A wildly imaginative sci-fi action adventure with runaway production design, comic-book energy, and a gleefully overstuffed sense of spectacle. It’s uneven and very much of its era, but the visual invention, costume work, and committed performances make it a standout cult blockbuster.
The Fifth Element
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Science Fiction · Action
Fri · 2h 6m
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman
Overview
In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.
Director
Luc Besson
Cast
Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly imaginative sci-fi action adventure with runaway production design, comic-book energy, and a gleefully overstuffed sense of spectacle. It’s uneven and very much of its era, but the visual invention, costume work, and committed performances make it a standout cult blockbuster.
Best for
viewers who like flamboyant sci-fi worlds and maximalist design
fans of campy, high-energy action with a playful tone
people who enjoy quotable cult movies with big personality
audiences looking for a colorful alternative to darker sci-fi
Skip if
you want tightly plotted, serious science fiction
you dislike camp, broad comedy, or heightened performances
you are sensitive to dated gender politics and sexualized characterization
you prefer understated visual style over loud, glossy excess
Overview
The Fifth Element is pure late-90s sci-fi excess in the best and messiest sense. It throws together space opera, action comedy, fashion-show futurism, and cartoonish villainy, then keeps escalating until the whole movie feels like a neon fever dream. The worldbuilding is the real star: every frame is packed with texture, color, and absurd detail.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is how confidently it commits to its own weirdness. Bruce Willis plays it dry, Milla Jovovich gives the film its ethereal center, and the supporting cast leans into the chaos with total abandon. The result is less a polished masterpiece than a deliriously entertaining artifact of blockbuster imagination.
Bottom line
It’s also a movie that invites mixed reactions. Some will see charm in its camp and visual audacity; others will bounce off the tonal whiplash and the dated treatment of women. If you’re open to a big, loud, unapologetically strange sci-fi ride, it remains easy to recommend.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Roberto_ (4★) · 4175 likes
nobody: leeloo: 😝 MULTIPASS!!! 😎
aaron (4.5★) · 3651 likes
jean paul gaultier costume design living in my head rent free
rudi (3.5★) · 3008 likes
Ruby Rhod
claira curtis (2.5★) · 2494 likes
“What’s the use of saving life if you live to see what you do with it?” The Fifth Element has horrific female representation. Whether it’s the overly sexualized background characters, the demonization of the male protagonist’s mother, or the lack of prioritization of arguably the most crucial character of the entire film, Leeloo, the overall sensation I got from the watch was: the men are more important. I watched The Fifth Element because I thought it was a female focused… more
Vinny Simms (3.5★) · 2134 likes
ah, so the fifth element is horny
Themes
space opera, save-the-world quest, camp, dystopian future, identity and humanity, spectacle, fashion-forward futurism, action comedy