rolled into one. They have a flirty rapport, punctuated by brief moments of earnest emotion, but neither of these dynamics feel especially genuine. Valerian sounds equally boring whether he’s trying to act earnest and romantic, or witty and charming. Laureline, armed with charming quips and wide-eyed surprise, keeps the “chemistry” between the two of them alive at times, but never gets the opportunity to make her character feel like more than a foil for her co-star.

Valerian ’s coolest designs don’t get the time and attention they deserve

The problem is not exclusive to DeHaan and Delevigne. Despite the film’s strong supporting cast, which includes Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, Rihanna, and John Goodman (in voiceover), every character in this movie sounds like they’re talking at you, the viewer, rather than to whomever they’re supposed to be speaking.

Even if its characters are no fun to listen to, Valerian is very pleasant to look at. Every pore of the movie is filled with creative, highly stylized costumes, creatures, and buildings. Though much of it seems deliberately tame — there are few, if any, intelligent aliens that don’t walk and talk like a human being, for example — there is a steady stream of interesting designs to observe.

Unfortunately, many of Valerian ’s coolest designs — the underwater alien farmers, walking goldfish bowls, and peacock-human hybrids of Alpha Station — don’t get the time and attention they deserve. A city of a thousand planets is too big to show in its entirety, of course, but instead of weaving these wondrous elements into the film’s most important scenes, Besson uses them as exposition and window dressing.

When Valerian and Laureline arrive at Alpha Station, their ship’s AI simply parades out a few alien species in rapid succession with brief explanations, like a visual encyclopedia. Normally, this kind of sequence would be a way to convey important information you’ll need later in the movie, but none of the alien info makes an appearance later in the film. The explanation is merely an excuse to jam more concept art on screen.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets shows flashes of the fun, excitement, and infatuating creativity you’d hope to see in a modern space opera. (Without giving it away, the film’s first 5-10 minutes, which provide an abridged montage of Alpha Station’s origin, using the film’s interesting art and design to great effect.) Despite these glimpses of compelling lore, most of Valerian feels like a series of concepts, connected by an extremely bare-bones action tale. From afar, its best ideas look as if they’ve been drawn from an imagination running wild — but get closer and there’s no aspect of this movie that really stands out.

If you’d like to see a better movie this weekend, DT recommends ‘Dunkirk’ review , Spider-Man: Homecoming , and War for the Planet of the Apes .

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What makes a show underrated? It might be that critics unfairly reviewed the series, giving it unfavorable ratings while audience members enjoyed it. This can sometimes even catapult the series to cult classic status. In other cases, the show might have been marginally popular but didn’t garner the viewership it deserved back when it was on the air.

Often, the series has been forgotten. Underrated shows might also be lesser-known projects starring big-name actors whose talents overshadow plots that didn't generate as much praise as more high-profile shows. There are three underrated shows on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in September, and each one fits one (or more) of these reasons for not getting the credit they deserved. New Worlds (2014)

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The September film slate is a little stronger, with Edge of Tomorrow, Midnight Run, Legends of the Fall, and more. If Netflix's recent history is any indication, some low-budget action flick is going to come out of nowhere and dominate the streamer's movie chart. That tends to happen at least once a month or so.

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Review: ‘Valerian’ Is a Rave in Space (but Not Much Fun)

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By A.O. Scott

July 20, 2017

Much as I hesitate to predict the future in such crazy times, I feel I can say with certainty that 2017 will go down in film history as the Year of the Crazy Dane DeHaan Movie. Already so far we have seen Mr. DeHaan, a 31-year-old actor endowed with poise, intelligence and superb eyebrows, in Gore Verbinski’s highly puzzling “A Cure for Wellness.” If you missed that one, it was more or less “ The Magic Mountain ” with incest and bloodsucking eels.

“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” Mr. DeHaan’s latest eyebrow-raiser — speaking of which, it also stars Cara Delevingne, perhaps the supreme superciliary celebrity of our time — is a bit harder to describe. It was written and directed by Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element,” “Arthur and the Invisibles”) a fact that promises greater emphasis on visual panache than on feeling or coherence.

That promise is faithfully kept, but there is so much more going on. To say that “Valerian” is a science-fiction epic doesn’t quite do it justice. Imagine crushing a DVD of “The Phantom Menace” into a fine powder, tossing in some Adderall and Ecstasy and a pinch of cayenne pepper and snorting the resulting mixture while wearing a virtual reality helmet in a Las Vegas karaoke bar. Actually, that sounds like too much fun, but you get the idea.

Mr. DeHaan plays Valerian and Ms. Delevingne plays Laureline, who are not his-and-hers dental hygiene products but rather soldiers in some kind of space army. They are also at least potentially a couple, a fact which authorizes a lot of dialogue that might technically be called “banter” but that seems to have lost its snap after passing through Google translate a few times too many. Anyway, Valerian and Laureline are as cute as a pair of baby salamanders.

Their mission — do I have to do this part? — involves justice for the planet Mül. Before it was destroyed, Mül was a beachy paradise, a perpetual Ibiza on the morning after the best rave ever, populated by hairless lizard supermodels. The key to their bliss is a pocket-size dinosaur that excretes pearls. Only one is left in the universe. Valerian and Laureline are its intrepid pet-sitters.

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‘valerian and the city of a thousand planets’: film review.

Luc Besson's new sci-fi extravaganza 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as 28th-century operatives racing to save the universe.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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The Razzies don’t need to wait until the end of the year to anoint a winner for 2017. T he Golden Turkey Awards should be republished with a new cover. Euro-trash is back, while sci-fi will need to lick its wounds for a while. Dane DeHaan , who has starred in two of the most egregiously bloated misfires of the year with A Cure for Wellness and now this, should do a couple of indie films, while Cara Delevingne needs to learn there is more to acting than smirking and eye-rolling. Rihanna should pretend this never happened. And the Hollywood studio chiefs can breathe easy that, this time, at least, they’ll escape blame for making a giant summer franchise picture that nobody wants to see, since this one’s a French import.

Yes, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets really is that bad, bad enough that you don’t know for the longest time that Valerian is one of the lead characters and not a planet or a spaceship. Sporting special effects and sets that smack of 50-year-old Barbarella -style tackiness , Luc Besson ‘s $200-million eyesore will barely trigger a momentary blip on the American box-office radar screen, leaving Besson with the lone hope that there are parts of the world where the entertainment tastes remain, ahem, less discriminating.

Release date: Jul 21, 2017

The comic book-based Valerian et Laureline, created by Pierre Christin and drawn by Jean-Claude Mezieres, was a fan favorite in Europe from its debut in 1967 through 21 volumes, ending in 2010. For whatever reason, Besson hasn’t cast leads who remotely approximate the looks of the comics’ characters; Valerian on the page is a black-haired he-man, not a brownish-blond kid with the physique of a 1950s teenager, while Laureline’s flaming long red hair has not been adopted by cat-like blonde model Delevingne.

