Besson has made good films? The Fifth Element remains one of my most hated films of all time. I guess Subway is okay. Dated but it has a lively energy and some good performances.
Ari,
Are you not a fan of either Leon or Nikita? Or have you not seen them?
Leon is really good of course. I really liked Angel-A. The Fifth Element was fun. And I really want to see Nikita which I might watch tonight now that I think about it.
LE DERNIER COMBAT AKA THE LAST BATTLE. I THINK IT IS HIS BEST BY FAR.
I liked both films when I was a teenager but the Besson aesthetic really dates badly for me. And now that he’s become the millennium’s version of Golan-Globus, it just makes his work look retroactively even emptier.
Le Dernier Combat-His first is his best!
I’m a disgustingly huge fan of Leon. None of his other work comes close, in my opinion.
The only Luc Besson film I like is Arthur et les Minimoys ( 2006 ). The cast, which includes Robert De Niro, Harvey Kietel, Madonna, David Bowie, and Snoop Dog, makes it worthwhile for me.
The sequel, Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard (2009 ), replaces Bowie with Lou Reed, and isn’t half bad. For fans of Bowie and Lou Reed, like myself, these two films are worth a watch.
I really like Angel-A, and it is my favorite film from him. I also think Leon is very strong. La Femme Nikita had it’s moments (few translated in Point of No Return), The Big Blue has some solid cinematograpy, and Fifth Element is jst a good ol’ popcorn flick and there is nothing wrong with that.
almost all the ones he directed are good.
Did not love The messenger or the miniboys at all.
Big Blue is his best
R U KIDDING?
THE BIG BLUE IS TOTALLY LEGIT
THE MESSENGER IS TOTALLY LEGIT
LE FEMME NIKITA IS TOTALLY LEGIT
LEON IS ON MY TOP 10 ALL TIME
Angela-A was pretty good, and The Fifth Element is enjoyable. I want to see The Last Combat very badly I’m sure it’s great.
Isn’t The Messenger supposed to be one of the worst movies ever?
I’m not sure there’s much to his filmography, though I guess I prefer the Cinema du look stuff to his later films.
Leon is one of my favorite films, everything else I have seen of his has left me way disappointed.
The Fifth Element is in my top ten favorite films, I know it has plot holes and many continuity errors, but it’s still high in my books.
No, The Messenger is actually good. It got a bad wrap because at the time everyone was expecting braveheart2 (due to timing/marketing etc) but yeah, I’d say besson has a very good track record, that guy is solid.
I was going to say, it seemed suspicious that The Messenger was made out to be crap in this country while landing Cesar nominations in all the major categories. I assumed, PERHAPS, there’s something the Americans were not picking up on.
I’m with Ari. His films have not stood up well. There is no substance to them. Leon is decent, but even that gets on my nerves today, even if it’s still watchable.
Haven’t watched Angela A yet.
Let me just say that I find it diffcult to even consider Besson a director. He is the Fench Michael Bay.
The tv spin off of Nikita was better than the film.
The Professional is kiddie porn with some of the worst over acting by Oldman. He is nearly Shatner-esqe in that film.
Seriously Besson is an insult to cinema and even the Michael Bay comparsion is not worthy as at least Bay knows what he is doing is just purely product. I don’t believe Besson is that self aware.
The only worse director I can think of is Guy Ritichie.
Tom Kern you could not be further off the mark with that assessment of Luc Besson. I guess the subtlety of his masterful craft escapes you, because he could not be further from Michael Bay. Luc Besson films are chalk full of honesty, sensitivity, Besson’s own unique heart and soul drip from them. As opposed to being mindless HEARTLESS empty void soul crushing piles of trash.
I mean saying something so ridiculous I highly doubt you’ve ever even seen a single film by Besson.
I’m gonna nickname Kern Captain Hyperbole.
Axelumog’s defense of Besson is equally hyperbolic though. I mean – “Luc Besson films are chalk full of honesty, sensitivity, Besson’s own unique heart and soul drip from them” ???? I wouldn’t call Besson the French Michael Bay though. He’s more like the French Tony Scott.
Just as every other director Besson has some bad films mixed in with his good ones. I don’t like Bay at all, but he starts the engine for some, to compare Besson to Bay is not an accurate dipiction of eithers work, and the same with Scott.
Besson tends to have more substance in his films, where Bay is just style and fluff and Scott and is just a macho (very simplified example).
The Big Blue is beautifully shot, some great images. Angel-A, my favorite by him, has an interesting idea and some nice performances. Leon, “kiddie porn” really? So I guess Tin Drum is as well. That’s just an asinine comment.
I won’t disagree with the quality of the La Femme Nikita show, they could really get in depth, whereas with a film, you have two hours, soooo, the comparison is also poor.
Fifth Element is all style, granted.
But it seems Kern has little idea about besson and his opinion, though valid as an Opinion, is not particularly well considered, nor based on much reality.
Besson needs a kick in the pouch for producing the “Transporter” series alone. Infuriating garbage.
He could have remade all the 70s/80s horror franchises instead.
z’Axelumog’s defense of Besson is equally hyperbolic though. I mean – “Luc Besson films are chalk full of honesty, sensitivity, Besson’s own unique heart and soul drip from them” ???? I wouldn’t call Besson the French Michael Bay though. He’s more like the French Tony Scott."
hehe. I always saw Bay as being a more hyperactive version of Scott. When Bad Boys was first released, the comparison, to me at least, was obvious. He took Scott’s basic MTV action style, pumped it full of steroids, and dumbed it down even further. not to say that Scott’s movies were particularly sophisticated or anything.
@axelumog, I assume you are being sarcastic and leave it at that.
The rest of you guys I assume don’t get out much.
Calling Besson the French tony scott is an insult to tony scott.
at least tony scott has the hunger and true romance under his belt (all flawed films to be sure but at least watchable).
It would be unfair to call Besson’s films idiotic as I don’t see that he is trying to make any grand point about anything afaik but they are not even entertaining. Also without tyring to be ‘deep’ they still somehow seem pompous. I guess that is a talent in of itself.
And Jean reno has to be one of the dullest actors of all time.
In addition when I say “kiddie porn” i am referring to the way the camera fetishisizes portmon or was all of about 14 when the professional came out (yeah I know, the french but still).
The guy’s a hack and if anyone watched a Lang, Fuller,Hawks,Goodard,etc flick they would know it.
Thanks for reading
The camera idolizes Portman because she gives us an incredible jaw dropping performance. It would be an amazing performance at any age, but at 13 it’s mind blowing.
Just do the math of time spent on action and dialogue to blow your bay comparison up in a big bay explosion. dialogue > action. His films are character pieces about relationships against a backdrop of action which in itself spends much more time on the setup than the actual action.
Tom Kern: “The guy’s a hack and if anyone watched a Lang, Fuller,Hawks,Goodard,etc flick they would know it.”
Really? let’s just say 4 arbitrary, unrelated directors you like more and call someone a hack for not meeting your own (questionable) criteria of their work.
I guess the subtlety of his masterful craft escapes you
^ this
Charlesdegaulle
What has done besides The Professional and Nikita that are legitimately worthy, and I’ve even heard mixed things about those two.