Nestor Mumm-Altuve

Zack Snyder is doing more of what he should have been doing all along: making his own, original action-adventure films. Rebel Moon is a sci fi fantasy that wears its inspirations on its sleeves but manages to create an exuberant visual language and intriguing plot threads that feel distinct and compelling for genre fans. It’s understood that Rebel Moon was repurposed from Snyder’s Star Wars pitch, but I found it to be much more aesthetically inspired by things like Space Battleship Yamato and Warhammer 40k which feels extremely refreshing. The story is very straightforward and unfortunately, the characters lack depth and moments of camaraderie. However, the movie is much more concerned with getting us to the next action scene as fast as possible and more importantly, showing off as much of its greater universe within the 2 hour run time. The action scenes are great and the designs of things like the ships, guns and robots are all pretty badass. Sofia Boutella is so physically impressive during her action scenes and that goes a long way to selling the character. This is just Part One or the first half of the story and so I’m looking forward to seeing the complete work come April. Supposedly we’re going to get a 3 hour, R rated director’s cut sometime between now and April when Part 2 drops and I’m curious as to how much it will add to the film overall. If you love fun, action driven sci fi / fantasy stories, this is an easy recommendation. Overall, I think Rebel Moon could be the beginning of a really compelling franchise so long as Part 2 is the energetic climax that Part 1 promises it to be.