The Fifth Element, released in 1997, is on virtually no one's list of all time great movies, and yet it continues to run in virtual permanent rotation on cable TV.
Since its release, the special effects epic -- in which Bruce Willis's tax driver must save Milla Jovovich's doomsday savior from marauding aliens -- has grossed $263 million worldwide.
It's still hugely popular: 925 people have reviewed it on Amazon and it still carries four-and-a-half stars out of five. People are still adding new reviews to the retail site every few days -- even though it's now 15 years old.
Surprisingly, considering its nonsensical plot and feeble acting, it was a critical hit, too: Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, said at its release: "I would not have missed seeing this film, and I recommend it for its richness of imagery." It sure was pretty to look at (and the movie is equally entertaining with the sound off.)
But what explains Fifth Element's endurance, both with TV programmers and the audiences whom they expect to watch the movie repeatedly? Here's one possibility: by chance, Fifth Element touches on all the major angsts and dramas of modern American life, such as terrorists, Doomsday and cruise ships.
SEE ALSO: The 1976 Movie 'Network' Predicted YouTube and Two And A Half Men.'
Yes, a fashion model can carry an entire movie.
Before Fifth Element, Milla Jovovich was a model. Although she had done some movie work, she was best-known as the grunge Kate Moss. It was not at all clear that a model could play the lead in a movie with a $90 million production budget.
Now, Jovovich carries the Resident Evil franchise on her back, which has grossed $675 million worldwide.
We love divas.
The movie revolves around attempts to recover a sacred stone which is being smuggled aboard a spaceship by this blue tentacled singer. In a climactic scene, the concert is attacked by aliens who kill the diva -- but not before she can hand the stone to Willis.
Is Diva Plavalaguna from the movie any less weird than Lady Gaga from Earth? Or Nicki Minaj, for that matter?
And cruise ships.
Much of the action takes place on a giant space cruise ship headed to Fhlosten Paradise, a vacation planet. The cruise ship industry was in still its infancy in 1997. In 2011, a record 16 million people bought a cruise.
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