The Fifth Element was arguably the most divisive movie of 1997. Having already garnered a reputation for style over substance, director Luc Besson’s vision of the mid-23rd century was brash and blunt. Detractors argued, perhaps not unreasonably, that Milla Jovovich could have been given more than a series of strategically placed belts to wear for the movie’s first half, and that Chris Tucker could have done more than scream at a pitch usually reserved for cowing dogs in its second.
