“Valerian” is far from being a disaster, but when a movie offers spectacular visual effects and still fails to tell a memorable story, you can’t help feeling cheated. In trying to emulate the success of his superior 1997 film “The Fifth Element”, filmmaker Luc Besson relies on cutting-edge technology to tell the story of Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne), a team of special operatives on a mission to the city of Alpha, where a dangerous threat awaits them. The futuristic setting of this world is beautifully and convincingly realized, and that’s the reason which kept me from dozing off, at least for a while. But everything else, from the script to the acting, are mediocre at best. Worse, the story’s momentum flattens out at a certain point. As a result, my attention waned and was never restored. I still admire Besson’s vision, but I can’t say I enjoyed “Valerian” that much.