Sightlines · reception
How The Fifth Element was received
1997 · Luc Besson · The Fifth Element on Sightlines
The arc
Critics in 1997 were split — it opened Cannes to a mix of boos and cheers, and American reviews called it gorgeous nonsense — but it was a big international hit and has since settled into beloved cult-classic status, routinely cited as one of the great maximalist sci-fi films.
What’s debated
The eternal fault line is Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod: for half the audience he's the film's chaotic soul, for the other half he's the reason they can't finish it — plus the perennial 'style over substance' charge that fans wear as a badge.
Its footprint
'Multipass!' is a permanent meme, Leeloo's orange straps and Korben's tank top are convention-cosplay staples, and the blue Diva's opera scene is one of the most referenced (and remixed) sequences in 90s sci-fi.
Where it stands
A canonical cult object and Letterboxd comfort-watch — the go-to answer for 'weird big-budget sci-fi that could never get made today'.
Did you know? It was the most expensive European-financed film ever made at the time (~$90 million), with its world designed by French comic-book legends Jean 'Moebius' Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières — and Prince was Besson's original choice to play Ruby Rhod.