The Fifth Element
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date: May 9, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The action is fast, furious, and as wacky as science fantasy gets. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
As a yammering, swishy talk show host, Chris Tucker is flat-out incomprehensible, while Mr. Oldman preens evilly enough to leave tooth marks on the scenery. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Besson may have misfired with The Fifth Element, but at least he does it with flair and a sense of humor. Read full review
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
But for all the fancy-schmancy effects (budget: $90 million-plus), the vision of a hypercongested metropolis is not much more sophisticated than an episode of "The Jetsons." [9 May 1997]
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
This is a prodigious something. It's just difficult to say whether that something is good or evil. Read full review
50
Film ThreatJimmy Chertkow
The story is such a cut-rate kid's sci-fi fairy tale that at one point Evil actually calls Gary Oldman on the phone (and it isn't played for laughs). Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's all densely imagined and more than a little goofy -- perhaps too goofy for the average American viewer. Read full review
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Ultimately a mess of diverse ingredients that sorely could have used a rigorous screening process to eliminate all the chaff. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverPeter Rainer
With Besson, it's all eye candy; despite all of his mythic posturing, his loop-the-loop camera moves and in-your-face fandangos are the true substance of his films. And that's not much substance. He's a dry-hump orgiast. Read full review
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