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“OLD STORIES CAN BE HARD TO GIVE UP”
In 2023, director Zack Snyder released his vision of a Star War-esque sci-fi space opera in the form of Rebel Moon, with the first installment titled Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire. The film, which starred Sofia Boutella, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam, Doona Bae, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, and Anthony Hopkins, is set within a far-off future in a galaxy ruled by the imperialistic Motherworld empire, who threatens a farming colony on the moon of Veld. Kora, a former Imperium soldier, ventures on a quest to recruit warriors from across the galaxy to make a stand against the Motherworld’s might, spearheaded by the ruthless Admiral Noble, before they return to Veldt. While showcased with plenty of hype and anticipation for its release, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, which was released on Netflix on December 22nd, 2023, was met with less than enthusiastic fanfare, with many drawing negative criticisms from both critics and viewers alike on the derivate nature of the story, its characters, and just the overall blandness that the movie had to offer. Despite its visual flair of cinematography and powerful drama score, the movie was riddled with numerous problems, with many panning the project altogether, coming to the realization that Snyder’s “Star Wars meets The Magnificent Seven” concept was severely undercooked throughout. Now, four months after the release of A Child of Fire, Netflix and director Zack Snyder return to the universe of rebels, soldiers, and grand mythmaking mythos of Snyder’s vision with the release of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. Does this next chapter reignite interest in the director’s space opera epic or is it just another tasteless sci-fi slog from an otherwise derivate science fiction universe?
THE STORY
Having struck a blow against the Motherworld, Kora (Sofia Boutella) returns to Veldt, celebrating her victory against Balisarius’s (Fra Fee) might by killing Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein). Joined by farmer local Gunner (Michiel Huisman), the warrior Tarak (Staz Nair), the cyborg sword master Nemesis (Doona Bae), Bloodaxe soldier Milius (Elise Duffy), and General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), Kora and her rebels are ready to settle into the farming community and make future plans for themselves, but disturbing shatters their tranquil peace. When has reached them that Noble has been resurrected, returning to active duty as the commander of The King’s Gaze, his Imperium dreadnought ship, determined to make good on his promise by setting a course to Veldt to destroy the rebellion and collect the grain for the Motherworld. Facing a fearsome enemy, Kora and Gunner prepare to make their last stand, while Titus and the rest of the rebels work to train the farmers to become fighters, building strategic defense as possible before The King’s Gaze arrives in several days’ time. Before the battle begins, the mercenaries deal with their unsettling pasts that haunt them, including Kora, who was once bodyguard to Princess Issa (Stella Grace Fitzgerald), permitting Balisarius to commence his reign of terror across the galaxy. As the encroaching time for battle inches closer, Kora and her rebels, along with the farmers citizens of the village, band together to stop the Motherworld’s forces from sniffing them out of existence.
THE GOOD / THE BAD
Oh…. what can I say about Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon that already hasn’t been said before. Like many out there, I was quite interested to see this particular project, especially since it was being hyped up a lot. Of course, I do know that inherit hype doesn’t always a guarantee an automatic slam dunk winning, especially with Snyder’s track record being a bit mixed of late, so I still had some reservation for this particular space opera epic. Yes, the film’s movie trailers and marketing campaign promos were great and definitely got me more interested in this project, but there was still some type of lingering doubt that I had with this upcoming feature. Sure enough, that inane doubt proved to be right, with Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire ending up to be quite the messy and derivate project that many found it to be. It wasn’t for a lack of trying from Synder, who did put his usual visual flare on the film’s presentation, including his commonplace slow-motion techniques, as well as his ambition for the feature’s scope and scale. That being said, what was presented felt lifeless that, while having a few good ideas, felt, more or less, derivate to many other endeavors; resulting in a movie that felt like too much hodgepodge like of playing the “best hits” of both genres and archetypes from similar projects. Even the acting talent, which has many recognizable faces attached to the project, felt underwhelming and the character themselves felt stiff and cookie cutter cutouts rather than dynamic well-rounded individuals. Thus, despite such aims of ambitions to make his mark, Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire ends up being a derivate and otherwise boring sci-fi space opera epic that never takes flight on its wings.
