Rebel Moon-Part One: A Child of Fire Review
A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Zack Snyder left the DC Extended Universe to create Rebel Moon, an original Sci-Fi Epic to rival Star Wars – Has he Succeeded?
Table of Contents
When it comes to contemporary Directors, they don’t come more divisive that Zack Snyder. An auteur with a very unique style of visual story telling which has as many fans as it does critics. In the interest of disclosure, I am mostly a fan. From Watchmen to 300 to the Justice League ‘Snyder Cut’,(review) and even Army of the dead (review), I’ve always found myself engaged by his particular brand of action So the prospect of launching an original Sci-Fi universe on Netflix with Snyder having complete creative control was too intriguing to miss.
I’ve seen the negative reviews from some critics, some beginning with lines like “i’ve never been a fan of Snyders work”, which leads me to wonder why you would invest time in something you have already decided you won’t like? Possibly to wax lyrical about how terrible it is, for clicks?
Story/Plot
The ‘Motherworld’, is a military empire controlling surrounding planets by violence, force and fear. Their leader is the Regent and he despatches one of his military leaders the sadistic Admiral Noble to extend their control and root out the fighters from a growing rebellion movement. When they decend upon a small farming village and attempt to take all their grain, they get more than they bargained for. Former Motherworld soldier turned rebel Nora decides to defend the village and begins assembling a team to take on the threat from the Motherworld.
Characters
The lead character is Nora (Sofia Boutella), a deserter from the Motherworld, trying to lead a quiet life. She’s a highly skilled soldier and becomes the reluctant leader of this rag tag team of heroes looking for redemption, including Djimon Hounsou as ‘Titus’, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, Ray Fisher as ‘Bloodaxe’, Charlie Hunnam as ‘Kal’ and Doona Bae sas ‘Nemesis’.
REBEL MOON: (Featured) Doona Bae as Nemesis in Rebel Moon. Cr. Clay Enos/Netflix © 2023 
Rebel Moon. (L-R) Charlie Hunnam as Kai, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar and Sofia Boutella as Kora in Rebel Moon. Cr. Netflix ©2023 
Rebel Moon. Doona Bae as Nemesis in Rebel Moon. Cr. Netflix ©2023 
REBEL MOON: (L-R) Doona Bae as Nemesis, Ray Fisher as Bloodaxe, Staz Nair as Tarak, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, Sofia Boutella as Kora, Charlie Hunnam as Kai, E. Duffy as Milius and Djimon Hounsou as Titus in Rebel Moon. Cr. Clay Enos/Netflix © 2023 
Rebel Moon. Sofia Boutella as Kora in Rebel Moon. Cr. Clay Enos/Netflix ©2023
Action
As this is an origin story, there wasn’t as much action as I expected, especially from a director who has spent the last decade delivering big budget superhero movies. This is more focused on ‘world building’ and preparing for the battles to come. That isn’t to say there isn’t any action. What is there wouldn’t hold up in a ‘John Wick’ movie but what we’re given is more than adequate for a sci-fi film There are definately a few cool sequences but nothing we haven’t seen before
Cinematography
Zack Snyder has always had a keen eye for visuals and and its no differnet here. The various planets all have their own distinct look and feel, helping to contribute to the films scope and scale while maintaining a uniform asthetic. The use of some creative camera work and Zack’s trademark slow motion help deliver consistent, pleasing and familiar visuals.
Final thoughts
Rebel Moon is an ambitious prospect. An original Sci fi universe , not based on a book or previous works is a tall order especially with audiences that have seen it all before. Add to that, there are many in the industry who were willing this to fail, if for no other reason but to prove they were right to no support the ‘Snyder Cut’ movement. The truth however lies somewhere in between. Zack Snyder hasn’t knocked this out the park by any stretch of the imagination but the low scores are also not a true reflection of the low scores its been given in other publications.
I really wanted to love Rebel Moon but I just like it. Many of the ideas/characters/weapons have been borrowed from other sci fi properties which doesn’t necessarily make it bad, I mean all sci fi borrows from other films in the genre. Even visually, there are nods to others within the genre, one of the shots towards the end of the movie with the characters lining up is in itself mirroring Snyders own Justice League work.
Rebel Moon is a competent and capable sci fi space opera which has laid a decent foundation for its sequel next year (Rebel Moon Part 2 Scargiver) and while I will definitely be sitting down to watch when it arrives in April. But with Dune Part 2 arriving a month before in March 2024, competent and Netflix may have an impossible task following that all together more accomplished sci epic
Watch the Rebel Moon Special Feature here
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