The Fifth Element

Bonkers. Why are there not more films like this one?

The Fifth Element is a science-fiction comedy with its accent firmly on farce. The tale of how half a dozen different factions all end up fighting over a case of four world-saving stones is probably best defined by the scene in which Korben (Bruce Willis still playing David Addison) has most of these people simultanously show up at his flat hoping to steal his identity. He hides the alien girl in his shower. He hides the priest in his bed. He hides the army in his fridge. Then the cops arrive. More tea, vicar?

Director Luc Besson keeps hitting the viewer with more and more way-out imagery of his highly credible take on the twenty-third century. The roads, the aircrafts, the radio stations... there really is an entire society dreamt-up here.

And then, in the middle of all this cyberpunk chaos, he suddenly sticks in an entire opera number. And I do mean opera – it's an oasis of peace in such an otherwise noisy film.

Next to the excellent optical effects, the 90s CGI makes you chuckle, but there are so many good ideas in this, that this is one movie that will stand up to many viewings.

The film's core plot may be lacklustre rubbish, but everything else is a modern sf classic.