Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Janet Maslin, New York Times: Mr. Besson directs with ceaseless flamboyance and with an obvious enthusiasm for his film's comic book conceits. But the tone of The Fifth Element is often terribly shrill, especially when attention shifts to grating minor characters. Read more
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: In this movie and many like it, the only elements that count are impact, impact, impact and impact. The fifth element is gibberish. Read more
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: There's no doubt about it, when it comes to saving the world, Bruce Willis is your man. He does it with smarts and style, humor and courage. Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: A lot of money was spent on this film, but $100 million doesn't guarantee a good product. Maybe someone should have thought of spending a few more dollars on a better script. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: One of the great goofy movies -- a film so preposterous I wasn't surprised to discover it was written by a teenage boy. Read more
Scott Rosenberg, Salon.com: As you sit through the interminable two-hours-plus that constitute The Fifth Element -- a colossally stupid, overbearingly pompous new movie by Luc Besson -- you can expect to become acquainted with boredom on the most elemental level. Read more
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The Fifth Element has to be the most creative visualization since Tim Burton's first Batman in 1989. On top of that, it's a whole lot of fun. Read more