Professionally, Zack Snyder has had a wild ten years. Blossoming from a fan-favorite in nerd circles, his stature has evolved to almost mythic status in the past decade – even as his movies have become increasingly polarizing. But to give the man his due, he has effectively bounced back from personal tragedy and a controversial firing to release films on his terms and in his vision. This started with the improbable release of the Justice League “Snyder Cut” and has continued with the carte blanche he’s been afforded by Netflix. Now, that cache is being used to fuel a passion project of great ambition. But as Rebel Moon hopes to dominate film discussions in 2024, amidst an apparent bid to create a new massive IP, the criticisms of Snyder’s work as an artist remain the biggest obstacles for this colossal project to enrapture Snyder die-hards and skeptics alike truly.
The first film in this intended franchise, Rebel Moon: Generic Subtle, is an incredibly dull movie experience, the very antithesis of the skin it chooses to wear. Snyder originally pitched the project to Lucasfilm as a potential film in the Star Wars saga. Needless to say, Lucasfilm declined, leaving an opening years later for Netflix to try yet another hand at establishing its special effects-laden, four-quadrant phenomenon. The film is stylish and sleek and has a number of impressive visual shots. But as the first part of a duology, it feels like a feature-length prologue. It’s a slow, plodding first chapter bogged down by flashbacks, overdone slow motion, endless world-building, and endless exposition. As a first impression, the movie fulfilled its obligation to be a significant viewership draw for Netflix. Yet, that belies the fact that scores from critics and audiences were middling at best, becoming one of the worst-reviewed features of Snyder’s career. And to think – we’re only halfway done with the story.
Stylistically, the Star Wars influence looms large, but it’s Seven Samurai (1954) where Rebel Moon gets its story inspiration from. In a similar fashion to the Kurosawa epic, Snyder’s flick features a group of space farmers presented with an ominous ultimatum from the omnipotent evil superpower known as the Motherworld. Heading the villainous group is Ed Skrein as the smug and heartless Atticus Noble (LOL!). Noble informs the meek farmers of the Motherworld’s unrealistic grain demands, a harvest that would cripple the food supply of the small colony. However, amidst this humble community is Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former high-ranking soldier from the Motherworld. With a history and personal vendetta against the evil empire, Kora uses the little time given to her adopted world – intended to prepare the harvest – instead of using said time to amass a group of deadly warriors that will provide the protagonists with a fighting chance against their militaristic oppressors.
As cliche, as this premise may be, there is a timelessness to the idea of common folk putting aside their differences and coming together to right wrongs against a seemingly invincible but cruel superpower. It’s communal storytelling, it’s underdog storytelling, and that’s the reason why those tropes have persisted for so long. But Rebel Moon’s mixing of several iconic properties thrown into a blender (Rogue One, Cowboy Bebop, Guardians of the Galaxy) can’t seem to give the film any flavor.
Blandness is the movie’s biggest problem, as the various characters get boxed into generic archetypes rather than embodying memorable characters. This is partially caused by the script throwing so much exposition and world-building the audience’s way. Seemingly, every character has some unique power or biological condition because the movie is in such a rush to create a dense mythology. We end up learning what these characters can do, but I can’t say we get to know them very well, and what we do know isn’t very interesting. Not surprisingly, Kora gets the most characterization as we learn about her past as a soldier, while potential love interests are set up to provide romantic conflict. But her time as a soldier has jaded her, as she says in ham-fisted fashion:
“I am a child of war. To truly love or be loved, I don’t know if I’m capable. The very idea of love, of family, was beaten out of me…”
Just in case the viewers couldn’t piece this simple idea together on their own, let’s just say the obvious. I’m sure the screenwriters thought they were cooking here, but it feels like banal and unimaginative writing. The uninspired writing lends itself to some wooden, Mortal Kombat-level acting. It’s this faulty execution, not the tropes themselves, that makes the movie such a chore to watch. For a movie inspired by Star Wars, it’s not fun like Star Wars. It doesn’t have nearly the characterization of Star Wars. Instead, it comes off as merely an imitation, just like many feared it would. Its grand world-building can’t distract from the feeling that the film’s dramatic scenes are too languid or its action too laborious. Considering most will see this on their TV screens via a Netflix subscription, this is Star Wars At Home in more ways than one.
However, optimism is important, and criticism without constructive suggestions (which we’ll get to) is almost worthless. If Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire is the best Snyder’s got, its sequel (The Scargiver) will be a tough watch. But I, like many others, spent two hours watching this movie, so we might as well finish the story. If the first film feels like a back-door pilot, then its sequel needs to be a movie that hits the ground running and gets to the point in this sprawling story. Our first look at that approach is the sequel’s teaser trailer:
I don’t know what the fuck is going on with that heavy breathing at around the 1:25 mark, I mean what the hell?
But I digress – this unsurprisingly looks like a change of pace from the table-setting first film, as our first glimpse makes The Scargiver look like it will be wall-to-wall action from the jump. This isn’t necessarily a promising sign – you need full investment in the characters and the story to make that breakneck speed work, something that Rebel Moon is still trying to earn. Nonetheless, one positive I’ll mention is I do like Ed Skrein’s Atticus as the big bad of this story. The villain is an amalgamation of about nine different arrogant, bad-guy characters. However, I still enjoy the nastiness Ed Skrein brings to the role, which works in tandem with the character’s intelligence. In the first film, while visiting the farmers’ meager planet, he accurately pinpoints who knows what they’re talking about in regard to the planet’s harvest, turning on the community’s appointed leader.
Skrein’s hammy acting seems like the jolt of life this sleepy movie needs, and he makes for a needed foil to Kora’s stoic personality. However, the dynamic between the two doesn’t give off the feeling of an epic rivalry like the writers intend.
I don’t know where the narrative heft will come from that will elevate this material to something resembling a grand saga. Snyder tries – a robotic knight (Anthony Hopkins) relays to a young woman in his memory of the universe’s fallen princess. It’s meant to be an inspirational story that is no doubt of great sentimental value to Snyder. Not only is this the first time these two characters have shared a scene, but we barely know them, and they don’t have a history with each other. I want to think the guy who made movies as gloriously violent as 300 (2007) and as cynical as Watchmen (2009) can also be a source of pathos and emotion. But Rebel Moon rushes these moments, pleading with us to experience great emotional anguish with cinematic strangers.
Meanwhile, the action scenes are as elaborate as ever, mixing Star Wars with John Woo-esque carnage. It’s clear which part of the story the filmmakers feel more adept at. And The Scargiver’s teaser promises more of the same. Which just further highlights Snyder’s limited range despite feigning the appearance of deeper storytelling. If his movies are only going to be interesting during the moments where someone is getting potatoed in the face, then so be it.
Rebel Moon: The Scargiver continues its quest to become a real franchise when it hits Netflix on April 19th, 2024.
