Played by Rihanna in a extended cameo, Bubble is a shapeshifting alien performer who helps the heroes escape. In ten minutes of screen time, Rihanna goes through a dozen costume changes—a flapper, a maid, a nurse, a burlesque dancer, a military officer. Her death scene is heartbreaking not because of the plot, but because she represents the soul of Alpha: adaptable, beautiful, and ultimately disposable to the empire.
That is genius. That is not action-movie logic; that is designer logic. valerian and the city of
This is not subtle. It is Avatar meets The Crying Game . The Pearls are refugees. Their home is gone. They live in the hidden, neglected underbelly of Alpha—a literal "no man's land" of radiation and shadows. Played by Rihanna in a extended cameo, Bubble