TITLE: The Fifth Element: A Visual Retrospective
AUTHOR: Patrice Girod and Arnaud Grunberg
PUBLISHER: Titan Books / Penguin Random House
RELEASE DATE: September 15, 2026
PRICE: Hardcover – US/Canada $50.00; UK/Rest of World £35.00
Titan Books continues its series of Visual Retrospectics with The Fifth Element. This collection of script and concept art, blueprints, props, and costumes provides a unique insight into how the film was made. Fans of Bruce Willis may be disappointed by limited consideration and inclusion, but fans of dystopian sci-fi design will enjoy this curated in-depth gallery of the cult classic.
Art – Costumes, Ship Designs, Corporate Dystopia
A large section of the book is dedicated to military costuming and ship designs. There’s a weight to the forms that exists very much to the 80s and early 90s, similar to those seen in media of the time including Power Rangers. Even the non-armored figures have long, heavy coats. However, the heaviness also carries across Korben’s Taxi, showing a heaviness contrary to many imagined flying car designs seen in other media.
The weight carries throughout the whole movie design. While it’s clear that the world of The Fifth Element is a dystopian mess of bureaucracy. Corporate greed mixes with military force, influencing the aesthetics throughout. Everything is heavy, slightly oversized yet the space available feels limited as if the improtance is placed upon the inanimate rather than the people meant to use it or live within it.
This includes the city sprawl. Any elements of flora is removed. While there seems to still be water, it isn’t a key focus and further contrasts with the overcrowded skyscrapers.
Egyptian Inspiration
Though not set up for an easy comparison between the heavy, grungy urban sprawl versus the more spacious ancient Egyptian inspired elements of the stones and the temple of the Mondoshawans.
Final Score (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
A mediocre curation of uninspired design which is made all the more mundane when removed from the charisma and chemistry between the original actors. While the designs clearly implies the sort of dystopian society which has evolved, the movie was never about that, leaving a good amount left unspoken but creating experiences which would inspire Leeloo to question the value of humanity and allow the filmmakers to have Korben come to his ultimate confession of love.
It’s incredible to see some of the iconic looks, but they feel lackluster without the actors to bring them to life. Ultimately, the retrospective left me rather certain that the charisma of the cast and the chemistry between them carried an extremely familiar story arch and an unappealing future where even the characters seemed less than enthused to save the world than they are to simply save their own lives. Korben’s answer to Leeloo, that love is why humanity is worth saving, becomes all the more focused on humanity existing off-planet and the connection there to the limitations of the destructive force which is defeated but not fully resolved at the end.
Do you agree? Or is there something we missed? Let us know what you think in the comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Titan Books
The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network
The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord.
New episodes of the Boss Rush Podcast release every Monday morning on YouTube and all major podcast applications like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Patreon supporters gain one week early access.
Listen on your favorite podcast application or watch on YouTube!
Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Twitch | Overcast | Pocket Casts
Follow The Boss Rush Podcast on Social Media:
Twitter | Discord | Instagram | Twitch | YouTube | Facebook Group | Facebook
Leave a Reply