History Film / ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''The Fifth Element''. In fact, for the longest time, Besson felt that ''Element'' was [[SpiritualAdaptation the closest he'd come to making an adaptation of the comics]] but thanks to the advances in movie-making tech with ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', it was enough to convince him to fulfill his dreams.

** In the FirstContact montage, the Kortan Dahuk, the first alien race to meet humanity, look reluctant to shake hands. Presumably this is because they are unfamiliar with the gesture, because later aliens do it without hesitation, apparently having been briefed on human customs. The final group of aliens are eager to shake hands...and the human ambassador grimaces as he realizes his hand in covered in sticky fluid.

* DarkSkinnedBlond: Bubble, once she changes her appearance.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning:
** During the ProgressiveEraMontage of the growing SpaceStation, the last human vessel shown docking is a large vessel with spinning sections.
** [[spoiler:The Pearls']] spaceship has a sleek tetrahedron design that's constantly spinning around its various axes while on the move.

* NiceHat:
** Laureline invokes this when meeting their support for the ActionPrologue.
** She is later forced by the Boullan-Bathor to wear a hilariously huge one [[spoiler:during her captivity in Alpha's bowels]]. She even lampshades its insane size. [[spoiler:It's not a hat -- it's a [[ToServeMan dinner plate]].]]

* ShapeshifterShowoffSession: Bubble introduces herself by showing off her shapeshifting powers in a burlesque show in which she warps into a wide variety of fetish costumes: beginning with a Sally Bowles-style Cabaret outfit, she then shifts into a sexy nurse costume, then a schoolgirl getup, then a tribal costume complete with headdress, then a 1970s roller-skating costume with a massive blue afro, then a fetish catwoman outfit - before finally reverting to the Cabaret ensemble.

** Laureline tells the commanding operative "nice hat" before the mission, recreating an exchange from ''Film/TheFifthElement'' between Corben Dallas and a would-be mugger.

* DisposableSexWorker: [[spoile:Poor Bubble...]]

In the year [[TheFuture 2740]], Valerian and Laureline are special operatives for the government of the United Human Federation charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner – [[ChivalrousPervert blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance]]. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him. Under directive from their Commander, Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha. Alpha’s thirty million inhabitants have converged over time – uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

** Among a long line of food bearers, Laureline is made to carry some sliced lemons to the Boullan-Bathor emperor. [[spoiler:Turns out it's ''garnish'' - '''she''' is the meal! She figures it out when the fat slob grabs a tool for '''''slicing off the top of her head!''''']]

In the year [[TheFuture 2740]], Valerian and Laureline are special operatives for the government of the United Human Federation charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner – [[ChivalrousPervert blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance]]. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him. Under directive from their Commander, Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time – uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

The film was released 21 July 2017 worldwide and on 26 July in France. The first trailer can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BszXhUjJz00 here]]. It holds the record for most expensive French film ever produced (budget €197,470,000, which is about ''$220 million'').

* AdaptationDistillation: In the comics, Laureline and Valérian are Spatio-''Temporal'' Agents, a large part of whose job are time travel missions. In fact, Laureline was originally a woman from Medieval France who met Valérian during one of those missions, and who came with him to the 28th century. However, nothing about time travel or Laureline's past is mentioned in the movie, probably because it would've made the (already fairly complex) plot too confusing. The only small nod to that is when the computer mentions that the psychic imagery Valerian receives [[spoiler: (actually the Pearl princess's consciousness)]] could have come from any point in space ''and'' time.

** Ethan Hawke may also qualify, though he is more in the OneSceneWonder territory, due to playing the hilariously LargeHam [[spoiler: space pimp of Bubble]].

* BigBad: [[spoiler: Commander Filitt, who is the one responsible for the events by destroying Planet Mül.]]

* CaptainErsatz: The [[https://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Arysum-Kormn Arysum-Kormn]], the fourth alien race to contact Alpha, are very obviously based on the [[Film/{{Predator}} Predators]]. The tie-in mobile game also reveals they even have a culture that puts great emphasis on hunting.

** The Kortan Dahuk, the very first extraterrestrial race seen contacting mankind in the montage of how Alpha came to be, are a completely original creation for the movie. Same goes for the [[Film/{{Predator}} Yautja-like]] [[https://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Arysum-Kormn Arysum-Kormn]].

