When I was a kid, my dad introduced me to gaming by wrecking me in Tekken 3. He later drew me further into anime with Akira and Princess Mononoke. But when it came to science fiction, he struck out. Godzilla and Star Wars put me to sleep — I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters in Episode IV: A New Hope. Then, one afternoon, The Fifth Element came on cable, and everything clicked.
Unlike Star Trek, which felt too adult, or Star Wars, which felt too distant, The Fifth Element was a story I could see myself in: a futuristic New York I recognized as a Bronx kid, a Black president before Barack Obama, and a flamboyant, straight Black man who cross-dressed years before Young Thug. And the kicker? They were played by Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr. and Chris Tucker — two guys I already loved from Friday, a movie I’d watched a million times. The Fifth Element was my Star Wars growing up, and it’s one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. So the fact that it’s currently rocketing up the charts on Tubi is as good a reason as any to revisit this underappreciated sci-fi classic.
At its core, The Fifth Element is a pulpy, neon-soaked space opera about an unlikely team trying to stop an ancient cosmic evil from wiping out humanity. Leeloo, a mysterious woman literally engineered as the “perfect being,” crash-lands into the life of taxi driver and ex-soldier Korben Dallas, who reluctantly becomes her protector. Together with the help of a priest who knows the prophecy and a flamboyant radio host dragged along for the ride, they race across a futuristic New York and beyond to recover four elemental stones that, when combined with Leeloo herself as the fifth element, are the only weapon capable of saving the universe.
The film has plenty working in its favor. Director Luc Besson (Léon: The Professional) leaned into his trademark for strong femme fatales, this time with Leeloo, played by a then-19-year-old Milla Jovovich in the breakout role that paved the way for her 2000s action-hero reign in the Resident Evil franchise. Bruce Willis showed up as Korben Dallas, still riding the last wave of his action-star prime, while Besson reunited with Gary Oldman from Léon, who chews scenery to perfection as the eccentric villain and underground arms dealer Zorg. Sci-fi veteran Ian Holm (Alien) grounds the film as an alien-worshipping priest whose straight-laced delivery keeps the story tethered amid its otherwise zany characters. And of course, there was Lister Jr. as President Deebo and Tucker as the flamboyant radio host Ruby Rhod — two casting choices that hooked me as a kid. Later in life, I discovered that Zorg’s henchman, Right Hand, was actually a British artist named Tricky; more representation! Vin Diesel has an uncredited role as the voice of Korben’s boss over the phone!
Besson’s sci-fi world feels both original and surprisingly grounded, a fresh vision of the future that stood apart from its peers. His New York had evolved past traditional skyscrapers into a vertical maze of towers piercing the clouds, with flying cars zipping between them. Even familiar ideas are reimagined — luxury cruise ships still existed, but here they were starliners charting courses to exotic destinations across the solar system. In fact, much of the film unfolds aboard one of these vessels. At a time when many sci-fi films leaned heavily on the visual language of Star Trek and Star Wars (think Stargate) or pushed into campy excess (Starship Troopers), The Fifth Element carved out its own distinct identity. It was a future where women could be powerful without losing believability; even if Leeloo occasionally slips into the damsel role, her strength still defines the character. It was a future where Black characters existed without stereotypes (like turncoat Lando Calrissian), where having a Black president wasn’t treated as a novelty but simply the norm. To me, that felt like the future.
One of the film’s most iconic moments is the concert scene featuring a tall, elegant, blue-skinned alien known as the Diva, secretly tasked with delivering the elemental stones to Korben. Onstage, she begins with a haunting opera performance that suddenly shifts into a hip-hop-infused remix, cut against Leeloo tearing through enemies elsewhere on the ship. As a kid who grew up loving Looney Tunes, it felt like watching “What’s Opera, Doc?” for the first time, but with a modern twist that pulled me deeper into sci-fi than ever. I loved it so much I showed it to my friends, waiting for them to be as awestruck as I was — only for them to laugh. Looking back now, I get the humor: the clunky action choreography, the Diva suddenly breaking into moves that wouldn’t feel out of place in the “freestyler dance teacher” meme. But it just adds to the charm of the movie.
The ending is just as schlocky, as it’s revealed that among fire, water, earth, and air elements, love turns out to be the fifth, unlocked when Korben finally confesses his feelings to Leeloo. It’s goofy, sure, but that’s the beauty of it. The best sci-fi pulp walks the line between absurd and epic, and The Fifth Element nails that balance with its own brand of blue-collar comedy — somewhere between early Star Wars with its Monty Python energy and Star Trek’s highbrow wit. For me, it wasn’t just a movie; it was my gateway to sci-fi. Even in 1999, when my dad dragged me to see The Phantom Menace on opening day, I still dozed off… only to go home and throw on The Fifth Element instead.
The Fifth Element is available to stream on Tubi
