Why The Fifth Element, Not 2001, Is The Quintessential Sci-Fi Film

George Lucas has championed 2001: A Space Odyssey as the greatest science-fiction film ever made, but that overlooks a very different kind of greatness embodied by The Fifth Element. Science fiction is a genre overflowing with landmark films that defined entire generations. Few filmmakers embody the genre as much as George Lucas, whose Star Wars fundamentally transformed cinema as a whole.

As the creator of one of the most influential sci-fi franchises ever, George Lucas has earned the credibility to speak authoritatively about the genre. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1977, Lucas openly admitted to anxieties about A New Hope being measured against Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he called “the ultimate science-fiction movie.” But as groundbreaking as 2001 was, it isn't the only movie to deserve that title.

The Fifth Element Is The Quintessential Sci-Fi Movie

Luc Besson's The Fifth Element Is Everything Sci-Fi Is About

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is undeniably a masterpiece of the genre, but it represents sci-fi at its most austere; cold and intentionally distant. Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element embraces the genre’s pulpy roots, where wonder and spectacle all work in harmony, fully aware of its clichés and leaning into them with confidence. Yet, The Fifth Element also delivers a complete story with no intention of building a franchise or earning a box office record.

Korben Dallas is a walking action trope, but he's not the hero. Leeloo, ostensibly the damsel, emerges as the true emotional heart of the movie. Even the main antagonist is self-aware: Zorg’s grand monologues about chaos and life are immediately deflated by slapstick, which only underlines how The Fifth Element is never interested in being profound. Where 2001 asks viewers to project meaning into silence and abstraction, The Fifth Element communicates its ideas energetically and with a wink.

Visually and tonally, The Fifth Element is sci-fi at its most expansive. It moves seamlessly between industrial futurism, flamboyant space opera, dystopia, comedy, action, and romance. Star Wars has repeatedly proven flexibility is the genre’s greatest strength, and Besson exploits it to its best capacity in The Fifth Element, just like George Lucas himself did with A New Hope.

The Fifth Element Couldn't Be Made Today

The Fifth Element Was Made At The Right Time

The Fifth Element belongs to an extinct era when sci-fi movies weren't driven by the cinematic-universe obsession of today's movie industry. Besson made a tonally rich sci-fi epic that jumps from opera to comedy and from cosmic stakes to juvenile humor, all without worrying about sequel pipelines. Today, The Fifth Element would be very different from the start due to its potential to be a franchise starter. Its willingness to be sincerely stylish runs counter to modern risk-averse blockbuster logic.

The Fifth Element was also made at exactly the right technological moment. CGI in the late 1990s was advanced enough to complement practical effects perfectly, but limited enough to demand an extremely high attention to detail. The Fifth Element relies heavily on practical sets, physical costumes, real explosions, and tangible production design. Besson's magnum opus is jam-packed with breathtaking visuals that may never be replicated.