Review - Rebel Moon - Part 1: A Child of Fire (2023)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, y'know when general viewers ask for original ideas, especially in the genre of sci-fi? Well, I don't think that this is what most people had in mind. Rebel Moon is a new sci-fi franchise co-written and directed by Zack Snyder, and the first film of the series, Rebel Moon - Part 1: A Child of Fire, was released on Netflix in December of 2023. The movie stars Sofia Boutella Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Honsou, Ed Skrein, Ray Fisher, Doona Bae, Staz Nair, and the voice of Anthony Hopkins. 

         So, in the universe of Rebel Moon, the galaxy is under the oppressive thumb of Motherworld, whose rule is cemented by the military known as Imperium. The regent of Motherworld, a man named Balisarius, seized control after the King, Queen, and Princess were all assassinated on the day of the Princess' coronation. 

        Some years later, we meet Kora, a former soldier of Imperium who now lives as a farmer on Veldt, which is visited by Imperium admiral Atticus Noble, who is leading a hunt for rebels being led by siblings Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe. However, after the village leader, Sindri, is killed for refusing Atticus, Kora, along with Gunnar, goes on a journey to various planets to recruit warriors to protect the village, including disgraced Imperium general Titus. 

        Now, there are certainly things in this movie that are...cool. The action scenes are cool. The spaceships are cool. Some of the creature effects are cool. The performances of Sofia Boutella as Kora, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, and Charlie Hunnam as Kai were cool. Hell, the concepts on display in this movie were cool. Zack Snyder definitely had a lot of cool ideas with this movie, and a bit of it actually was cool. 

        But, even those elements that are cool don't outweigh the other issues that this movie has. First off, the plot is clearly inspired by the Akira Kurosawa classic The Seven Samurai, which in turn inspired such classic American films as The Magnificent Seven and A Bug's Life. Combine this with story beats from Star Wars, Dune, and even some visual aesthetics from Alita: Battle Angel, and you're pretty close to seeing what Zack Snyder took inspiration from to make this movie. And Snyder pretty much proves that he's no Akira Kurosawa, he's no George Lucas, and he's certainly no James Cameron. 

        Not only that, but there's all the typical elements that are to be found in a Zack Snyder film, such as gratuitous slo-mo shots, mostly wooden dialogue, and a plot twist more obvious than the plot twists of an M. Night Shyamalan film. Seriously, Zack Snyder is great as a visual director, but falls short as a storyteller, and this movie was all his story. Y'know what his most popular film is? The remake of Dawn of the Dead he made back in 2004. Y'know who wrote the script for that movie? James Gunn. Seriously, when Snyder works with actually talented screenwriters, his movies are good. 

          And, why did Netflix release a two-hour PG-13 cut of this movie? I get it's to also have a longer director's cut with an R-rating, in an obvious attempt to re-create a Snyder Cut situation like what happened with Justice League. But the difference is that with JL, Snyder stepped off the project in post-production due to a family tragedy, WB hijacked the movie and made it the movie THEY wanted, and the fandom spoke out against an obvious injustice. Here? There was no reason behind making a shorter cut just to release a director's cut later. Fool me once, shame on you. We're not falling for it a second time, guys. 

        Oh, an as for that plot twist I was talking about? Throughout the movie, Kora reveals a bit about her past as a soldier of Imperium. Well, she's more than that. She turns out to be the adopted daughter of Balisarius himself, and a deserter known as Scargiver, thus making her the most wanted fugitive in the galaxy. Jeez, make it more on the nose, would ya? 

        But, I will give Rebel Moon a small amount of credit, in that it's far from the WORST sci-fi movie I've ever seen. THAT distinction still goes to a 2013 sci-fi box office bomb by the M. Night Shyamalan called After Earth starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith. Unlike After Earth, where the plot was the most asinine, unwatchable shit I've ever seen, at least I was able to follow what was going on with Rebel Moon. But, if you're aim is to make a better sci-fi than After Earth, you're setting the bar a bit too low. 

         Overall, yeah, I agree with the majority that Rebel Moon isn't a good movie. Do I think that the low ratings from critics were an obvious "eff you" to the Snyder Cut movement? Maybe, I dunno. But, do I think that the movie had some cool elements? For sure. I'm giving Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire a rating of 2.15/5. And yes, this April will see the release of the second film of the series, Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver. And, I will give it a chance when it comes out. And, no, I will not, nor will I EVER, make a review of After Earth. The movie is just that stupid. 

        Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I think for my next review, I'm going to cover something fun, like the Night at the Museum trilogy. Yeah, that's a good idea. Next time: the Night at the Museum trilogy.