* DisposableSexWorker: [[spoiler: Poor Bubble...]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Commander Filitt couldn't care less that [[spoiler: he caused the near-genocide of an entire race and is attempting to finish the job to ensure his crime is covered up.]]

* KarmicDeath: The Boulan-Bathor emperor, who was [[spoiler: planning to slice off the top of Laureline's head, presumably to feast on her brain]], is killed when [[spoiler: Valerian comes to the rescue and slices off the top of ''his'' head in the process]]

* LadykillerInLove: Valerian for Laureline, [[spoiler: whom he tries to convince to marry him throughout the film to prove he's actually serious about her.]]

* MauveShirt: The two BridgeBunnies working for General Bar manage to handily survive [[spoiler: the K-Trons opening fire on Alpha's command center and wiping out most of the staff]]. In particular, Sergeant Neza, when ordered to get across a room during a gunfight, uses the same type of [[TemporaryPlatform platform gun]] used by Valerian earlier in the film, using it to make temporary cover while he moves, before [[spoiler:hotwiring the control to disable the countdown while under fire.]]
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: At the end, Laureline literally answers with "maybe" to Valerian's marriage proposal. Although she's finally willing to give a relationship with him a chance.]]

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: [[spoiler: Valerian finds himself faced with this dilemma when Laureline wants to return the transmutator to the Pearls. He insists that it's government property and that they don't have the right to give it up while Laureline insists that it's the right thing to do after everything the people have endured, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight regulations be damned]]. In the end, Valerian opts to support Laureline's decision to return the transmutator to the Pearls.]]

** [[spoiler: It's never revealed who or what the human fleet under Commander Filitt's command is fighting against over Planet Mül. Whatever they are, they're apparently formidable enough that Filitt has to deploy a devastating weapon that results in the entire planet's destruction to take them down.]]
** [[spoiler: So, what happened to the troops sent to investigate "the radiation"? Answer, since they were sent with K-trons, K-trons happened to them.]]
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler: The Pearl's plan to restore their home? It's actually just to rebuild and power a spaceship that projects their planet's physical setting virtually, but they are content enough with it.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: By the journey's end, [[spoiler:the Pearls succeed in restoring their way of life on board a ship that faithfully projects what their world was like, Commander Filitt has been exposed for his crimes, Valerian and Laureline are proven not guilty for their supposed "treason" and they finally tie the knot together]].

* EveryoneHasStandards: The owner of a brothel offering ShapeshiftersDoItForAChange services is introduced throwing out an overly perverted client.

* ForgivenButNotForgotten: [[spoiler:The Mül people will never forget what the humans (more specifically, Commander Flitt) did to their home planet, but they're willing to look past seeking simple revenge in favor of finding a way to restore their way of life]].

* GoGoEnslavement: {{Subverted}}. When Laureline is captured by the Boullan-Bathor, a servant coerces her to try on different dresses. As it's revealed however, she's not being forced to wear them to make herself sexually appealing but instead [[ToServeMan deliciously so]] for the species' emperor.

* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: The female Pearls look a lot like attractive women and they are in scanty clothing.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Commander Filitt couldn't care less that [[spoiler: he caused the near-genocide of an entire race and is attempting to finish the job to cover up his crime.]]
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Laureline is quite aggressive with the avian information brokers while asking them for information, shooting one in his wing and even threatening to kill them for not being immediately helpful.

* LadykillerInLove: Valerian for Laureline, whom he tries to convince to marry him throughout the film to prove his seriousness about her.

* ReallyGetsAround: Valerian's infamous "playlist" consists of every woman he's ever had a fling with. Judging by what's briefly shown on-screen, there are probably a hundred entries, if not more. Not bad for a guy who appears to be in his late twenties (his actor was 30 years old during filming) and has a dangerous full-time job. But, it serves as the reason why Laureline is reluctant to give a relationship with him a chance; he ends things with a woman just before it can become serious.

* SceneryPorn: The movie's visuals are absolutely ''stunning''.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Might as well be Laureline's CatchPhrase. She openly says that she's not big on following orders, which makes you wonder how she managed to become one of humanity's most elite agents.

** One of the first of many aliens we see in the opening scene bears a resemblance to the [[Film/TheFifthElement Mondoshawans]]. The press conference scene has an alien looking like one of Mangalores (from the same movie). Unsurprising, seeing how both films were by the same director.

