Review - Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

        Alright, let's get this over with. Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver, currently streaming on Netflix, was directed by Zack Snyder and is the continuation of last December's Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire. This movie sees the returns of Sofia Boutella, Djimon Honsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Donna Bae, Ray Fisher, Staz Nair, Fra Fee, Cary Elwes, and Anthony Hopkins. 

       So, for a quick recap of Part One: A Child of Fire, the movie focuses on Kora, who, in an effort to save her farming community on the moon of Veldt, traverses the galaxy looking for warriors to help make a stand against the Motherworld, and we learn that Kora is the adopted daughter of Motherworld leader Regent Balisarius, and was once an Imperium soldier known as the Scargiver. And, now, let's get into Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver.

       Okay, so this movie opens with Admiral Noble being restored after his fight against Kora, and he orders one of his crew, Commander Cassius, set course for Veldt, with their ship set to arrive within five days of Veldt time. Meanwhile, Kora and the warriors she and Gunnar gathered arrive in their village, where we get lots of time spent on harvesting grain and training to stand against Noble's forces. And, it's here where we learn of why Kora is an outlaw in the eyes of Motherworld. You see, Kora was, indeed, assigned to protect the Princess of the Royal Family, but her adoptive father Balisarius planned an assassination on the Royal Family, with Kora ordered to kill the Princess, and Kora is, ultimately, set up to take the fall for the entire assassination plot. How effing original. 

       But, we don't just get Kora's story, but we get the stories for the rest of our heroes, as well, including how Millius was recruited by Darian during the Resistance's rescue of the labor camp she was in. And, easily, the most tragic of all was seeing how Titus was forced to watch as his men were killed by orbital bombardment for Titus' refusal to adhere to orders from Balisarius. 

       Okay, so, while the plot of this movie is still not very good, and excessively unoriginal, I will say that it's a lot easier to follow that Part One was. That doesn't make it better, it just makes it less busy and much less of a chore to watch. And, while the acting in this movie isn't particularly fantastic, it's still far from the worst. I mean, both Ed Skrein as Noble and Fra Fee as Balisarius are bad, but are they Jaden Smith in After Earth bad? I don't think so. As for the others, they range from okay to just barely passable. Sofia Boutella, Djimon Honsou, and Michiel Huisman as Kora, Titus, and Gunnar are easily the three best actors in this movie. Everyone else, such as Doona Bae, Staz Nair, Elise Duffy, and such all had a wide range of performance quality. And, I still have no idea why the fuck Anthony Hopkins is voicing the mechanical knight Jimmy. I dunno, I just think his acting caliber is better than something like this. But, then again, he also was in Transformers: The Last Knight, so...

       Anyway, the action is pretty limited to the second half of the movie, and it's all pretty cool. That's one thing I'll say about Zack Snyder, he knows how to make something look cool. Granted, it isn't necessarily good, but it's at least cool to look at. And, of course, we pretty much get the face offs most of us were pretty much expecting in this movie, and it pretty much meets whatever expectations one may have had. 

        And again, this movie suffers the same problem as Part One. Zack Snyder designed Rebel Moon to be a more intense, dark, mature take on the Star Wars concept. And, unfortunately, this movie feels limited in that front with a watered down PG-13 version. Maybe the R-rated director's cut, which we're pretty much guaranteed to be getting anyway 'cuz it's Zack Snyder, will be a slight improvement, but I'm not holding my damn breath. 

       Now, in my review of the movie, I gave Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire a rating of 2.15/5. So, what rating do I have for Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver? Well, I think I'll put it a little above the first movie and give it a rating of 2.5/5. A slight improvement, but not much of one. Again, not fantastic in terms of sci-fi, but I still contend that After Earth with Will and Jaden Smith is a way worse sci-fi movie. And, yes, I did see that Zack Snyder has ideas for more of these movies, but we'll see if they actually go anywhere. 

      Anyway, guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I will be back tomorrow.