David Bowie introduces the first five minutes of Valerian, and perhaps its fitting we should have the Starman himself lead us into a glimpse of what the future could hold for humans and all interstellar life.By the time Mr. Bowie completes his Space Oddity, we've learned that the titular City of a Thousand Planets is the international space station hundreds of years in the future.suddenly, a peaceful seashell world is decimated without explanation.from there, Valerian and Laureline take over the action as two agents in pursuit of their stolen commander, and everything gets weird from there. Director Luc Besson is his own starman here, and he commands the world of Valerian with pizazz and passion. Not everything works, as our space agents wrestle dialogue that falls pancake flat; but the actors play well off each other and comedic moments succeed more than fail. The ending half of the film loses steam,except for Rihanna's literally acrobatic performance,but Valerian is a bonkers crazy, geeky, and likable space opera that can only come from someone who's imagination is truly free.