Luc Besson Unveils Exclusive 'Valerian' Footage at CineEurope

Along the way, there’s a pit-stop in a naughty district, where a guy named Jolly the Pimp (a brassy Ethan Hawke) draws back the curtain on a singer-dancer of shape-shifting talents (Rihanna) and, ultimately, a bad guy does emerge in the form of the top-dog military commander (Clive Owen). But by this time, most viewers will have long since checked out, as nothing ever seems remotely at stake due to a narrative whose navigator has lost his way and a drummer who’s dropped both sticks.

The 3D here proves largely inconsequential but at least provides a minor distraction from the looming creative void.

Production companies: Valerian S.A.S., TF1 Films Distributor: STX Films Cast: Dane Dehaan , Cara Delevingne , Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu, Sam Spruell, Alain Chabat, Rutger Hauer Director: Luc Besson Screenwriter: Luc Besson, based on the comic book series Valerian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Meziers Producers: Luc Besson, Virginie Besson-Silla Executive producers: Mark Gao, Gregory Ouanhon, JC Cheng Director of photography: Thierry Arbogast Production designer: Hugues Tissandier Costume designer: Olivier Beriot Editor: Julien Rey Music: Alexandre Desplat Visual effects supervisor: Scott Stokdyk Casting: Nathalie Cheron-Arda

Rated PG-13, 137 minutes

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Valerian and the city of a thousand planets.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 22 Reviews
Kids Say 22 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Silly but exuberant sci-fi adventure has fantasy violence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 11+?

Plenty of fantasy violence; lots of futuristic guns (lasers, etc.) and shooting,

A use of "s--t" (partly obscured by noise). Also "pr--k," &q

A character does a sexy dance involving a stripper pole. Kissing. Main character

Any Positive Content?

Concepts of kindness, sharing, and helping the less fortunate are celebrated (as

The characters are rogues and rascals who often turn to violence to solve their

Violence & Scariness

Plenty of fantasy violence; lots of futuristic guns (lasers, etc.) and shooting, with little real impact and virtually no blood. Fight scenes. An alien creature is questioned and tortured, tied up in chair. Digital monsters.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

A use of "s--t" (partly obscured by noise). Also "pr--k," "ass," and "damn."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A character does a sexy dance involving a stripper pole. Kissing. Main characters in bathing suits. One character asks another to marry him several times. Main character enters a red-light district; other characters flirt with him. A central character is described as a lady-killer.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Concepts of kindness, sharing, and helping the less fortunate are celebrated (as opposed to selfishness and lying). Briefly mentions environmental concerns, specifically giving back as much as you take. Addresses the idea of trusting your instincts over your orders. Courage and teamwork are themes.

Positive Role Models

The characters are rogues and rascals who often turn to violence to solve their problems. But they generally try to do the right thing. One main character must decide whether to be loyal to his organization or do the right thing. The main female character constantly challenges her position as the male's sidekick; she firmly believes that she's capable of doing all the hero stuff, too.

Parents need to know that Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a sci-fi/action movie based on French comics and directed by Luc Besson . There's plenty of fantasy violence, with futuristic guns, shooting, and fighting, but virtually no blood. An alien character is strapped to a chair and questioned (possibly tortured). The main characters eventually kiss, and one spends the movie asking the other to marry him. There's a red-light district with flirty characters and a woman doing a sexy dance involving a stripper pole. Language includes one possible use of "s--t" (it's partly obscured by noise) and uses of "ass" and "damn." Though the movie is very long and quite silly, it's also bright and dazzling and fun, with messages about courage, teamwork, environmentalism, and helping the less fortunate. And the main female character ( Cara Delevingne ) constantly challenges her position as the male's sidekick. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (22)
Kids say (22)

Based on 22 parent reviews

Not appropriate for young children

Stripper pole okay for 11+, what's the story.

In VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, it's the 28th century, and agent Valerian ( Dane DeHaan ) has a strange vision about an alien race. He and his intrepid partner, Laureline ( Cara Delevingne ), are sent on a mission to a huge, interdimensional black market to retrieve a miraculous little creature that can multiply matter with its body. Then, returning to Alpha (an interconnected series of ships populated by thousands of races, aka "the city of a thousand planets"), the heroes discover that it's under attack, with a strange radioactive zone spreading from its core. Eventually, Valerian and Laureline discover that there's a connection between Valerian's vision and the threat. Worse, they discover that there's a huge cover-up -- and it goes all the way to the top.

Is It Any Good?

Expensive and impressively, colorfully designed, this sci-fi/action movie is frequently silly and not always very smart, but it has a joyous exuberance and a sheer, dizzy love of the genre. Written and directed by Luc Besson and based on French comics by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets feels directly inspired by Star Wars , as if it were riding a wave of enthusiasm spurred by that film's 1977 release. It's an homage that might have been conceived by Roger Corman , by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus at Cannon Films, or even by a kid in the backyard. The only differences are that it has a $200 million budget, and it's way, way too long.

Some of the movie's images -- such as an immense marketplace in an alternate dimension, or the complex structure of Alpha itself -- are absolutely breathtaking. And Besson's action and chase sequences are bright and snappy, with touches of swaggering humor (helped by Alexandre Desplat's full-blooded, jaunty score). Model-turned-actress Delevingne isn't a great thespian, but her presence has a Barbarella / Galaxina quality, with a bit of Bond girl thrown in. Meanwhile, while DeHaan is fine in introspective indies, he doesn't seem quite right as a Han Solo space-cowboy type. But most quibbles of this kind are easily forgiven, thanks to the movie's overall cheery spirit and positive vibe.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 's violence . Does the fact that it's largely bloodless -- and that it uses futuristic technology -- make it less intense? Why or why not? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

Did you notice any examples of kindness, sharing, and helping others in the movie? Do you think the movie promotes compassion ?

Who are the movie's heroes? What makes them heroes? Are Valerian and Laureline role models ? How do they demonstrate courage ? Teamwork ?

Laureline frequently challenges her position as Valerian's sidekick. Do you agree with her? How would you describe her role? How does she compare to other female characters you've seen in sci-fi/adventure movies?

How does science fiction help tell stories about who we are and what's going on now?

Movie Details

In theaters : July 21, 2017
On DVD or streaming : November 21, 2017
Cast : Dane DeHaan , Cara Delevingne , Clive Owen
Director : Luc Besson
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Pansexual actors, Queer actors
Studios : STX Entertainment , Lionsgate
Genre : Science Fiction
Topics : Adventures , Space and Aliens
Character Strengths : Courage , Teamwork
Run time : 137 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : sci-fi violence and action, suggestive material and brief language
Last updated : February 23, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Though Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets had an impressive cast and hefty budget, it failed to make a splash at the box office and received poor reviews from critics.
Despite its underwhelming performance, director Luc Besson claims a Valerian sequel is still possible due to the movie's "huge fanbase."
The Valerian cast includes talented actors such as Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, and Rutger Hauer.

Content Warning: The following article contains mention of rape.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets may not be the most well-known movie, but the Valerian cast is certainly stacked with A-list talent. Based on the French science fiction comic series Valérian and Laureline and released in 2017, the movie takes place in the 28th century and centers on two operatives, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are tasked with traveling to the peaceful Alpha, the City of a Thousand Planets, to complete a mission. However, when an unknown force threatens the future of the entire universe, Valerian and Laureline must race against time to stop them.

