The full title refers to — the eponymous city of a thousand planets. What Besson achieves here is staggering. The film opens with a montage set to David Bowie’s "Space Oddity" showing the International Space Station gradually absorbing more and more international, then alien, docking ports over centuries. By the 28th century, Alpha is a teeming, bio-diverse metropolis the size of a moon.
The emotional and structural anchor of the film is Alpha, the titular "City of a Thousand Planets." The film’s brilliant opening sequence, set to David Bowie’s "Space Oddity," chronicles the real-world history of the International Space Station. Over centuries, human astronauts welcome increasingly bizarre alien species, docking new modules to the station until it becomes too massive for Earth's orbit. Pushed into deep space, Alpha evolves into a floating metropolis of 30 million inhabitants.
For every viewer who watches it for the first time, the reaction is usually the same: confusion followed by awe. You don’t watch Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets for the characters; you watch it to live inside a Mézières painting. And in that regard, it is an unqualified masterpiece.
Alpha is the titular "City of a Thousand Planets." It started centuries prior as the International Space Station (ISS) in Earth's orbit. Over generations, thousands of different alien species connected their own vessels and habitats to the structure, creating an ever-expanding, floating metropolis where millions of creatures from all corners of the cosmos share their knowledge, cultures, and technologies. Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets - E...
: The first alien species to integrate into Alpha, known for their distinct abstract physiology. 💼 Economic Ambition and the Box Office Gamble
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Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) is a polarizing feast for the eyes—a $180 million personal gamble The full title refers to — the eponymous
Visually, the film is a triumph. From the "Big Market"—a multi-dimensional bazaar that requires special goggles to see—to the bioluminescent paradise of the Mül planet, Besson pushes digital effects to their absolute limit. Every frame is packed with imaginative creature designs and vibrant color palettes that stand in stark contrast to the gritty, "lived-in" aesthetic popularized by other sci-fi franchises. The Protagonists: Valerian and Laureline
While the film received mixed reviews for its casting and dialogue, it is universally praised for its . From the "Big Market"—a multi-dimensional bazaar that exists in a different frequency—to the bioluminescent beauty of the planet Mül, every frame is packed with intricate detail. Besson’s vision offers a refreshing alternative to the "lived-in," gritty look of Star Wars , opting instead for a lush, psychedelic aesthetic.
This sequence showcases Besson’s narrative dexterity. Valerian (Dane DeHaan) navigates the physical desert world while simultaneously fighting extraction teams in the multi-tiered, virtual metropolis. The sequence demands that the audience track two realities at once, utilizing inventive camera work and editing to seamlessly bridge the gap between a barren wasteland and a neon-drenched shopping mega-mall. It remains one of the most original action concepts in 21st-century science fiction. The Tragedy of Mül: A Visual Echo of Avatar By the 28th century, Alpha is a teeming,
The core achievement of Valerian is the titular "City of a Thousand Planets," known as Alpha. The film’s opening sequence—a montage set to David Bowie’s "Space Oddity"—functions as a historical primer on the evolution of Alpha from a human space station to a multi-species megacity. This sequence establishes the film’s central theme: the necessity of multicultural cooperation and the physical manifestation of diplomacy.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: An Extravagant Sci-Fi Epic
The film is celebrated for its imaginative alien designs and vibrant color palettes. Key locations include:
Critically, Valerian is a polarizing experience. It favors wonder and imagination over the traditional grit of modern sci-fi. It doesn't try to be a dark military thriller; instead, it embraces the vibrant, psychedelic spirit of European comic art. For viewers who miss the era of grand, colorful space operas, Valerian offers a refreshing escape. It is a film that rewards high-definition viewing, as the sheer density of the "thousand planets" represented on screen is impossible to catch in a single sitting.