History Film / TheFifthElement

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_fifth_element.jpg]]

-->'''Aknot:''' You asked for a case, we brought you a case.

* FaintInShock:
** Vito Cornelius, when he meets Leeloo for the first time and realizes who she is.

* TheyDo: The film ends with [[spoiler:Korben and Leeloo making love in a regeneration chamber]].

** The larger of the two cops getting their lunch at UsefulNotes/McDonalds is played by Mac [=McDonald=], well known (in the UK, at least) for playing Captain Frank Hollister, the ranking officer in charge of ''Series/RedDwarf''.

* CastingGag: The man waiting impatiently at [=McDonald=]'s is played by Mac [=McDonald=].

* StealthPun: The cop at the [=McDonald's=] Drive-Thru is played by [[Series/RedDwarf Mac McDonald]].

* NothingCanStopUsNow: Munro is assured that Leeloo's containment vessel is unbreakable. Thirty seconds later, she breaks through the glass with her bare hands, no less! Also counts as SpecialEffectsFailure, as the obviously whole glass has quite clearly been replaced with a visible breakaway circle for Leeloo to punch, and the timing is slow enough that you'll probably notice it without having to pause.

* OffhandBackhand: Done by Leeloo after brawling with a Mangalore strike force.

* MickeyMousing: Happens when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0qy3JHz6X0 the Diva is singing an opera and Leeloo is kicking some ass against aliens.]]

* HulaAndLuaus: Welcome to Fhloston Paradise!

* WeAllLiveInAmerica: Inverted. Korben lives in New York, and loses all five points left on his driver's license. In America, points are added for traffic violations, whereas in France, points are removed.

** Ruby Rhod and his entourage play every camp stereotype to the hilt, even though they're not gay. Just because Ruby's fabulous doesn't mean he doesn't love the ladies. A lot, as evidenced by his tryst with a flight attendant during the takeoff of the ship to Fhloston Paradise. According to the DVDCommentary, Ruby (originally named "Loc") is a combination of Music/{{Prince}} and Lenny Kravitz. Ruby even oddly uses the female pronoun when referring to himself on radio, calling himself ''Miss'' Ruby Rhod.
** Also applies to Baby Ray, the deaf "star of stage and screen", who is surrounded by a gaggle of admiring ladies when we first meet him. If anything, it seems like this is the fashion of the future and Korben is the aberration as a manly man. Or it's a class thing, as they're both wealthy celebrities, and Korben is very much working class. Zorg's outrageous "space Hitler meets Frank-N-Furter" fashion supports this hypothesis.

* ClosetShuffle: A rather spectacular example involving multiple people and a truly improbable selection of hiding places (including a freezer and a self-making pull-out bed). None of the people Korben hides enjoy their hiding places very much. Leeloo gets wet and cold when the shower began its self-cleaning cycle, the military guys are frozen, and Cornelius nearly suffocates under the plastic that the bed wraps itself in.

* CrapsackWorld: New York City is an overcrowded and polluted PoliceState. It is implied that Zorg's influence may have spread this beyond the city's borders.

* DisapprovingLook: The President is giving these constantly, but it's especially strong when Korben turns the quiet recon mission into a bloodbath filled with AggressiveNegotiations.

* {{Flying Car}}s: Haven't improved New York's traffic problems any.
* FoodPills: Leeloo pours a small amount of food pellets into a bowl, puts the bowl in a microwave-like device, closes the door, presses ''a'' button, and opens the door again, pulling out an ''instant roast chicken with all the trimmings''. Forget faster-than-light travel; ''that'' is clearly the pinnacle of human achievement.

* FunPersonified: Ruby Rhod

* HonorBeforeReason: The Mangalores may have their own skewed concept of what is and isn't honorable, but they otherwise abide by this trope in spades.
* HostageSituation: "Anyone else want to negotiate?"

* MeaningfulName: [[IronicName Employed ironically]] with Zorg, whose personal names -- "Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel", i.e. John the Baptist and a name for the Messiah -- are incredibly ill-suited for a CorruptCorporateExecutive who's trying to ''end'' the world instead of saving it.

* MegaCorp: Zorg is the CEO of an eponymous one, which employs so many people that he can apparently ''slow the economy down at will'' by instituting layoffs.