Valerian had a hefty budget of over $177 million (via Box Office Mojo ) and has the distinction of being both the most expensive independent movie and most expensive European movie ever made. Unfortunately, Valerian failed to make a splash at the box office, grossing just over $225 million worldwide, which is actually a loss when factoring in advertising costs. Critics also weren't kind to the movie, and it earned a paltry 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. But despite this, director Luc Besson claims that a Valerian sequel is still possible based on the movie's " huge fanbase ". Only time will tell if the Valerian cast will reunite for a follow-up.

RELATED: 10 Backstage Facts You Never Knew About Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

Dane DeHaan As Major Valerian

In the Valerian cast, Dane DeHaan plays the protagonist, the cocky United Human Federation soldier Major Valerian, who is also Laureline's love interest. DeHaan's first credited role is in Law and Order: SVU season 10, episode 4 "Lunacy" as Vincent Beckwith. However, the actor has had much greater success in film, and his most famous roles include Jason Glanton in The Place Beyond the Pines , Lucien Carr in Kill Your Darlings , and Harry Osborn/Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 . 2023 is proving to be a strong year for DeHaan, as he played Kenneth Nichols in the Oppenheimer cast and will appear as Marcus' boss in Dumb Money .

Cara Delevingne As Sergeant Laureline

Valerian Teaser Trailer - Cara Delevingne as Laureline

Cara Delevingne plays Valerian's much more serious partner, United Human Federation soldier Sergeant Laureline. Delevingne began her career as a model, and her first feature film role was 2012's Anna Karenina , in which she played Princess Sorokina. Since then, her most notable film roles include Margo Roth Spiegelman in Paper Towns , June Moone/Enchantress in Suicide Squad , and Cassie in Her Smell . On the TV side, Delevingne played Vignette Stonemoss in Carnival Row and Selena Gomez's love interest, Alice Banks, in Only Murders in the Building season 2. Delevingne has also been cast in the upcoming season of American Horror Story , Delicate , in an unknown role.

RELATED: Only Murders In The Building Season 2 Ending Explained (In Detail)

Clive Owen As Commander Arün Filitt

Veteran British actor Clive Owen plays Commander Arün Filitt, Valerian and Laureline's superior, in the Valerian cast. Owen has had a prolific film career with his most notable roles being Dwight McCarthy in the Sin City movies, Dalton Russell in Inside Man , Theo Faron in Children of Men , and Larry Gray in Closer , which earned him an Oscar nomination and won him the Golden Globe and BAFTA. The actor has also been successful in television, including his award-nominated work as Ernest Hemingway in Hemingway & Gellhorn and Dr. John W. "Thack" Thackery in The Knick . He also portrayed Bill Clinton in the Impeachment: American Crime Story cast .

Rihanna As Bubble

In Valerian , Rihanna plays Bubble, a shapeshifting entertainer whom Valerian and Laureline meet on their travels. Rihanna is a world-famous, decorated pop singer with eight studio albums to her name. She has been nominated for 33 Grammys throughout her prestigious career, winning nine. On-screen, Rihanna is known for voicing Gratuity "Tip" Tucci in Home and for playing herself in This Is the End , Petty Officer Cora "Weps" Raikes in Battleship , and Nine Ball in Ocean's Eight .

Ethan Hawke As Jolly The Pimp

Ethan Hawke and Dane Dehaan in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Ethan Hawke plays Bubble's "protector", Jolly the Pimp in Valerian . Hawke has had a legendary movie career and is best known for his collaborations with Richard Linklater, including the Before trilogy as Jesse Wallace (Hawke was nominated for two Oscars for co-writing the screenplays) and Mason Evans Sr. in Boyhood , which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Hawke is also known for his roles as Troy Dyer in Reality Bites , Vincent Anton Freeman in Gattaca , and the Grabber in The Black Phone , and he famously cameoed in Glass Onion . He's directed several films, including Chelsea Walls . On television, Hawke portrayed Arthur Harrow in the MCU's Moon Knight .

RELATED: 15 Best Ethan Hawke Movies

Herbie Hancock As Defence Minister

American jazz icon Herbie Hancock plays the Defence Minister in Valerian . A pianist, Hancock's career took off when he joined the Miles Davis Quintet. Hancock has 14 Grammys under his belt, and in film, he won the Oscar for scoring 'Round Midnight . He also acted in the movie, playing the role of Eddie Wayne. He hasn't done much other acting, apart from playing Catfish Willie Slim in Girl Meets World season 1, episode 15 "Girl Meets Brother". However, Hancock has played himself in a number of movies, including Indecent Proposal and Miles Ahead .

Kris Wu As Sergeant Naza

Laureline, Valerian, Commander Arun Filitt, and Sergeant Naza in Valerian

Sergeant Neza is played by Kris Wu in Valerian . Wu was a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo from 2012 to 2014. He went on to have a career as a solo artist and actor in Mainland China, with his first film being Somewhere Only We Know in which he played Ze Yang. The actor made his Hollywood debut as Nicks in XXX: The Return of Xander Cage . In 2022, Wu was convicted of rape and received a sentence of 13 years in prison.

Sam Spruell As General Okto-Bar

British actor Sam Spruell plays General Okto-Bar in the Valerian cast. Spruell has made a career out of playing villains, and is best known for his film roles as Finn in Snow White and the Huntsman and Oleg Malankov in Taken 3 and on television as Swarm in Doctor Who series 13. Spruell is set to continue his television career playing Ole Munch in the cast of Fargo season 5 .

Alain Chabat As Bob The Pirate

In Valerian , Bob the Pirate is played by Alain Chabat. A celebrated French comedic actor, writer, and director, Chabat is known for playing Serge Karamazov in La Cité de la peur , Bruno Deschamps in The Taste of Others , and the titular character in Didier . The actor also famously voiced Shrek in the French dubbing of the hit animated franchise.

Rutger Hauer As The President of the World State Federation

Dutch actor Rutger Hauer played the President of the World State Federation in the Valerian cast. While Valerian bombed, Hauer's best-known role is in a much more successful sci-fi film, as he famously played replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner . Hauer has acted steadily throughout his prolific career, often disappearing into his roles. Like Clive Owen, Hauer starred in Sin City , playing Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark. Hauer also appeared in Batman Begins as William Earle and as the titular protagonist in Hobo with a Shotgun . On TV, the actor played Niall Brigant in six episodes of True Blood .

RELATED: 10 Must-See Rutger Hauer Movies

Valerian Supporting Cast

John Goodman as Igon Siruss - Though John Goodman is known for his funny roles in comedies, he steps over to sci-fi to play Igon Siruss in the Valerian cast. Goodman is most famous for playing patriarchs Dan Conner in the sitcom Roseanne and its sequel series The Conners , and Eli Gemstone in The Righteous Gemstones .

Elizabeth Debicki as Emperor Haban Limaï - In Valerian , Elizabeth Debicki plays Emperor Haban Limaï. In film, Debicki is most known for playing Ayesha in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Catherine Barton in Tenet . She also notably played Princess Diana in The Crown .

Ola Rapace as Major Gibson - Major Gibson is played by Ola Rapace in the Valerian cast. Rapace's most famous role to date is Patrice in the James Bond film Skyfall .

