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On December 22, one of the most anticipated films of the year was released on the Netflix platform – the promising space opera “Rebel Moon. Part 1: Child of Fire” by Zack Snyder. This is just the first episode of the new epic saga, which is expected to continue in April next year. In this review, we analyze how successful the start of the future franchise was and what it represents in the context of comparison with the outstanding genre predecessor – “Star Wars”.

Pros:

a sufficient number of exciting adventures; good cast; good special effects; sometimes the overall simplicity of the story works to your advantage

Cons:

lack of interesting characters capable of more than one and a half emotions; complete secondaryness and clichédness of the plot; the feeling that this is not a full-fledged film, but an exposition that has only dragged on.

“Rebel Moon. Part 1: A Child of Fire” / Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire

Genre space opera
Director Zack Snyder
In roles Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Ray Fisher, Anthony Hopkins (voice)
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2023
Site IMDb

Planet Veldt, as befits a celestial body according to the canons of a space opera, is located somewhere in a distant galaxy. There, the peaceful settlers are inspired to engage in farming and live so friendly and united that no-no and caricatured images of Uwe Boll’s immortal women emerge in the mind. But this pastoral serenity was not destined to last long, because the terrible shadow of the imperial ship was already hanging over the village.

The extremely evil Admiral Atticus Noble, the right-hand man of the dictator Balisarius, has come here ostensibly to make a deal. For an imaginary reward, he offers to supply the imperial army with grain, because the hunt for rebels has picked up a bit, and everyone wants to eat. To a polite refusal from the village headman, Sindri Noble responds with brutal blows with a pickaxe and, in an ultimatum, orders to supply most of the grain of his army.

Cora, a local resident with a troubled past, plans to leave the house while she still has the chance. But she is forced to stand up for the village beauty Sam, who wants to be raped by the soldiers who left Noble. Now the farmers have only one option: to seek help somewhere to fight off the arrogant Darth Vader of the local spill.

The monumental shadow of “Star Wars”, which unwittingly falls on the brainchild of the director, screenwriter, cinematographer and simply a man of steel Zack Snyder, is playing an evil joke with him. After all, comparisons cannot be avoided even with great desire. In terms of pure superpowers, it’s like Batman vs. Superman.

And regarding the similarity, we have two news: good and bad. Good – it really reminds me of the good old Star Wars. The bad thing is that it looks a lot like Star Wars. And to a certain extent Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.

The problem isn’t even that Lucas worked his movie magic in a completely different era, while Snyder has to deal with a glut of blockbusters and audiences. And it’s not that at the initial stage all this was conceived as part of “Star Wars”. It’s just that this time the visionary director performed frankly weakly. Even from a visual point of view, “Riolent Moon” is barely able to surprise.

There is nothing to say about other aspects. There are resolutely one-dimensional characters without proper development, the most standard plot about gathering another team of fearless warriors, a crushing pathos that leaves no maneuvers for saving irony, plus the usual abuse of expressive Snyderian rapids and several cringe-worthy episodes. With such a set, they do not enter eternity.

Western critics have already destroyed the film in scathing reviews, comparing Rebel Moon to the adventures of Skywalkers and company. But, strangely enough, the tape has the right to life, if we do not expect other “Star Wars” from it in the context of a new cultural phenomenon, no matter how much we would like it. It is better to abandon extraneous expectations.

Getting more out of a film that doesn’t offer much is possible only when you treat it purely as another one-off blockbuster. And that’s all. From this angle, the movie looks more attractive, and sometimes even interesting.

Snyder tries to avoid the naivety characteristic of the cult predecessor, adds gloom and suggests that there may be such a thing as gang rape in this universe. But when you look at the debut action scene, where the gorgeous Sofia Boutella crushes the rapists to pulp, and there is not even a hint of a drop of blood, you come to the conclusion that all this gloom is fake. Cruelty is felt only in the scene where the steadfast antagonist with prominent cheekbones, played by Ed Skrein, kills an anthropomorphic squid with a hook.

In addition to the global confrontation, Snyder and his co-writers Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad were able to write several side quests that will slightly diversify the clichéd plot.

It’s both a How to Train Your Dragon (or Avatar flying beast) style mini-story with a somewhat caricatured version of Conan the Barbarian, and a cyborg Nemesis fight with arachnid Jena Malone (light sabers included, and the Force be with you), and own Coliseum; it’s just a pity that the creators did not spare a lot for the gladiator match. At the same time, Snyder once again does not give up detailed flashbacks, one of which strongly resembles the storyline of Thanos and little Gamora.

The star actors present here have nothing to play. Sofia Boutella just moves beautifully in the frame and that’s enough. Charlie Hunnam gives a natural Han Solo, only without Chewbacca. Ed Skrein, the owner of a phenomenal hairstyle, habitually grinds his teeth, and his Nazi-like uniform gives reason to assume that he came here straight from the set of another Netflix project.

Already in April, the second part of “The Giver of Scars” is planned for release, and I would like to believe that it has at least some surprises in store for the viewer. For now, we humbly state that “Running Moon” fails as an ambitious space opera with an epic scope, but is viable as another Saturday night streaming blockbuster.

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Conclusion:

Riot Moon is Zack Snyder’s third film in a row, after the director’s version of Justice League and Army of the Dead, where he assembles a fighting team that makes a strong claim to the audience’s affection. But if Snydercut became a triumph of creative freedom, then something clearly went wrong with the director.