* StealthInsult: When Alex tells Valerian that a scan shows his cerebral activity is a little more intense than usual, Laureline is shown giving a smirk.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: [[spoiler:Valerian finds himself faced with this dilemma when Laureline wants to return the transmutator to the Pearls. He insists that it's government property and that they don't have the right to give it up while Laureline insists that it's the right thing to do, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight regulations be damned]]. In the end, Valerian opts to support Laureline's decision to return the transmutator to the Pearls.]]

* UmbrellaDrink: Valerian is given one before watching Bubble's dance. Until she snatch the umbrella with a whip as part of the performance.

** [[spoiler:It's never revealed who or what the human fleet under Commander Filitt's command is fighting against over Planet Mül. Whatever they are, they're apparently formidable enough that Filitt has to deploy a devastating weapon that results in the planet's destruction to take them down.]]
** [[spoiler:So, what happened to the troops sent to investigate "the radiation"? Answer, since they were sent with K-trons, K-trons happened to them.]]
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler: The Pearl's plan to restore their home? It's actually just to rebuild and power a spaceship that projects their planet virtually, but they are content with it.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Commander Filitt could care less that [[spoiler:he caused the near-genocide of an entire race and is attempting to finish the job.]] He just doesn't want to get in trouble.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Valerian is an impulsive, cocky womanizer who tends to be condescending even to people who outrank him. His conversation with Bubble reveals that he's compensating because he doesn't want to show any weakness to others, even if it is sabotaging his attempts to woo Laureline because that's exactly what she dislikes about him.
* KarmicDeath: The Boulan-Bathor emperor, who was [[spoiler: planning to slice off the top of Laureline's head, presumably to feast on her brain]], is killed when [[spoiler:Valerian comes to the rescue and slices off the top of his head in the process]]

** Valerian isn't amused when Bubble taps into his memories of him and Laureline; it's at that point he puts a gun to her head and starts AggressiveNegotiations.
** Likewise when Laureline realizes that it's not Valerian bending over her with a cheap pick-up line (because she can see Valerian fighting nearby) she punches Bubble in the face.
--->'''Bubble:''' OK, I deserved that.
* LadykillerInLove: Valerian for Laureline.

* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end, Laureline literally says "maybe" to Valerian's marriage proposal]].

* MexicanStandoff: One that happens during the deal involving the Transmutator with Valerian, Igon, his personnel and [[spoiler:Mül people]] all pointing all sorts weaponry at each other.

* MomentKiller: When Valerian is about to kiss Laureline, an army of Boullan-Bathor charges at them.

* OverTheTopSecret: Everything about [[spoiler:Planet Mül]] is classified at an extreme level. Valerian tries to access the information, only to be told he needs a five-star General's clearance. When General Bar tries, he can't get into the files either as he lacks one star.

* ReallyGetsAround: Valerian's infamous "playlist" is implied to consist of all the women he's been with to date. Judging by what's briefly shown on screen, it counts roughly a hundred entries, possibly more. Not bad for a guy who appears to be in his late twenties (his actor was 30 years old at the time of filming) and has a dangerous full-time job with presumably little free time. It's one of the main reasons why Laureline is so reluctant to start anything serious with him.

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The transmutators look like an adorable reptile/rat/armadillo hybrid the size of a small cat, are totally docile and have some amazing abilities.

* ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: According to the update Valerian and Laureline get upon arriving to the station is that, since it left Earth's orbit 400 years ago, Alpha has traveled nearly 700 million miles... which equates to about 7.5 astronomical units. All this would put the station somewhere between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, not deep in interstellar space.

* ForgotAboutHisPowers: During the sequence where he chases the ship through the space station, Valerian shows the power armor to have all kinds of cool functions -- it's strong enough to bust through the station walls, it has jets on the boots, and it deploys forcefields for him to run across empty space on. Laureline has the exact same armor. She ''also'' has extreme martial arts skills, and broke out of a compound full of people who wanted to keep her there just a couple scenes ago. Yet when she's captured by the Boulan Bathor, she uses exactly none of these after talking her way out (which, to be fair, was a good place to start) doesn't work.
** Which is, ironically, not unlike her portrayal in the original comic where, in first issues, she'd mostly sit back while Valerian saves the day, after saving his life first.