Louis Letterier as Captain Welcoming Mercurys - Though he played Captain Welcoming Mercurys in Valerian , Louis Letterier is best known as an action movie director. His filmography includes Transporter 2 , The Incredible Hulk , and Now You See Me . He also took over directing Fast X from Justin Lin and will continue on to helm the 2025 sequel in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Olivier Megaton as Captain Welcoming KCO2 - Olivier Megaton plays Captain Welcoming KCO2. Like Letterier, Megaton has directed many famous action movies, including Transporter 3, Taken 2, and Taken 3 .

Sasha Luss as Princess Lihö-Minaa - Rounding out the Valerian cast, Sasha Lucc plays Princess Lihö-Minaa. Luss is a Russian model whose most famous film role is the titular character in 2019's Anna .

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice First Reviews: Michael Keaton’s Return as Betelgeuse is Worth the Wait

Critics say tim burton's beetlejuice beetljuice is funny, vibrant, and campy; a legacy sequel in all the right ways..

TAGGED AS: First Reviews , movies , news

Burton. Burton. Burton. According to the first reviews of the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice , Tim Burton is back. Critics are mostly praising this return to the sort of work that got him fans in the first place, as the Beetlejuice follow-up is being called one of the rare great legacy sequels that captures the same magic as the original. Michael Keaton slips back into the black and white suit perfectly, while the practical effects are welcomed with open arms. As for what’s new, is it any surprise that Willem Dafoe fits right in with Burton and the rest?

Here’s what critics are saying about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice :

Does it live up to the first movie?

“ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is just as funny, vibrant, and campy and will satisfy both nostalgic audiences for the first film and those just discovering this amusing world from the creative mind of Burton for the first time.” — Ema Sasic, Next Best Picture

“Quirky, joyous, vibrantly macabre, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice managed to recreate the original’s winning mix of innocent, childlike wonder and morbidly mad imagination.” — Zhuo-Ning Su, Awards Daily

“It’s a silly little sequel to an equally silly original, and it’s hard to imagine wanting or needing much more from it.” — Siddhant Adlakha, IGN Movies

“The movie is just a lightweight riff on Beetlejuice — a piece of fan service, really. It doesn’t give you the full monster-kitsch jolt that the original film had.” — Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Is it a return to form for the director?

“Miraculously, it represents Tim Burton getting his groove back, successfully returning to the dark comedy and outrageous visuals that marked his extraordinary early work.” — Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict

“This gleefully zany farce is one of Burton’s most enjoyable films and a welcome return to his own brand of oddball creepiness after the Disney dud that was his 2019 live-action Dumbo remake. ” — Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

“Fans of Burton will definitely not be let down…Tim Burton is back.” — Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

“I scrawled ‘Tim Burton’s back!’ in my notes.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“This long-gestating sequel is the most brazenly Burton-esque and bonkers Tim Burton has been in years in terms of macabre Frankenstein creatures, weird situations and off-beat humor.” — Hannah Strong, Little White Lies

“Few would mistake Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for a confessional or particularly self-revealing work, but it does hew closer to that original artistic spark that dimmed once the director became a trademark.” — Ben Croll, The Wrap

(Photo by Photo by Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection)

Does it work better than most sequels?

“As far as sequels go, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is one of the better examples of how to honor the past while bringing a story into the modern era.” — Ema Sasic, Next Best Picture

“ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a legacy sequel in all the right ways.” — Alexander Harrison, Screen Rant

“While the track record of sequels in general — and sequels arriving more than 30 years after the original, specifically — is spotty at best, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice defies the odds.” — Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict

“As in Top Gun: Maverick, the long gap between the old film and the new one turns out to be beneficial. Instead of seeming like a retread, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stands up as a comedy with its own story and its own concerns.” — Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

Is Michael Keaton still terrific in the title role?

“Michael Keaton’s return as Betelgeuse is worth the wait.” — Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

“Keaton has exhumed the role he first played in 1988 and plays him with the same energy, intelligence and devilish gusto as he did in the original all those years ago.” — Jo-Ann Tit-marsh, London Evening Standard

“Keaton is brilliant as always in a role that fits him like a glove.” — Hannah Strong, Little White Lies

“Keaton, given more of a leading role in this film compared to the first, still has the goods to bring this iconic character to life, and it’s such a treat to watch all his gags and comedic deliveries still land in his 70s.” — Ema Sasic, Next Best Picture

“Keaton occupies the role with the same off-the-wall pizazz as previously, but — how to put this — he is less annoying, more restrained, slightly melancholic (maybe).” — Sophie Monks Kaufman, In-dieWire

“Michael Keaton clearly adores this character; once again, he pours pure love into Beetlejuice’s maniacal, depraved soul.” — Stephanie Zacharek, Time Magazine

What about the other returning actors?

“Among the top-flight cast, Ryder and O’Hara excel.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International

“Ryder goes beat for beat with Keaton as the yin of the movie to his rancidly irreverent yang. The actress transports us back to the enchanting screen persona of her late teens, not just in Beetlejuice but also in movies like Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids and Heathers, in which she radiated a singular mix of smarts, sweetness, and innocence but was just as effective when she veered into darkness.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“Ryder isn’t always great in comedies but her rapport with Burton probably helped shape this delightfully loose performance.” — Zhuo-Ning Su, Awards Dai-ly

Are there any standouts among the new additions?

“The addition of Willem Dafoe, who is known for his various kooky roles, is perfect for Burton’s world…Dafoe hams it up every moment he gets and draws in plenty of laughs as a result.” — Ema Sasic, Next Best Picture

“Dafoe is clearly off in his own movie, one that’s barely connected to the rest of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice …but like most of the cast, the actor is having infectious fun.” — Siddhant Adlakha, IGN Movies

“Justin Theroux is perfect for the role of Rory, and manages to make a mark despite his short screen time, delivering some of the best lines of the film.” — Serena Seghedoni, Loud and Clear Reviews

How is the script?

“The story of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is scattered all over the place. The script…focuses on one too many characters.” — Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

“Screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar cannily stitch together a framework that is more narratively intricate than the first film. They interweave several plot strands to crafty but often confusing effect.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International

“The script spends so much time introducing new characters and plot-threads that it gets a bit tangled in the narrative cobwebs.” — John Nugent, Emnpire Magazine

“It’s just a pity that the storytelling sprawls all over the place, with some plotlines (like the Beetlejuice/Delores discord) failing to pay off.” — James Mottram, Total Film

Are there a lot of nostalgic nods to the original?

“There are plenty of callbacks to the original, but Burton allows this one to stand apart with new drama in this world and beyond.” — Ema Sasic, Next Best Picture

“The closest the film gets to any egregious level of nostalgia bait (other than its very unnecessary existence) is in its third act, where it tries too hard to replicate the iconic possession scene.” — Connor Lightbody, Movies We Texted About

“A lot depends on the viewer recognising recurring elements from 1988.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International

Does it ever feel unnecessary?

“At no point does the 36-years-later revival tout itself as capital-I ‘Important’…it’s fine – at times, it’s even charming – and it doesn’t need to be much more than that.” — Siddhant Adlakha, IGN Movies

“There’s good fan service and bad, and as stilted and gimcracky as it can sometimes be, I had a pretty good time at Beetlejuice Beetlejuice .” — Owen Gleiberman, Variety

How Does it look?

