A rerelease review · dir. Luc Besson · seen at the Regal Atlantic Station
I recently got to take Karly to a rerelease of The Fifth Element.
I saw it in theaters all those years ago. I was in my teens, and until The Matrix came along, that was my movie. I was excited to go, and also a little cautious. Tango & Cash did not age well, and I loved it as a kid. But I was not too worried. When I got to watch the Atlanta Symphony recreate the Diva's opera sceneDiva PlavalagunaPlayed by Maïwenn, sung by Inva Mula. The aria is "Il dolce suono" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, then the part no soprano can actually sing. with the original singer, I knew there is still a lot of love for this movie.
Karly had seen it at home with her dad, but never on the big screen.
I love the Regal at Atlantic Station. It makes me feel like I am in Hollywood or New York. We went full monty: drinks, popcorn, hot dog, tenders. I highly recommend the VIP showings any time you get the chance, and if you see two movies a month, get the Regal Unlimited pass. Costco sells the gift cards cheap. Rereleases like this one usually come through Fathom, so that is the calendar to watch.
When the opening credits played, oh man.
The movie is kooky and over the top. I am sure there was CGI in there, but it mostly felt like I had gone back to the days of optical printing and physical effects. The aliens and Luke PerryLuke PerryAs Billy, the archaeologist's assistant, in the Egypt cold open. Four minutes of screen time and he sets the whole tone. at the start, and you knew this was going to be different. Then the Empire-looking set for the President's situation room. I just cannot describe it. The teen in me got excited all over again for the spacefaring carrier. "Anything bigger than the 260s."
All the behind-the-scenes stuff I looked up, or got with the special release on VHS and DVD, came flooding back. The secret language Milla JovovichMilla JovovichAs Leeloo. She and Besson built out the Divine Language to around 400 words and wrote letters to each other in it. They married the year the film came out. and Luc BessonLuc BessonStarted writing this at sixteen. Spent a decade trying to get it made. Jean Paul Gaultier designed roughly a thousand costumes for it. made up and actually talked in. I would not be surprised if they hooked up during that. The connection came through then and it comes through now. Milla sold the movie.
Besson's vision of a dark, grimy New York, the golden arches still up there, moody with its manic points. I knew Bruce WillisBruce WillisAs Korben Dallas. The orange tank top and suspenders are Gaultier, and somehow they read as work clothes. from Die Hard, but I think this was my first exposure to Chris TuckerChris TuckerAs Ruby Rhod. Prince was offered the part and turned it down. Impossible to imagine now.. He took that role and made it entirely his own. Super green.
Rewatching it, it felt like a bunch of disparate scenes and characters thrown together. They made it work, and I do not know how.
There are dozens of nitpicks and story holes. Any one of them could have thrown the whole movie off. I do not know what the magic of this thing is, but I love it.
Karly, I think, loved it more than I did. Movies like this bonded her and her dad. He was jealous he could not see it with us.
You should have come, Don.
I do not know when the powers that be will decide to release it again. Whenever they do, I highly recommend it.
Seen September 2026 at the Regal Atlantic Station ·
rasp1.com · also me: jasondpike.com
Somebody in this room is bugged.