‘The Fifth Element: 20th Anniversary Edition’ review (4K Ultra HD)

Director Luc Besson’s outrageously satisfying, pop-infused, science-fiction epic from 1997 makes its debut on 4K UHD in The Fifth Element: 20th Anniversary Edition (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, 126 minutes, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, $34.98).

With Earth threatened by another visit from a mysterious, all-consuming evil force in the 23rd century, the alien race of Mondoshawans calls upon the resurrection of a supreme being, revealed in the form of a young, barely dressed lady named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), to connect with four elemental stones.

Leeloo will need the help of Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis as the toughest cab driver in the galaxy) as well as a devoted priest and mysterious diva to find the stones and return to an ancient temple to save the planet.

Mr. Besson’s masterpiece features a quirky love story that balances humor with some intense action, old-school creature effects, and a collection of oddball aliens and human characters.

Besides the wonderful chemistry between Mr. Willis and Miss Jovovich, notable performances include Gary Oldman as the unrepentant corporate villain Zorg; Chris Tucker as the outrageous reality radio host Ruby Rhod; and Ian Holm as the committed Father Vito Cornelius.

Sit back, pull out your multipass and get ready for a fun evening.

4K UHD in action: Sony offered a 4K remaster of the film from the original 35 mm print back in 2015 on the Blu-ray format. That remaster carries over to the 4K disc, and viewers now get to see what all the fuss was about using equipment to highlight the version’s 2160p definition and high dynamic range.

Specifically, outstanding details are apparent while studying the fine cobwebs grasping at the elemental stones in the Egyptian temple; Zorg’s colorful jacket that looks like a reflective oil slick; a wounded Mangolorian leader’s head scars; Mr. Kim’s flying sushi boat in New York City; and the vibrant display of the diva’s blue skin and sparkling face.

An unintended consequence of the detail upgrade is noticing the enormous amount of water being emitted by the actors, not limited to eye glistening; night sweats; tears; back, hair and hand sweating; brow dampness; moist upper lips; and even moisture fogging Zorg’s translucent plastic headpiece.

However, film grain is evident throughout and that may either please cinemaphiles for staying faithful to the source material or become a distraction for those looking to appreciate the vibrant colors and wonderful art-house style production designs.

Notable extras: Viewers will find on the 4K UHD disc a new, too-short interview with Mr. Besson.

He can’t fondly remember too much in 10 minutes about his dream project, but he does touch on the following: an original screenplay; inventing futuristic technology, including creating a 500-page bible on living in the 23^th century; Leeloo’s distinct language that used 400 words; and the film’s lack of computer-generated effects shots (only 188 shots required).

Next, load the Blu-ray to get an abundance of bonus content all ported over from the 2005 DVD Ultimate Edition release.

The best of the bunch of featurettes is an 18-minute, narrated look at the two French sequential-art maestros who worked on and heavily influenced the designs of “The Fifth Element.”

Friends for over 50 years, Jean “Moebius” Giraud and Jean Claude Mezieres fondly remember the odd project and working as part of a 10-member design team in the mid-1990s.

Viewers get a colorful glimpse of their comic book, long-form masterpieces (“Blueberry” and “Valerian”) and get a look at many of illustrations used as reference material for the movie, including vehicles, spaceships and character models.

Also worth a look is a trivia track that pops up as subtitles while the movie is playing. It offers facts on the film as well as some useless information about the cast (Luke Perry had a job working at a door knob factory, for example), but it does suffer from long stretches later in the movie where no text appears.

Of the remaining, roughly 90 minutes of featurettes, fans will enjoy a 12-minute interview with Miss Jovovich (with screen tests) and an information-packed (30-minute) look at creating the main aliens species — the gold robotic Mondoshawans, the ugly Mangalores and Zorg’s pet Picasso — focusing on the brilliant work of creature-effects supervisor Nick Dudman and his team.

Finally, super fans get a rare 16-minute interview with Maiwenn Le Besco, the actress who portrayed the diva. She explains how she got the part, the complexities of the make-up design and also offers her entire uncut, operatic performance.