“There’s lots to feast on visually…the comic-gory special effects are also memorable.” — James Mottram, Total Film

“The film’s most laudable achievement is its boisterous way of reclaiming highly tactile practical and animatronic effects for the CGI age.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International

“Burton both recaptures and expands beyond the aesthetic of the original, mix-ing the macabre and the cartoonish, and running the gamut from stop-motion animation to the most sophisticated CGI.” — Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict

“There is an abundance of practical effects, with the caveat that some CGI effects (namely a cringe-worthy scene with some influencers) are not as graceful and tactile.” — Connor Lightbody, Movies We Texted About

Will it make us laugh?

“ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is funny, all the time.” — Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“The nicest surprise is that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is that rare thing, a big-budget comedy which is actually funny.” — Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

“The priority is to cram in as many grisly comic riffs as possible, from visual puns on phrases like ‘inner child’ and ’spill your guts’ to a relishable digression on Betelgeuse’s romance with Dolores.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International

“ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is filled with low-stakes wisecracks and kindergarten-style one-liners, but the effect works.” — Stephanie Zacharek, Time Magazine

Is it for kids?

“ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice [is] an ideal gateway to the horror genre for younger viewers.” — Siddhant Adlakha, IGN Movies

“The original script for Beetlejuice was deemed too dark and was lightened in tone, while this seems to have experienced similar sanitation as an F-bomb is covered by a very sharp and very unneeded bleep.” — Connor Lightbody, Movies We Texted About

Are there any complaints?

“Monica Bellucci’s role is wasted.” — Ema Sasic, Next Best Picture

“ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice could use more Delores: she pops up, elegantly, only here and there.” — Stephanie Zacharek, Time Maga-zine

“The film’s only flaw is that it has a couple of plotlines too many, which give it a drawn-out middle and a rushed and jumbled finale: as in the original Beetlejuice , it could have done with spending more time with Betelgeuse.” — Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

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Reagan’s Wildly Divergent Rotten Tomatoes Scores Reveal Astonishing Difference of Opinion

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Forget about the ongoing divide between Democrats and Republicans, because Reagan’s wildly divergent Rotten Tomatoes scores reflect two completely different opinions when it comes to the new biopic. If one were to believe the critics, director Sean McNamara’s Ronald Reagan movie isn’t worth watching, and, as a result, registers only 18% on the Tomatometer. Conversely, audiences are in love with the Dennis Quaid-led film about the United States’ 40th President. Thus, the RT Popcornmeter reflects a nearly perfect score of 98%. First, the bad news: à la the disappointment with the flick. MovieWeb's own Greg Archer says:

"It opts to shine a flattering light on the man, capturing him as some kind of glorified soul, somebody who came from humble beginnings and managed to get a break in Hollywood then enter politics and emerge as the man who helped thwart communism and The Cold War in the 1980s. It’s the kind of film you’d like to see about yourself at your wake."

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times writes:

A fawning biopic light on subtlety.

Adam Nayman of The Ringer adds (below):

“It’s a thin line between satire and self-parody, and more sophisticated directors than [Sean] McNamara have tripped all over it. Reagan looks a bit like a berserk Saturday Night Live sketch, or maybe a biopic parody à la Walk Hard...”

From dusty small-town roots, to the glitter of Hollywood and then on to commanding the world stage, Reagan is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds. Told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich, a former KGB agent whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan's when Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, this film offers a perspective as unique as it is captivating. Dennis Quaid brings to life a story that transcends the boundaries of a traditional biopic, offering a profound exploration of the enduring impact of the power of one man who overcame the odds, sustained by the love of a woman who supported him in his journey.

Odie Henderson of The Boston Globe says:

Made up to look like Reagan, Quaid instead resembles one of those puppets from Genesis’s ‘Land of Confusion’ video; the movie does him no favors by showing footage of that video at one point.

Much like the political arena’s real-life polling stations, though, the movie industry also has its own way of tallying voters’ ballots thanks to CinemaScore. In order to gauge an audience’s immediate reaction to a brand-new film, moviegoers will be asked to record their real-time opinions as they walk out of auditoriums. And in the case of Reagan, it’s a landslide in favor of the biopic with an “A” CinemaScore, which resoundingly speaks for the theatergoing public. And that’s also reflected in Reagan's nearly perfect Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Audiences Praise Same Film Critics Are Bashing

While Sean McNamara and Dennis Quaid’s cinematic collaboration is dividing the critics and moviegoers, Reagan ranks as the No. 4 film at the box office during its opening weekend over this Labor Day holiday. According to the estimates, the Ronald Reagan biopic will make $7.4 million (three-day) during its theatrical debut and just over $9 million (four-day). And while professional writers are busy beating on Reagan like Negan did to Glenn and Abraham on AMC’s The Walking Dead, audiences are conversely enjoying the film. One verified audience member, CE, wrote (per Rotten Tomatoes ):

“Excellent movie! An accurate and excellent portrayal of one of America's greatest Presidents. The recounting of many events of Reagan's time was like it was. (I was there) Seeing Reagan retrospectively through the eyes of former and current Russian spies was an interesting way to frame the movie. And Dennis Quaid did a very good job of capturing the outstanding vision, true leadership and humor of President Reagan. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.”

Another verified audience member, Rich, also gave the film five stars. Rich says:

“A man led by his faith in God, his convictions, and his love for this country. A must-see story about the man, his incredible journey, and his love for his family. It will make you laugh, be proud to be an American, and pull out a few emotions.”

Dennis Quaid on Playing Ronald Reagan, Making The Right Stuff, and Son Jack Quaid's Great Career

The great Dennis Quaid spoke with MovieWeb about his long all-American career and his new film Reagan, years in the making.

Toby’s five-star reaction reads as follows:

“Dennis Quaid did an excellent job portraying Reagan. Ronald Reagan was the first president I was old enough to vote for. He was a happy warrior. This movie provides a great view into his life and the impact he had on the world. I highly recommend it!”

While the 2024 summer movie season came to a disappointing end, the campaign has just begun for the new Ronald Reagan biopic. And depending on which side of the fence one stands on, where optimistic audiences and crabby critics are concerned, Reagan is either the must-see event of the Labor Day weekend, or the biopic is a cinematic disaster, which should be avoided like the plague. The only way to know for sure is to pay for a ticket, sit down and give Quaid and McNamara’s film a fair shake.

Reagan is now playing in theaters.

Rotten Tomatoes

The Worst Netflix Original Horror Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Collage of Cloverfield Paradox, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Death Note

For the horror heads among us, perusing a streamer's genre page can be a goldmine of camp opportunities or disturbing folk horror to keep us up at night, but it can also be home to some of the most tedious stories put to film. Whether it's an ill-advised continuation of a franchise or an adaptation in the wrong hands, even the mighty Netflix isn't immune to acquiring, producing, and/or distributing some stinkers. In fact, they tend to excel at it.

While Rotten Tomatoes isn't the be-all and end-all of movie criticism ( and it almost seems to be trying to discredit it more and more ), it can provide a quick temperature check to a movie's well being — a helpful measure for all of us when considering how we want to spend our time rotting away on the couch. Mileage can vary on how much to trust the aggregated rating of a bunch of critics, but for these original Netflix horror movies, there's a clear warning sign ahead: proceed with caution, because these movies kind of suck.

