Valerian Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

2. The Romance Doesn't Really Work

Tying into DeHaan being miscast is the fact that he doesn't have any natural sexual chemistry with Cara Delevingne, causing the romance to fall mostly flat from the outset.

Though Cara tries hard, neither actor is convincing as the other's lover, and it doesn't help that the romance is played as earnest rather than light and casual, and so ends up feeling extremely corny.

Granted, few actors could make sense of toe-curlingly cringe-worthy lines like, "I only want you on my playlist", but the love story really just weighs down a movie that could've been much more sleek and streamlined without it. Speaking of which...