Critic's Grade: B

The opening scene in "The Fifth Element" features a race of robotic aliens landing in early 1900's Egypt to reclaim a collection of stones representing the elements of Earth, which they will keep in their care until the human race is set upon by evil. Prior to this, a scientist makes the discovery of a fifth element, a superior, perfect being that completes the protective force of the combined elements which would eliminate all evil.

This is the first movie in recent memory that throws such a bombastic approach at its audience within the initial five minutes. It's the type of opening sequence that separates the men from the boys, so to speak: you're either in, or you're out. You either want to go along with the film's premise, which seems hokey but holds promise of becoming better in later developments, or you automatically look at it as deplorably idiotic and absurd, even for the science fiction genre.

As the movie advances three hundred years into the future, enthusiasts will adore the plot twists, while those in opposition will roll their eyes until they go blind. We learn that a large fiery mass, residing in space, has become mad as hell that its human counterparts have decided to agitate it, and thus it becomes a destructive force of pure, unabashed evil, consuming everything in its path on its way to envelop Earth in darkness. We meet Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm), the priest whose life work has led up to the ensuing battle between good and evil, the second of which finds a human advocate in Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman), a corporate big-shot whose greed drives him to pursue the four elements before Evil can be stopped.

On the civilian side, we are introduced to Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), a taxicab driver who becomes the caretaker for his sudden fare, a young, seemingly foreign girl (Milla Jovovich, later named Leeloo) who shows great strength and aptitude who happens to be the fifth element spoken of in earlier events, now spawned to save mankind. The multiple storylines gather together as the film progresses: Korben joins forces with Cornelius as they struggle to protect Leeloo while evading Zorg's forces in their pursuit of the remaining four elements, which hold the key to Earth's salvation.

Throughout the film, we find ourselves in the midst of technological advancements so complex and awe-inspiring, those which take our characters through multiple universes and galaxies, and through cities as tall as the imagination can envision. There is an early sequence in the movie that takes place as a chase between the police and Korben's cab; he skirts through the airborne streets, dodging in between buildings and multiple levels of traffic, winding his way up and down, across, under and over cars and structures through an endless unfolding image that captures our eyes and our most expansive imaginative daydreams.

And that's just the beginning. We're taken to such places as a floating city on a water-covered planet, to the vast expanses of space, where Evil is steadfastly making its way to Earth. I particularly felt a slight sense of fear over director Luc Besson's envisionment of Evil, which has no defining personality save for its intent to destroy, thus making it all the more easy to root for the good guys.

The cast works remarkably well with the material, chewing it up with gusto the likes of which hasn't been seen in years. I found Willis's performance to be full of great comedic enlightenment, while at the same time quite emotional in his later scenes with Jovovich, who is the perfect asset to her character's naivety and childlike outlook on the world she will be saving. Oldman instills into his character supreme wit and intellect, while he and Holm make viable adversaries in the battle for the elements.

Besson works his visual storytelling into the plot with incredible ease and great craftsmanship. We can identify with the battle between good and evil through the characters, making it easy to accept certain machinations on the part of screenwriters Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, who dabble perhaps too much in over-the-top twists like the inclusion of Chris Tucker's character, an annoyingly loud, cross-dressing radio host who screams, squeals, and shrieks to the point of absurdity. There is also an overwhelming sense of underachievement here: where the material feels as if it has the potential to be powerful, perhaps moving, the story settles once too many times into the routine, as if it has nowhere to go.

But to discredit the piece as a whole because of its lack of a touching premise is going too far. If there's one thing the movie does not lack, it is imagination, and that, above all else, can capture an audience for its entire. "The Fifth Element" may be short on brains, but it has enough raw energy and delectable brawn to hold us in a vice of supercharged action and eye-popping intensity.

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