The Open House – 7%

Dylan Minnette as Logan staring at a car with its lights on outside a home in The Open House

Beginning with the most rotten by a country mile, Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote's "The Open House" failed to impress even a tenth of the critics that reviewed, sitting at a pithy 7% on the Tomatometer . The film follows a mother and son forced to move to a secluded mountain following the sudden death of their husband and father. Starring Dylan Minnette and Piercey Dalton, the two encounter strange behaviors and happenstances, eventually going head to head with the film's villain, "Evil Boots."

While the premise of "The Open House" is far from being terrible, it's the execution of the film that sinks any positives. Andrew Wyatt at The Lens defiantly calls the movie, "Utterly insufferable and almost maliciously pointless." While at Den of Geek , Alec Bojalad points to the "astonishingly bad ending" as the film's most significant undoing.

Hypnotic – 24%

Kate Siegel as Jenn sitting on a black couch across from Jason O'Mara as Dr. Collin Meade in Hypnotic

Another directorial collaboration between the husband and wife duo Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, "Hypnotic" follows a cruel hypnotherapist (Jason O'Mara) who engages his client, Jenn (Kate Siegel), in a chilling game which finds her at the mercy of a madman.

There may have been a time where a film like "Hypnotic" felt fresh and exciting, but Matt Fowler at IGN Movies notes that in 2021, the movie currently sitting with a 24% instead feels "very out-of-time and, subsequently, very inconsequential. It dilutes what could have been a rather diabolical and memorable story and delivers a disposable ride that ends with a stilted and safe re-entry."

Taking a wider view, Nick Harley at Den of Geek sees "Hypnotic" as part of a greater problem saying, "Netflix original movies are like fast food; they're cheap and easy to make, they'll temporarily fill you up, have a passable taste that's familiar and unchallenging, but you'll either forget about the quick fix or regret it entirely."

Secret Obsession – 28%

Brenda Song as Jenn staring out of a window in disbelief in Secret Obsession

Following a car accident, a woman (Brenda Song) finds herself in the hospital with amnesia. Unsure of who she is, how she got hurt, or anything about her life, she's told by the man at her bedside (Mike Vogel) that he is her husband and proceeds to show her pictures of their life together, seemingly filling in her memory gaps. As time wears on, she becomes increasingly wary of the stories she's been told and slowly unravels her nightmarish reality.

"Secret Obsession" gives away the farm in its title and recalls the straight-to-video movies of the '90s. While Pittsburgh Magazine's Sean Collier humorously quips, "They don't make movies like this anymore. And it's good that they don't," Eddie Strait at The Daily Dot doesn't even think "Secret Obsession" meets the standards of sub-par TV movies: "'Secret Obsession' is a soulless lump of generic mush that aspires to the cheese level of a Lifetime original joint but doesn't come anywhere close."

However, both Linda Holmes of NPR and Karen Han of Polygon take the view that while "Secret Obsession" is indeed worthy of its 28% rating , it does exactly what is says on the tin. Holmes writes, "This is a pretty bad movie, but it seems to be bad in the way it's meant to be bad." Adds Han, "'Secret Obsession' does pretty much exactly what you expect it to, and presumably what you want it to, if you watched the brief preview clip while browsing Netflix and then decided that, yes, you would like to hit play."

The Cloverfield Paradox – 22%

David Oyelowo as Kiel standing in an astronaut suit in The Cloverfield Paradox

Since 2008, the J.J. Abrams' produced "Cloverfield" franchise has spawned a trilogy and a graphic novel to varying degrees of success. Undoubtedly, "10 Cloverfield" starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman has seen the most success, critically and commercially; although the same cannot be said for its successor, "The Cloverfield Paradox."

Released on Netflix in 2018 and directed by Julius Onah, a considerable amount of hype was attached to the film based on the severe secrecy behind the production, aided by a since-deleted tweet from director Ava DuVernay hyping up the ending of "The Cloverfield Paradox" during the Superbowl that year . Sadly, even with a great cast, including Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl, David Oyelowo, Zhang Ziyi, and Chris O'Dowd, the third (and currently final) franchise installment fell flat.

Summarizing the movie's 22% score perfectly, Alex Hudson at Exclaim! describes the film as "too silly to live up to its potential." Recalling the pre-production madness that prompted the hype train, Cinema Sentries' Matthew St. Clair says, "Unfortunately, the hype surrounding the super secretive and constantly delayed film turned out to be more interesting than the actual film itself."

You can read our full review of "The Cloverfield Paradox" right here .

The Silence – 30%

Stanley Tucci as Hugh stands next to Kiernan Shipka as Ally in a field in The Silence

In a world where vesps, a flying reptile type creature, hunt humans by sound, a deaf teenager and her family seek out shelter and fight for their survival, all without making any noise. No, this isn't "A Quiet Place," it's the Kiernan Shipka and Stanley Tucci led "The Silence" — a movie released a year after John Krasinski's directorial debut and based on a novel published in 2015.

Similar to the coincidental releases of "Olympus Has Fallen" and "White House Down" in 2013, "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige" in 2006, and of course, "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" in 1998, "The Silence" and "A Quiet Place" seem to be victims of time and space — though, moreso the former than the latter. Where "A Quiet Place" was lauded for its originality and Krasinski's direction, critics were decidedly less enthused about "The Silence," resulting in a 30% rotten rating and unfavorable comparisons aplenty.

Kristy Puchko at IGN Movies succinctly states, "Imagine 'A Quiet Place,' but deeply mediocre." While Charles Bramesco at The Guardian takes aim at Netflix, "This is the most insidious type of knockoff: the one that sincerely expects you to believe that it's the real thing. Leave it to Netflix to take the fun out of incompetence."

Whether the timing was truly coincidental or Netflix attempting to capitalize off of a proven new horror trend, we can all agree that "The Silence" is aggressively forgettable .

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) – 30%

Leatherface holding a chainsaw and staring into a car window in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

For as legendary as Tobe Hooper's 1974 "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" has become, as a franchise, it feels like they've been batting at or below the Mendoza Line for the better part of its nine-movie existence. In an effort to jump start and perhaps recapture the essence of the original film, David Blue Garcia's 2022 film, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," takes place 50 years after Hooper's, following the continuity that began in 1974, and in turn, forgoing the alternate timeline Millennium Films' had previously set up (and concluded with 2017's "Leatherface").

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre" attempted to modernize the franchise by haphazardly including references to social media, trendy buzz words, and commentary on issues prevalent to the times. Lex Briscuso at Paste Magazine describes this effort as "trite," concluding that the film rests "on topical concepts that it doesn't know how to comment on."

Contributing to the film's 30% rating , Josh Korngut for Dread Central found some positives, but ultimately concludes that "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" didn't live up to the reputation set by its original predecessor, commenting, "Even though a handful of violent scenes do breathe some life into the desecrated corpse of this legacy sequel, they in no way make up for the levels of disrespect faced by its characters and its audience."

Quite simply: "Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)" is one of the worst films of the franchise .

