If you have ever been in the heated argument over which movie is the greatest of all time, you will be attacked with such titles as Citizen Cane, or some other movie you only watched in college for an assignment. I would make the argument that The Fifth Element is not only a great movie but the greatest movie of all time.
How can I make such a claim? Am I drinking? No, not now. I was not drinking when I came to this conclusion. I will lay out the argument for my thinking below in the format all consultants use. No, not a powerpoint deck, but that is a good idea. I will give you a list of bullet points.
Why The Fifth Element is the greatest movie of all time:
- It is an original story – This may not seem all that important, but it is not an adaptation, a remake or a sequel. It just is. It stands or falls on its own merits.
- It has a dedication to its own art – They created a language for just a few lines of dialog. Sure, others have created their own languages, for movies, but they could have just used French and no one would have batted an eye. No, they went the extra mile.
- It uses humor naturally – There are no pauses for jokes, the humor is natural and integrated into the story with being heavy handed.
- It is a massive story with incredible stakes – If the heroes fail, we lose everything. Not just a bad day, but all life.
- The characters – All of the characters have their own motivations and lives. From Ruby Rod to the flying street food vendor. Every character has a life and depth. We feel for each of them without dwelling on the idea that we must feel for them.
- The Opera singer – I will just leave this on here. The musical interlude is the culmination of all musical interludes. Just perfectly executed.
- It is very serious without taking itself seriously.
- Our protagonists are deeply flawed.
- Our antagonists are just as flawed and developed as the protagonists.
- It is my favorite movie to date.
Number 10 is the only one that counts but if you are you are regularly pulled into the which is best discussion, feel free to use some of these points to annoy you film major friends who are probably better educated on the subject. A well-researched argument for the absurd takes just as long to refute as an argument for a valid point.
I also find the movie Battleship to be an excellent moment in cinema. I may, in fact, have seriously bad taste in movies. Please keep that in mind if taking a suggestion from me.
Eternal Emperor 