Directed By Zack Snyder

Starring – Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Ed Skrein

The Plot – When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora(Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors, outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, sexual assault, bloody images, adult language, sexual material and partial nudity.

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire | Official Trailer | Netflix (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

Say what you will about Zack Snyder, but the man still knows how to capably set the stage, this time with breathtaking galactic imagery and luminous lighting that not only enhances the immersive appeal of this uniquely established world, but also preserves no shortage of spellbinding iconography to add to the prestigious piles of some of the most artistically vibrant films that he has conjured, over the past twenty years. Radiant special effects in C.G landscapes are remarkable enough, with planet eclipsing sunsets brandishing an exotic appeal to the vast variety of world-building in the script, but when combined with the magnetism that he instills during interior sequences, with ambiatic color grading and picture perfect framing, cements layers towards meaningful imagery, in turn leading leading to one of Netflix’s most decoratingly dazzling productions to date. Snyder’s seductive spell over his audience carries over to some intense action sequences, with top grade fight choreography, that capture your attention seamlessly with ample urgency and vulnerability to spare in spades. While their appearance over the 132 minute run time is more sparingly than I would expect, and the bloodless consistency makes it difficult to believe in the magnitude of their violence, Boutella and company make it work with crisp velocity and bold sound deposits that vividly articulate every devastating blow with meaningful merits of believability. That sentiment also carries over to the depth of the performances, as Boutella once more commits herself to the argument of being the biggest female badass going today, with a physical transformation that serves her well against bigger adversaries. While Boutella’s physicality knows no boundaries, her on-screen presence is just as effective, churning out effortless intimidation that goes a long way towards illustrating her as this impactfully devastating force of nature. Skrein also hands in a surprisingly eye-opening antagonistic turn, with menacing persistence that underlines many of the film’s physical confrontations. While Skrein has never been someone who has been a game-changer for me, Snyder seems to have conjured something effective with the permanence of his impact, serving as a driving force to the engagement that brings doom and gloom to every environment his character chooses to grace, all the while proving that he was born to play a slimy, seedy villain of the most untrustworthy kind.

NEGATIVES

If you’re not a fan of Zack Snyder, “Rebel Moon” isn’t sure to change your opinions on the director, as the film is an exercise in all of the director’s worst qualities that stockpile like bricks to an unsteady foundation that the film’s integrity is clumsily based on. The biggest of these is certainly the script from Snyder, which once again is the hurdle that his film can’t overcome, in both flatly-written and underwhelming characters, as well as the movie’s structure, which feels tediously repetitive throughout nearly two and a half hours that are filled to the brim with boredom. Because the characters outside of Boutella’s Kora are given the same anemic formula of introduction, a couple of lines of dialogue, then incorporation to the group, there’s no attachment towards any of them that makes it necessarily tough to watch them go, and considering the script’s structure remains consistent towards this set-up and follow through for roughly 90 minutes of the run time, it tires the pacing towards feeling every bit of its extended distance, somehow feeling bloated in conception, yet hollow from the reality of very little actually transcribing throughout such a long-winded engagement. On top of this, the film is plagued by the abundance of obvious familiarity in the assembly of its many derivative pieces from other, better films, which shred the uniqueness of its own space-trotting appeal. Whether in the recruitment of a group of seven across many landscapes (The Magnificent Seven), the Mother World serving as a planet crushing army seeking power and dominance (Star Wars), or even Kora’s own history as an enemy opposition before standing as the change that fights back against them (Too many movies to list), the summary of its impulses feel like scatterbrained ideas at best, with no semblance of originality that makes there feel like a soul beneath this cadaver, and only reoccuring proof in the proverbial pudding to the argument of why you’re simply not just watching those films to begin with. Even bigger issues persist with Snyder’s own stylistic impulses, which he indulges in with as much restrain as a child barreling through a limitless ice cream buffet. While I’m normally kind of Snyder’s constant uses of slow motion sequencing or heightened life techniques that pertain to the imagery in so many of his films, here, they seem frustrating towards slowing down the fluidity of the crisply flowing action sequences that I previously commended, and considering there are only four action sequences throughout the entirety of this film, it grows all the more taxing when we’re asked to sacrifice these sparingly promising pay-offs for director established cliches that felt outdated by the “Man of Steel” phase of the director’s filmography. As for how the two part story feels in the confines of this universe, it could’ve persevered with more time with each respective character and their interactions, but instead rushes to a red light of a disappointing climax, with its own baffling decisions that crush this installment’s own appeal. While the second part of any two-part movie always has the bigger climax, the manifestation of a fake-out climax here is all the more confusing, and even a bit frustrating, especially since they give the story resolution, only to have it taken away by a pre-credits, post-movie sequence that literally tears down everything that it built for itself in literally the very last scene. If it isn’t enough that the movie flies off the rails forcefully during this climax, with strange character flaws that come out of nowhere, and dependency on C.G backdrops now removing the tangibilities of set designs in each frame, this bridge to the promised sequel film, due out in April, made me audibly groan with the entirety of this two hour plus movie that essentially felt unnecessary by film’s end, in turn wiping out any semblance of interest that I had in a resolution, after delivering on one, then yanking it away, with a final sequence that screams last minute post-production reshoot.

OVERALL
“Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire” isn’t just a mouthful of a title, but also a meandering mishap of assembled pieces from better franchises that never form one cohesive soul for the integrity of its own product. While Snyder still dazzles in the directing capacities, his storytelling depths pertaining to flat characterization and redundant structure in format lead to another plundering of potential, leaving his scavenged and desolate world desperate for a savior to undue twenty years of sacrificial self-indulgence.

My Grade: 4/10 or D-