I really wanted to like Rebel Moon. I was digging the trailers and was looking forward to seeing some original sci-fi content. Zack Snyder’s last few films have been really fun so I thought maybe he had found this new stride was about to make a breakthrough at Netflix with his own Star Wars.
However, Rebel Moon was a let down. I heard that this was a rejected piece of Star Wars content, and that terrifies me. It’s everything I wouldn’t want from a Star Wars project. It lacks any of the charm or whimsy of that world and instead feels like a cheap imitation that lacks any of the slivers of nuance. The villains are just clearly depictions of Nazis, similar to Star Wars, but more cartoonish and lifeless.
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To say what I enjoyed, I felt the effects stood out. When it comes to world building, Snyder does a good job of exploring the pits of this universe. The designs of characters, sets and costumes are all great ways of setting the environment and paint a great picture of the world. However, in terms of the exploration of themes that these worlds convey, it’s pretty dull and surface level.
I also wasn’t crazy for all of the performances. Even the usually reliable Charlie Hunnam doesn’t give us much and Djimon Hounsou has almost nothing to work with. On top of it all, it’s filled to the brim with Synderism. If that’s your thing and you love his work, yeah you might get a kick out of this. But for me, when it goes overboard (which this movie definitely feels like it does), it can get overbearing. Everyone has talked about the slow mo, but the grim storytelling bothers me way more. The dialogue is pretty heavy handed.
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But where Snyder can be annoying, he can be equally thrilling. I had a blast with the actual action sequences, I felt the stakes in these fights. But the movie felt uneven. I know there are talks of a longer director’s cut, but this movie leaves me uninterested. There are loose ties that I am certainly curious as to how they will wrap up, but overall I found Rebel Moon on Netflix to be generally disappointing. I wanted more from Snyder here, but was left feeling like this Diet Star Wars project was not wholly visualized.
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