* MoodWhiplash: All in the space of a single opera song, we go from aching melancholy, to a fightscene overlaid with much happier (and rockier) music... and then suddenly Leeloo is in mortal danger, the Diva gets shot and all Hell breaks loose.
* MoreDakka: The ZF-1. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T6ANbL3SMw Holy shit, the ZF-1]].

* NakedOnArrival: Add one more trope for Leeloo, though to be fair they did build her from a severed hand up.

* PlankGag: Ruby Rhod accidentally knocks out a flight attendant behind him by swirling around his mic/pimp-cane.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Twice it happens with Leeloo, as she changes to normal clothing in Cornelius' apartment, and taking off wet clothes in Korben's.

* ThePowerOfLove: The fifth element only ignites when Korben declares his love for Leeloo and kisses her. Albeit Luc Besson tried to claim it's actually sex.
* PrefersTheTrueForm: Zorg meets a group of Mangalores disguised as humans.

* ProudWarriorRace: The Mangalores ''try'' to be this, but are hampered by being dumb as rocks. In practice they're just LawfulStupid thugs.

** "I am... a little... disappointed. And if there's one thing... I do not like... it is to be... disappointed."
** "I! AM! ''VERY! DISAPPOINTED!"

** "Jean-Baptiste... Emanuel... Zorg."

* PushyGunTotingVillain: Attempted, but very quickly subverted [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]]: A thief attempts to rob Korben Dallas at gunpoint when he tricks him into opening his apartment's front door. However, the thief seems too hopped-up on drugs to think straight...

''[the viewpoint turns out to be a [[CameraSpoofing photo attached to some headgear, which the thief is wearing]]]''\\
'''Thief:''' ''[visibly shaking, points an energy rifle at Dallas]'' HA! uuuurgh... gimme the caaash...\\

'''Thief:''' YEAHOKAYNOWCOMEONGIMMETHECASSSHHHHHHHHHH...\\

* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: Leeloo's DNA has over 200,000 "memo strands," as opposed to a normal human's 40. Early in the movie, a probe is reported to malfunction and read "minus five thousands", which brings up the point of how that is measured (since it would be far below absolute zero).

* ReallyWasBornYesterday: Leeloo is literally Born Yesterday as a fully sexualized adult woman but has the behaviour, intelligence and attitudes of a young child.

* {{Roboteching}}: The ZF-1 does this with bullets. It's just that good. The ZF-1's Replay function was so iconic it [[FollowTheLeader inspired several guns in later works]], like the Bullseye Rifle in ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}''.
* RubberForeheadAliens: Both played straight with Plava Laguna and averted with the Mondoshawans. The Mangalores subvert it, in that they appear to be inspired by Star Trek-type humanoid aliens but have high-tec anamatronic complete facial prosthetics that make them seem very authentic.

::: [[DescriptionCut Cue the button test]], and Zorg [[UnflinchingWalk blows cigarette smoke nonchalantly]] with StuffBlowingUp behind him.

* ChanceActivation: David does this with the Air element stone.

* NeverTrustATrailer: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Hart3UKEQ&t=3s&ab_channel=BreadCrustCouncil teaser]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLwb5brB3lA&t=11s&ab_channel=BreadCrustCouncil trailers]] seems that will be a science-fiction horror mystery thriller film similar to films that came out years before this like ''Film/TheThing1982'' and of course ''Film/EventHorizon''. When the film was released, the film turns out to be nothing but another humorous action flick in similar way to films ''Film/DieHard'' (which Bruce Willis also starred in) and of course ''Film/DemolitionMan'', but with a bit of violence toned-down.

''The Fifth Element'' is a [[TheNineties 1997]] English-language French ScienceFiction {{Film}} produced by Gaumont. The brainchild of producer, director and screenwriter Creator/LucBesson, it stars Creator/BruceWillis, Creator/GaryOldman, Creator/MillaJovovich, Creator/ChrisTucker and Creator/IanHolm. The soundtrack was composed by Besson's longtime collaborator, Éric Serra. It was released by Creator/ColumbiaPictures in North America, while in France it was released by Creator/{{Disney}} under Gaumont Buena Vista International.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: The film ends with [[spoiler:Korben and Leeloo making love in a regeneration chamber]].

* SciFiBobHaircut: Leeloo.

* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Ruby Rhod. A lot.

