the start of this movie reminded me of parts from the movie stargate . 
people are looking around in an egyptian temple reading about some dangerous thing that is going to destroy earth in the future . 
after a sort of confusing bit involving fake-looking cyborg things , the movie jumps into the future and the movie improves by leaps and bounds . 
the basic idea behind the movie is that every once in a while ( make that every 1000 years or so ) an evil force comes to destroy earth . 
the things needed to defend against this menace are the four elements of nature plus the fifth element . 
the plot in this movie really isn't that important to the thing though . 
this movie has very good special effects , for the most part . 
the techno-ish music in the background fits the mood very well . 
bruce willis is an illegal taxi-cab driver in a futuristic new york city . 
one day a lady draped with a few bandages drops down into his trunk . 
this movie is about what happens . 
the plot twists are interesting and the movie never fails to present the viewer with a variety of different locations . 
also there is a fair bit of action in the film , particularly towards the end . 
some characters are just plain strange including a highly-energetic deejay in drag . 
bruce willis does his normal job of blowing things away like he always does . 
the movie is definitely watchable and rarely slows down . 
it is one of those sci-fi films where you'll be saying " cool " followed by a " what the hell ? ! ? ! " . 
i give the fifth element .