Best Movies Like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

In the 28th century, Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline are elite special operatives tasked with maintaining peace throughout the human territories. Their relationship is complicated by Valerian’s persistent romantic advances and Laureline’s skepticism toward his reputation as a womanizer. Following a mission to recover a rare "Mül converter"—a creature capable of replicating energy—the duo is summoned to Alpha, a sprawling, ever-expanding metropolis in deep space where thousands of species share knowledge and technology.Upon arrival, they discover that a mysterious, radioactive "dead zone" is rapidly expanding at the center of the station. Commander Filitt, the head of the mission, tasks them with investigating the threat. During the mission, Valerian is kidnapped by a nomadic race known as the Pearls. Laureline embarks on a frantic rescue, eventually uncovering a dark secret: the Pearls are not a threat, but survivors of a genocide. Years prior, a catastrophic war on their home planet, Mül, was caused by human military intervention. To save their people, the Pearls shielded themselves within a ship, drifting through space until they reached Alpha.Valerian and Laureline realize that Commander Filitt orchestrated the destruction of Mül to secure resources and now intends to destroy the evidence by purging the sector of Alpha. The duo discovers that Filitt’s elite soldiers are actually covering up his war crimes to maintain the military’s reputation. Betrayal turns into an alliance as Valerian and Laureline work with the Pearls, who have been living in the station’s shadows, to expose the truth.In a high-stakes climax, they confront Filitt, who attempts to justify the slaughter as a necessary sacrifice for humanity’s expansion. Valerian and Laureline dismantle his narrative, forcing the military to acknowledge the massacre. After securing the converter and the Pearls' remaining energy source, they return the creature to the survivors, allowing them to depart Alpha in peace. The mission concludes with the duo stranded on a drifting ship, finally addressing their personal dynamic. Valerian proposes marriage, and Laureline, moved by their shared journey and the moral clarity they found amidst the chaos, finally accepts, marking a new chapter in their professional and personal partnership.