I went to see ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets‘ last night.

Short review – It wasn’t awful. In fact, I was entertained.

Your mileage may vary, but I was not unhappy for having spent $10, despite the negative press about the movie.

Even Rotten Tomatoes, who I consider even-handed in its criticisms, treaded farther afield than I would.

What I was given to expect – Epic production values, miscast lead actors and a trite storyline.

What I saw – Industry standard production values, lead actors working with what they had, and a trite storyline.

Eh. It was better than any of the Transformers movies I’ve seen. Not especially visionary, but not terrible. Here’s a metric for you – I liked District Nine and Cloud Atlas, a lot.

I think the movie deserves to succeed, if for no other reason than to reward the people who sweated blood to make it.