ALT.SF4M

  The Fifth Element (small spoilers)

   • j********o@***.com
     10/05/1997 00:00:000 UTC

     I liked it. Although it was definitely a science fiction movie, it was

     more an action movie. French elements were palatable because it wasn't

     done in the French style (i.e., trivial and boring intellectualism and

     philosophizing, artistic schlock, incoherence) . French

     SF/Science-fantasy elements were acceptable because the movie (or, at

     least, the characters) didn't take the plot too seriously. Visually, it

     was like a tour of OMNI magazine's classic ('80's) illustrations, but
     done

     with a contagious affection that stifled the annoyance one might expect.

     (Is OMNI still around? I haven't seen it in years, but I've heard

     references to it. Lately I keep running into things which remind me of

     it...)

     I like the way the good-guy aliens are mysterious and god-like in 1914,

     but by the 23rd Century, they're just another alien species, with a

     consulate, and ships that stop at the border to get permission to enter

     human space, etc.. The Supreme Being should get herself some hips: bony

     or curvy, it doesn't matter, but get 'em. She has that larval look so

     common to fashion models (I think it's because fashion designers hate

     curves: the latter are hard to drape, and, needless to say, the former

     are boofoos.)

     Entirely amusing, in my opinion.

     Gorno