10 Awesome Opening Scenes In Otherwise Terrible Action Movies
7. Shake A Hand - Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets
Not every action movie has to open with Nazi fighting or plummeting from the sky. Sometimes a simple greeting will suffice.
Visionary French director Luc Besson brought his childhood favourite Valerian comic books to the big screen in 2017. Starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, this sprawling space opera cost $223 million to make - the most ever spent on an independent movie.
Did it make that money back? Well...
Though it did okay at the box office, the extraordinary budget (combined with high marketing costs) made Valerian a bomb. What could have been the next Star Wars was met with a lukewarm reception, as fans and critics just couldn't get into what should have been a wild ride through space.
The story of Valerian kicks off with a montage of various different people arriving at the International Space Station.
As time passes, astronauts from different nations join the crew. Eventually, species from other planets arrive too, each one greeting humanity with a handshake.
This refreshing take on first contact is quite touching, displaying how easily certain differences can be overcome with an ordinary gesture. It's a nice idea for an opening scene; one that was not followed up on.