* TheTaxi: Dallas's job.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Korben gets a second-hand case of this during the police control, when his neighbor opts to flip the police off and shout "SMOKE YOU!" instead of cooperating. Korben visibly winces when he hears it, and mutters "wrong answer" just before the gunshot.

** Zorg has this reaction just from being told "[[UltimateEvil Mr. Shadow]]" is calling him.

* RaceAgainstTheClock: They have 48 hours before the BigBad UltimateEvil "becomes acclimated" and is able to attack.

* VictorySex: [[spoiler:At the end of the film, the President of TheFederation can't congratulate Korben Dallas and Leeloo on defeating the UltimateEvil and saving Earth because... they're busy. They need... five more minutes.]]

* {{Irony}}: Zorg's first attempt to get the stones is thwarted by Atnok and his men bringing him the empty case that had held the stones, [[ExactWords since he asked for a case;]] Zorg blasts them for their stupidity. Later in the film [[spoiler:Zorg steals what he believes to be a box holding the stones, but crucially doesn't check to see that they're actually in there]].

** Then there's the pileup onboard the Fhloston Paradise. [[spoiler:Korben and Leeloo wait for after the Diva's performance to get the stones. The Mangalores, having already infiltrated the ship, raid the Diva's suite looking for the stones. They're met by Leeloo, who kicks their asses. This prompts Aknot to initiate a takeover of the ship. During this, Zorg comes on board, finds Leeloo holding what he thinks are the stones, shoots at her, and leaves, planting a bomb as he departs, only to find it didn't have the stones. Korben recovers the stones from the Diva herself, then fights and defeats the Mangalores. At that point, he finds Zorg's bomb, prompting an evacuation. Zorg returns to deactivate his bomb, but is then killed by another planted by a surviving Mangalore.]]

* MissedHimByThatMuch: Zorg and Korben's group miss each other by seconds when trying to escape the hotel. Bonus points for this actually being the moment where Korben and Zorg, the main protagonist and the main antagonist, are closest to each other ''in the entire movie''.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Following the blunders of his own staff and the mercenaries he hired. Zorgs's attempts to take matters into his own hands fall foul to the same incompetence that his underlings had. Going by himself, he fails to check the case for the stones and is eventually blown up when his attempts coincide with the angalore's attack on the cruise ship.

* SuprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Following the blunders of his own staff and the mercenaries he hired. Zorgs's attempts to take matters into his own hands fall foul to the same incompetence that his underlings had. Going by himself, he fails to check the case for the stones and is eventually blown up when his attempts coincide with the Mandalor's attack on the cruise ship.

* EvilLaugh: Zorg gets one, then breaks down in tears, when he finds that the box he stole is empty (again).

* OverlyLongScream: Ruby Rhod is prone to these when things get hectic. The biggest explosion in the film is ''accompanied by one.''

* IncrediblyObviousBug: Literally: the bad guy uses a cockroach fitted with an antenna to spy on the president. Of course, there's a downside to this: the President squashes the bug (and the microphone) when it climbs onto the desk. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrHMBletjXg Goodbye, eardrums!]][[note]]LifeImitatesArt[=/=]TechMarchesOn: ''[[http://wireheading.com/roboroach/index.html We can already do this]].''[[/note]]

* CameraSpoofing: A thief at the beginning of the film does this to Korben's apartment camera by wearing a hat with a picture of the background on it. Thus, by tilting his head at the camera, it looks like everything's clear. Then he pops up and tries to mug Korben. Korben tricks him into turning the gun safety on, takes his gun, then compliments the NiceHat.

* NiceHat: Korben offers this compliment to the mugger's door-camera-spoofing headgear.

* UrineTrouble: The idiot with the NiceHat who tries to mug Korben, in addition to his nervousness and possible drug issues, is acting like he desperately needs to take a piss. Korben notices and comments, "Been here long?"

** There are several to ''Franchise/StarWars'': the ships of Earth's military fleet look like bloated Star Destroyers, Major Iceborg (who was meant to pose as Korben's wife) has Princess Leia's ''Film/ANewHope'' hairstyle only cranked UpToEleven, Vito Cornelius appears shortly after sporting a brown cape like Ben Kenobi, and at the temple in Egypt Ruby Rhod holds a neon light stick tightly like a Jedi Knight holding a lightsaber.