In what’s either a cruel twist of fate or a lesson that really needs to be learned, two of the most expensive independently-financed movies in history are lavish sci-fi blockbusters designed with the intention of launching a franchise, both of which belly-flopped in theaters.
One minor positive is that Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets didn’t tank quite as horrendously as Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall after earning $226 million at the box office, but a pre-tax production budget estimated to be hovering around the $200 million mark ensured that it still lost a ton of money.
A 48 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and 53 percent user rating is hardly the reception on which sequels are built, but that doesn’t mean Valerian isn’t without its supporters. In fact, an argument is currently raging on Reddit as to whether or not the visually stunning but narratively empty feast for the eyes deserved the fate it ended up suffering.
As you’d expect, opinion is split right down the middle on the merits of Valerian, which boasted no shortage of style but very little in the way of substance. Leads Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevigne were blatantly miscast, though, and it’s never a great idea for a mega budget space opera to come carrying a pair of leads that you don’t forge any sort of tangible emotional investment in, or connection with.
It would even be a stretch to call Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets a cult classic at this stage in time, but maybe that’s a reputation it’ll secure one day when more time has passed and a sizeable underground fandom has been cultivated.
