A 1997 classic science fiction movie that is considered one of cinema’s greatest speculative stories can now be streamed for free. The movie boasts a star-studded cast giving career-defining performances, such as Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, and Chris Tucker.
The Fifth Element is now free to stream on Fandango at Home. The movie has become an important science fiction feature in the history of Hollywood. Oldman’s iconic villain and the performances delivered by Willis and Jovovich remain hallmarks of not just the movie, but also the era in which the movie was produced.
What makes The Fifth Element a sci-fi classic worth revisiting?
There are several reasons to explore or revisit the world of The Fifth Element. A lot of care went into realizing the futuristic world that the feature has to offer. During the time that The Fifth Element hit theaters, futuristic science fiction stories would usually take a dark and grim approach to imagining the future. French comic artists Jean “Moebius” Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières helped director Luc Besson imagine a bright world that felt more lived in rather than simply being another vision of a grimdark future.
The movie was also praised for how seamlessly it blended genres: being a space opera, a buddy comedy, an adventure story, and a romance all at once. The various moving parts of the film were carried well by its leads, Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich. The chemistry between the leads was also praised, feeling natural despite the movie’s imagined setting and complex ideas.
Gary Oldman received praise for his portrayal of Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, with Chris Tucker also receiving acclaim for playing radio host Ruby Rhod. The movie’s current Rotten Tomatoes score is at 71%, while boasting an audience score of 87% based on over 200,000 reviews. The feature was also a hit at the box office, justifying its $90 million budget with a final payday of $263.9 million.