Death Note – 36%

LaKeith Stanfield as L sitting in a car in Death Note

Considered to be one of the worst live-action anime adaptations , "Death Note" currently sits at 36% on the Tomatometer . The original manga series that follows a high school student who discovers a notebook that grants him the ability to kill anyone whose name is written in the pages has proven to be incredibly successful around the world, selling millions of copies and spawning numerous animated television shows. The series raised questions surrounding morality and justice, while also being highly entertaining and thrilling at the same time.

Bringing together a wealth of emerging talent at the time, such as LaKeith Stanfield and Margaret Qualley, as well as screen veterans like Willem Dafoe, Adam Wingard's adaptation and Americanization of "Death Note" just didn't land with audiences or critics. Joshua Rivera at GQ simply states, "I'm not sure who 'Death Note' is for," where Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com takes it a step further: "The ending will have you switching off your Netflix app in disgust. If you don't die from boredom before you get there."

Netflix, though, seems completely unbothered by the overwhelmingly negative reaction to "Death Note" and as of October 2022, plans are in place to give this one another go, this time via a live-action adaptation series with Halia Abdel-Meguid set to write and executive produce for "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer by way of their production company Upside Down.

Extinction – 31%

Michael Peña as Peter holding a gun standing in a yellow-lit hallway in Extinction

A sci-fi, horror, action mash-up, "Extinction" stars Michael Peña as Peter, a man terrorized by a recurring nightmare that an alien invasion destroys the world. At first understanding these dreams to be the effect of an underlying psychological issue, Peter soon begins to believe that rather than nightmares, they're premonitions of things to come.

What could have been an enticing thinkpiece on humanity and technology becomes a messy plot that clunks its way to the finish line, earning itself a 31% rating . Brad Newsome of the Sydney Morning Herald didn't find the film altogether terrible, "The big twist is a good one, there are some decent action sequences," however Newsome accepts that even with these positives, "there isn't enough here to keep things from dragging."

The general consensus of those who found the movie weak points to a movie that dreams big with little to show for it in reality. "Big Blockbuster aspirations but without much charisma or soul," writes Meagan Navarro at Bloody Disgusting . While Nick Allen at RogerEbert.com calls the movie, "A B-movie with a blockbuster attitude, and not in a fun way."

Old People – 33%

A close up of Adolfo Assor as Reincke staring menacingly in Old People

Of all the films on this list, the 2022 film "Old People" directed by Andy Fetscher intrigued me the most. Given society's penchant for discarding our elderly when we've decided they are more burdensome than valuable members, the idea of "Pensioners Fighting Back" feels ripe for either campy entertainment or thoughtful commentary on our derisive impatience as a collective. To my dismay, "Old People" more than deserves its 33% standing .

"The genre isn't known for its profundity, but Fetscher could have leaned into that more and given this movie the chance to become that horror rarity, a genuinely disturbing thriller," comments Roger Moore at Movie Nation . In place of being a properly horrifying picture, "Old People" settles for being a tedious watch where, as John Sooja at Common Sense Media notes, "the worst offense is the writing that has characters often doing stupid things or making dumb decisions, which completely dissolves any suspension of disbelief."

In the Tall Grass – 36%

Patrick Wilson as Ross stands In the Tall Grass

One of the most prolific authors of our time, Stephen King has had his fair share of work adapted to the big screen and of course, he has his favorites . It's a safe assumption, though, "In the Tall Grass" isn't one of them.

With only 36% on Rotten Tomatoes , "In the Tall Grass" suffers from a common problem among films but a comical one when adapting King's work, even a novella: not enough source material to stretch across an acceptable feature film runtime. King is not a man of brevity and his novellas would be considered regular novels for most writers, but somehow Vincenzo Natali, who wrote and directed the film, struggled to fill a rather taut 90-minute runtime without fumbling.

At Cinema Axis , Courtney Small says, "Deep in the dense grass that surrounds the plot of Vincenzo Natali's 'In the Tall Grass' is a spectacular horror film. Unfortunately, one gets lost trying to find it." More to the point, Brian Lowry at CNN states, "Despite an uneven track record, 'In the Tall Grass' gives the lamest King adaptations a run for their money, as writer-director Vincenzo Natali labors to stretch out the story, which takes a wrong turn in more ways than one."

Things Heard & Seen – 38%

Amanda Seyfried as Catherine staring out a window in Things Heard & Seen

There's nothing sadder in film than to see a tremendous performer debase themselves with lesser than material. Such is the case in the 2021 film "Things Heard & Seen" written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, starring Academy Award nominee Amanda Seyfried.

The film takes us back to 1980 where Catherine (Seyfried), an art restorer living in Manhattan, moves to a spooky farmhouse in upstate New York for a career opportunity for her husband. As Catherine, her husband, and their daughter settle in, Catherine and her daughter begin witnessing and feeling a spirit in their new home. "Things Heard & Seen" is a classic ghost story in every sense, including being based on real-life events , but it's one that flies every which way, never landing any of its attempts at tension or thrills. Trading in, instead, trite boredom.

ABC News critic Peter Travers colorfully quips, "You know a ghost story is a hot mess when it strands a stellar Amanda Seyfried and a top cast in a remote, country house haunted by toxic masculinity, dangling plot threads and nothing worth hearing or seeing." Almost unanimously across the board, critics agreed that Seyfried shouldn't be looped in with this mess of a film, as David Ehrlich at IndieWire says, "[W]hile Seyfried acquits herself and then some, an actor of her talent is wasted on a character that spends most of the movie just connecting the dots."

I have to imagine that the 38% of critics who liked this film , only did so because of Seyfried.

Sam Raimi's 90% Rotten Tomatoes Neo-Noir Thriller Comes to 4K Blu-ray

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While Sam Raimi may have started his career with some of the wildest horror movies ever committed to celluloid, sometimes there's nothing more horrific than an ordinary person driven to desperation. That's the message of A Simple Plan , which is coming to 4K Blu-ray this fall. The 1998 thriller will arrive on high-definition on November 19.

The set is built around an all-new 4K remaster from the film's original negative, approved by director Sam Raimi. It is also loaded with special features. That includes two all-new audio commentaries; one featuring production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein , and another from critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme . It will also include all-new interviews with cast members Becky Ann Baker ( Girls ) and Chelcie Ross ( Hoosiers ), as well as cinematographer Alar Kivilo ( The Blind Side ). The set also comes with archival on-set interviews with the cast, behind-the-scenes footage, and the film's original theatrical trailer. It will come packaged with a booklet featuring writing on the film from new writing on the film by Bilge Ebiri and an excerpt from the book The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi by John Kenneth Muir . The set will retail for $35 USD, and can be preordered now on ArrowVideo.com .

What Is 'A Simple Plan' About?

