Review by C.J. Bunce
The first part of writer-director Zack Snyder’s well-advertised sci-fi movie series has landed on Netflix this weekend. Rebel Moon: Part One–A Child of Fire is a serviceable sci-fi effort that looks like the Justice League franchise director wanted to make his own James Cameron sci-fi spectacle. The movie ticks a lot of genre boxes, but ultimately lands as “just another sci-fi movie” with nothing new to offer by way of either storytelling or visual effects. It definitely looks like the work of the same guy who made 300 and Sucker Punch–a good or bad thing depending on whether you like his style. It also looks like a video game tie-in for a game that doesn’t exist. But the best feature is the casting of the next reinvention of the heroes from Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
Rebel Moon taps the farmboy/sand planet heroes of Dune and Star Wars, with Sofia Boutella in the starring role as Kora, a high-ranking officer in service of a royal family destroyed via treason and assassination. The audience meets her in hiding on a farm world, which has just been held hostage by Atticus Noble, the leader of a giant ship representing the Motherland. Noble is played by Ed Skrein, who will be most familiar here because of the show’s likeness to James Cameron’s Alita: Battle Angel, which co-starred Skrein as a cyborg. He’s as one-note a villain as they come.
Director Snyder leans the most on his own style, swapping action for slow-motion fight scenes and set pieces all developed for these snapshots, which seem more about framing his attractive cast than delivering anything close to exciting or heart-pounding. It looks good, but it doesn’t have any new sci-fi, fantasy, or Western elements fans haven’t seen before. It’s a loose adaptation of Seven Samurai to the extent it’s a round-up of heroes to protect a farm community. But the production is the most like streaming series Halo with some sci-fi tropes borrowed from Altered Carbon. The story has some things in common with Gears of War, too, but the writing is less compelling. Would it make a better TV series? Maybe.
If you haven’t seen the trailers, the big surprise might be Sucker Punch star Jena Malone as the ancient Greek Echidna-inspired creature called Harmada. Unfortunately the story isn’t smart enough to take her character along for the entire journey. She arrives like Anjelica Huston’s monstress in Captain EO or Star Trek: First Contact’s Borg Queen. You can’t help wishing she was around for more. The movie is peppered with alien races, but the main characters, likely for cost purposes, are all humans.
The movie is a good move for Sofia Boutella, who dazzled in front of the camera in more box office wins than any actress not part of a major franchise. Just look at Atomic Blonde, Star Trek Beyond, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Hotel Artemis, Fahrenheit 451, and The Mummy. The actor, who gained early fame as a dancer in Madonna and Michael Jackson music videos, seems to easily take on the physical coordination required for roles where her contemporaries call for a stuntperson. Her acting has improved and she delivers a solid performance as the lead here.
Rebel Moon was advertised to be like Star Wars, but it doesn’t come close. The first Star Wars entry hit the ground running, and Snyder spends more time telling than showing, with narration and characters left to explain backstory for much of the film. Parts are borrowed from Westerns, other scenes sport motifs from Edgar Rice Burroughs space fantasies. Ultimately viewers will be left wishing Snyder would have just started where this movie ends.
Anthony Hopkins (Thor: Ragnarok, RED 2) is a fun choice as the voice of a sympathetic refurbished robot. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Psych) has a cameo as the fallen king. Djimon Hounsou (Shazam!, Captain Marvel) has a small role as a former important general. Corey Stoll (Ant Man, Transatlantic) plays the noble leader of the farm community. Bae Doona (Kingdom, Jupiter Ascending) gets a few good scenes as a badass warrior. Ray Fisher (Justice League) is a brave resistance leader. Michiel Huisman (The Age of Adeline) is the leader of the harvest, and Ingvar Sigurdsson (Everest) also lives in the rural community. Staz Nair (Supergirl, Humans) plays one of the more interesting members of the team, who gets a good Gandalf-inspired scene riding a giant bird. And Charlie Hunnam (Crimson Peak, Pacific Rim) plays a bounty hunter who assists in getting the team of space pirates together. The assembled group resembles the crew in Firefly. Unfortunately unlike that story this show lacks any humor. This translates to a movie that isn’t all that fun too watch.
The first movie in the Rebel Moon series arrived this weekend. Because of sexual themes, excess violence, and brief nudity, it’s not for kids. But it’s a mid-level sci-fi flick worth the two hours as a Netflix movie (but you’ll probably be glad you didn’t pay theater prices for it). Catch it now, streaming on Netflix.
