Zack Snyder disappoints in a galaxy far, far away as his space opera franchise stumbles with a contrived start.Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fireis an uninspired mishmash of familiar themes, characters, and settingstaken from classic blockbusters. The film unfurls like a role-playing video game where a deadly protagonist doles out her backstory while collecting allies on a quest for salvation. The relatively simple plot has a one-note ensemble of ragtag revolutionaries that struggle to resonate with the audience. Initiallyslick action sequencesbecome banal from the excessive use of slow motion cinematography. We’ve seen this all before and unfortunately done better.
The film’s premise has the Motherworld, an Empire-like autocracy, subjugating the universe with ruthless oppression and bloody carnage. A lineage that lasted for 1000 generations is broken aftera mysterious assassinkills the king (Cary Elwes) and royal family. Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee) takes control of the Imperium and vows to crush anyone that tries to break free of the Motherworld’s iron grip. He unleashes the sadistic General Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein), who hugs victims before smashing their skulls, to thwart an insurgency brewing on the outer rim planets. Siblings known as the Bloodaxes are attacking Imperium forces on a growing scale.
On the red moon of Veldt, a lone woman, Kora (Sofia Boutella), works the fields to prepare for the next planting. She finds elusive peace tilling the dirt. Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), admires her longingly from a distance before beckoning Kora to join the village in celebration. The Father (Corey Stoll) urges everyone to enjoy the party and dutifully fornicate later to spur the blooming seeds. Kora, an outsider who’s never spoken of her past, may have finally found a home.
Searching for (Uninteresting) Allies in Rebel Moon
Rebel Moon
The following day brings a terrifying threat. General Noble’s powerful dreadnought battleship appears in the sky. The villagers cower in the longhouse as Noble lands with his troops. He’d heard their fields were prosperous with abundant harvests. The Motherworld needs grain to stamp out the rebellion. Father swears his people are loyal citizens, but they only have enough for themselves. Noble doesn’t know that Gunnar had sold grain to the Bloodaxes. He’ll return in two months for every morsel of food.
Noble leaves a platoon of troops and their service robot behind. Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) was a mechanical knight that fought for the Motherworld. His kind became laborers after putting down arms in response to the king’s death. The vile soldiers make their presence felt but underestimate Kora’s abilities. Her friends won’t be enslaved or massacred by the Imperium. She’ll go with Gunnar to find the Bloodaxes. They must recruit warriors to stand against Noble’s imminent return.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Firetakes its primary storyline fromThe Magnificent SevenandStar Wars. Hapless villagers need badass killers to fight thieving and merciless invaders. Sounds like a plan, but Kora constantly reiterates throughout that fighting a dreadnought may be a fruitless endeavor. It’s a weapon capable of destroying planets, but let’s go assemble a team anyway instead of fleeing. This logic makes little sense if Kora believes their chances are that slim.
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Elements from other films are replicated during Kora’s journey. Tarak (Staz Nair), long-haired and glistening in bodybuilder oil, can talk to animals and ride exotic creatures like a hippogriff. He feels plucked out ofHarry PotterandAvatarwith shredded six-pack abs. Nemesis (Doona Bae) wields two laser swords that could easily be Sith lighsabers. Kai (Charlie Hunnam), a conniving smuggler, meets Kora and Gunnar in a Mos Eisley-esque cantina like Han Solo.
Snyder’s Familiar Production Design
The biggest head-scratcher is Kora’s mission to find a legendary warrior called General Titus (Djimon Hounsou). He’s supposed to be an unparalleled military strategist but has almost no dialogue, and like everyone else, jumps on the bandwagon with little prodding. They’re all just itching for payback against the Imperium. The supporting characters are unoriginal with poor exposition. The cast has scant chemistry in cardboard interactions that aren’t endearing.
The film’s production design lacks imagination. The Imperium’s goons wear Nazi SS costumes with black, gold, and red insignias. Noble could have yelled “Sieg Heil” at any point. Their ships are bulky with cannons protruding and docking ports. Why not go for sleek shapes like TIE fighters and X-wings? How canRebel Moonunabashedly pilfer fromStar Warsbut somehow fail to copy the awesome ships? Kids won’t be clamoring for these toys.
Snyder (Dawn of the Dead,Watchmen, Justice League) takes a harder edge with a rote script.Rebel Moonveers into adult territory with graphic action scenes and sexual violence. Imperium soldiers target women as spoils of war. This repugnant turn raises the stakes. There’s satisfaction in watching fiendish baddies get eviscerated, but Snyder’s reliance on slow motion is tiresome. Every battle and fight plods to a near standstill to highlight climatic moments. This visual tactic gets old. Action loses entertainment value by being predictable.
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We must take into consideration this is the first half of a bigger story. That grants some narrative leeway, but the film isn’t remarkable in any regard. It’s a stale retread of better material with dull characters. Kora and the gang aren’t interesting. You don’t root for them and that’s a weak foundation to build on.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fireis a production of The Stone Quarry and Grand Electric. It will have a limited theatrical release on December 15th, followed by a Netflix streaming premiere on the 21st.