Set in rural Minnesota, the film centers around Hank Mitchell ( Bill Paxton ), his naive brother Jacob ( Billy Bob Thornton ), and their friend Lou ( Brent Briscoe ), who stumble on a crashed plane. Inside is the dead pilot and his dangerous cargo: $4.4 million in cash. The three agree to keep their discovery a secret and split the money, but that simple plan soon becomes more and more complicated. When a local farmer spots them, they impulsively kill him to keep their secret, driving a wedge between the three. Making matters worse, an FBI agent ( Gary Cole ) comes to town in search of the money - but he may not be all he appears to be. And amid all this, Hank's wife, Sarah ( Bridget Fonda ) is scheming to keep all the money for her and Hank. In the end, nobody's going to walk away unscathed. Although known for dramatic camera moves and coaxing bold performances out of actors, Raimi tones down his directorial signature in the film, creating an icy, stripped-down thriller that's as chilling as a Minnesota winter.

Although A Simple Plan didn't turn a profit at the box office, only earning $16.3 million USD on a $17 million budget, it was hailed by critics. It currently holds a 90% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated for two Academy Awards; Best Adapted Screenplay for Scott Smith , who adapted his own 1993 novel, and Best Supporting Actor for Thornton.

A Simple Plan will be released on 4K Blu-ray on November 19, 2024 . Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

A Simple Plan

A Simple Plan follows Hank Mitchell, his brother Jacob, and Jacob's friend Lou, who stumble upon a crashed plane containing over $4 million in cash in the snowy woods of rural Minnesota. They decide to keep the money, believing it to be from a drug deal gone wrong. Their plan unravels as paranoia and greed lead to escalating conflicts, murders, and a tragic climax where Hank is forced to something dreadful.

Bill Paxton

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Movie Review: Valerian. Valerian is a beautiful mess. It is…
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: Behind the Scenes
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: Behind the Scenes
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Valerian: A Beautiful Mess is Still a Mess
Valerian’s First Reviews Are All Over The Place

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
In the 28th century, special operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline work together to maintain order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the minister of defense, the ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Videos
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 26, 2020. Though Luc Besson's usual failings have been amplified by his ambition, that ambition is worth seeing for the extremity of the spectacle alone ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 48% based on 300 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: Directed by Luc Besson. With Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna. A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
'Valerian' Reviews Range From 'Mind-Meltingly Beautiful' to
With early reviews still coming in, "Valerian" currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 73 percent, with critics' opinions varying wildly depending on what element of the film they're ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Every summer movie season needs at least one out-of-left-field entry that is so cheerfully bonkers it stands as a living rebuke to an industry that churns out noisy and soulless garbage like "Transformers: The Last Knight."This year, that film is "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets," a deliriously entertaining film that finds writer/director Luc Besson swinging for the fences ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share ...
valerian
valerian. by Alex Vo | January 4, 2017. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: Fifth Element director Luc Besson makes another very French space opera based on the long-running comic series, starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne. Help.
Movie Review: 'Valerian' Is a Must-See Space Odyssey
Valerian is the kind of science-fiction film that doesn't get made enough anymore. It's unafraid to embrace the expansive potential of its genre, to make each new location, costume, and alien ...
The best critics' slams of 'Valerian': 'It really is THAT bad'
It's not that movie critics hate Valerian, the eye-popping sci-fi adventure starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, which, as of Friday, was pulling in a just-fine 57% on Rotten Tomatoes ...
How Family-Friendly are Dunkirk and Valerian and the ...
Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles are among the players whose fates intersect. Dunkirk features nearly non-stop violence and peril, as you would expect from a war picture. The soldiers are under attack from the air, ground and sea. Many characters (and extras) are shot to death, but there's barely any ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets critic reviews
Jul 20, 2017. Valerian isn't a movie about plot, characters, or action; it's a movie about places. True to its comic book roots, the larger arc exists to draw viewers into the beautiful, far-flung corners of Alpha. This makes it strangely episodic for a film, but also refreshingly light on complicated lore.
'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' review
By Mike Epstein July 21, 2017. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a case study in what to avoid when trying to establish a sci-fi universe. At first glance, the comic-inspired sci-fi ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Review
It runs 137 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action, suggestive material and brief language. Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments section! 2.5. Luc Besson's big-budget space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets stars Dane DeHaan as Valerian and Cara Delevingne as Laureline, two officers from ...
The First Valerian Reviews Are Here
The first reviews for Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets heap praise upon the movie's CGI and spectacle, if not so much its human protagonists. Valerian itself is an adaptation of the French sci-fi comic book series Valérian and Laureline (which turns 50 this year) and follows the misadventures of space/time-traversing crime fighters Valerian and Laureline, as played ...
Review: 'Valerian' Is a Rave in Space (but Not Much Fun)
Valerian. Directed by Luc Besson. Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi. PG-13. 2h 17m. By A.O. Scott. July 20, 2017. Much as I hesitate to predict the future in such crazy times, I feel I can say ...
'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' Review
Luc Besson's new sci-fi extravaganza 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as 28th-century operatives racing to save the universe.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
In the 28th century, special operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline work together to maintain order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the minister of defense, the ...
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Movie Review
Expensive and impressively, colorfully designed, this sci-fi/action movie is frequently silly and not always very smart, but it has a joyous exuberance and a sheer, dizzy love of the genre. Written and directed by Luc Besson and based on French comics by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ...
Valerian Cast & Character Guide: Where You've Seen The Actors Before
The Valerian cast includes talented actors such as Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, and Rutger Hauer. Content Warning: The following article contains mention of rape. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets may not be the most well-known movie, but the Valerian cast is certainly stacked with A-list talent.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Pictures
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Pictures and Photo Gallery -- Check out just released Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Pics, Images, Clips, Trailers, Production Photos and ...
The Best Alien Movie According To Rotten Tomatoes
My review aside, "Alien: Romulus" is currently sitting at a "fresh" 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Speaking of Rotten Tomatoes, you might be wondering what the best rated "Alien" movie is over on the ...
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice First Reviews: Michael Keaton ...
Burton. Burton. Burton. According to the first reviews of the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burton is back. Critics are mostly praising this return to the sort of work that got him fans in the first place, as the Beetlejuice follow-up is being called one of the rare great legacy sequels that captures the same magic as the original. ...
Reagan Movie Deeply Divides Critics & Audiences Like No Other 2024 Movie
Forget about the ongoing divide between Democrats and Republicans, because Reagan's wildly divergent Rotten Tomatoes scores reflect two completely different opinions when it comes to the new ...
The Worst Netflix Original Horror Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes
Beginning with the most rotten by a country mile, Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote's "The Open House" failed to impress even a tenth of the critics that reviewed, sitting at a pithy 7% on the Tomatometer.
Dennis Quaid's 'Reagan' Is an Audience Favorite, Despite 19% Rotten
Critics were certainly not impressed with the movie, with its average score on Rotten Tomatoes at a dysmal 19%. However, general audiences seem to be all over it, with the movie earning a ...
Jeremy Renner's 'Mayor of Kingstown' Redeems Rotten Tomatoes Score With
Jeremy Renner-led crime series Mayor of Kingstown has redeemed its Rotten Tomatoes score with Season 3. See how critics rank the series. Collider. Menu. Close. Movies Submenu. Movie News ...
The Order
Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets
Sam Raimi's 90% Rotten Tomatoes Neo-Noir Thriller Comes to ...
It currently holds a 90% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated for two Academy Awards; Best Adapted Screenplay for Scott Smith, who adapted his own 1993 novel, and Best Supporting ...
Rotten Tomatoes: Movies
Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets

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