50
This is a prodigious something. It's just difficult to say whether that something is good or evil.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
20
It may or may not be the worst movie ever made, but it is one of the most unhinged.
50
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The action is fast, furious, and as wacky as science fantasy gets.
50
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Besson may have misfired with The Fifth Element, but at least he does it with flair and a sense of humor.
50
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
As a yammering, swishy talk show host, Chris Tucker is flat-out incomprehensible, while Mr. Oldman preens evilly enough to leave tooth marks on the scenery.
80
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
The cast is a delight, but it's Willis who is the film's true "fifth element," giving it life, depth and humanity.
30
Chicago Reader by Lisa Alspector
Even the revelation of what the fifth element is at the end is disingenuous--in fact, the archness of this whole project is repellent.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Stack
What an attempt, and what a work of the imagination. The Fifth Element' will change the look of science fiction and will probably be imitated for years.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
The movie unreels like a depressive in a manic phase, a frenzy of lightning-fast cuts, cuts, cuts.
50
But for all the fancy-schmancy effects (budget: $90 million-plus), the vision of a hypercongested metropolis is not much more sophisticated than an episode of "The Jetsons." [9 May 1997]