This brings me back to talking about Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver, a 2024 sci-fi action film and the follow-up sequel movie to its 2023 part one counterpart. Given how A Child of Fire ended (as well as the film’s marketing campaign promising a release date for the sequel), it was almost a forgone conclusion that another installment in Snyder’s Rebel Moon was on the horizon. That being said, with how the first film ended, I don’t think a lot of people, including myself, were all too keen on seeing what lies in store for the various characters in this part two endeavor. Still, despite my thoughts on the movie itself, I still planned on seeing what The Scargiver had to offer, with the hopes of some type of positive to come out this latest feature. Since the two Rebel Moon movies were released with only a few months apart, there wasn’t a whole lot of marketing campaign for the second film, with the exception of the feature’s movie trailer that was released roughly a month prior to its scheduled release. The preview alone looked promising (those that was said with A Child of Fire), with the trailer showcasing the promising battle action that the first project was leading towards. Again, it got my interest, but I was still leery about the film as a whole and in its entirety. So, I decided to get check out what this part-two movie was going to be and to see if it improved upon what the previous film displayed or is it just another “same old” derivate narrative trope of cliches. I did check out The Scargiver during its opening weekend on Netflix, but I did wait a little bit to get my review done for it, which was a result of my back catalogue of 2023 films that I had to see / review. Now that I am in the clear of the 2023 movies, I am ready to share my thoughts on this particular feature. And what did I think of it? Well, it was still a disappointing movie. While there were a few improvements made from the first film, Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver still feels like a stale and unimpressive counterpart to its 2023 film that carries most (if not all) the same type of problems that were criticized in that endeavors. I think it’s a bit more enjoyable, but still the sum parts of those positives can’t tip the scales for this generic and flat sci-fi space opera romp.
As a sidenote, if some of this sounds a bit repetitive to my review for A Child of Fire…it’s because I did utilize the same text in a few portions of this review, which is mainly due to reasoning behind my criticism seems to match what I saw (and my opinion) on The Scargiver. So, I apologize in advance.
Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver is directed by Zack Snyder, whose previous directorial works includes the previous installment (Part One – A Child of Fire) as well as other films such as Man of Steel and The Watchmen. Given the fact that Snyder is the mastermind behind this sci-fi universe, it would seem fit that the director would continue to further helm this particular franchise by his own ways and means; finding him (Snyder) to be a suitable choice for this second outing in Rebel Moon. To that affect, what the positive strides were made in the first film can be felt once again in this movie, which does act like the second half of the first Rebel Moon endeavor. Much like what I said about A Child of Fire, Snyder still makes the movie feel quite grand in both scale and scope, despite the feature having such a small focus on particular “rebellion” insurgence. In addition, there is a sense of familiarity while viewing this project, with the director playing up to some well-known tropes that, while mostly cliched and / or borrowed from other projects, still can be viewed as mildly entertaining. An oppressive force, a call of heroes, a main character with a dark past. It’s all been down before and can be derivate if not handled properly (more on that below), but that sci-fi / fantasy trope does bring some excitement to the proceedings in a semi-comfort food type of way. It definitely has its faults, yet it still a tad intriguing for its narrative storytelling entertainment. Personally, I am always a sucker for such plots.
What Snyder does to improve upon from the last movie is the simple fact that he dials up the story with a lot of action scenes that are primarily based in the second half of the movie. Everything from the first film has been building up to the action in this movie and it surely does pay off, with Snyder homing in on such visual flair for some solid action sequences that carry throughout the latter of The Scargiver. It definitely works and is all for the betterment of the feature, which is always a good thing, gives the feature the necessary extra “oomph” for much of it. Furthermore, Snyder also gives some proper character built moments, including showcasing many of Kora’s companions throughout the action battles as well as expressing (and showing) their character’s backstories. It’s when those moments where the feature truly does shine as those flashbacks definitely helps flesh out those particular characters a bit more than what was previous established. It’s also can be a bit frustrating because I wanted to see more of it. Heck, I would love each of them get their own solo origin story film. Overall, The Scargiver, while still severely marred by many things, has some redeeming qualities to make for semi-intrigue in Snyder’s sci-fi world of heroes, villains, and aliens.
For its presentation, The Scargiver (for the most part) looks quite impressive in a lot of areas, displaying a vast galactic universe of dazzling colors, hewn, brightness, and shadows of Snyder’s space opera playground. While the narrative is still kept relatively small, the movie’s tapestry that the director present is one of the large-scale in its background and setting, draw upon familiar tones of earthly realism as well as futuristic sci-fi aspects. The production is there and does make for some impressive shots and locales that the film showcases. It’s a lot of the same feeling that was felt in the first film, so I do praise that particular aspect in the sequel. Thus, the film’s main “behind the scenes” players (all who worked on the previous Rebel Moon movie), including Stefan Dechant and Stephen Swain (production design), Claudia Bonfe (set decorations), Stephanie Portnoy Porter (costume design), and the entire art direction team, should be commended for their efforts on A Child for Fire and certainly bring Synder’s vision to life with such usage of practical attire, set layouts, and grandiose imagery to help bolster a far off sci-fi galaxy that feels both otherworldly and (a few times) grounded in reality.
The cinematography work by Snyder himself is quite the atypical presentation for his films, which can be viewed as both a good and bad thing. For me, I really liked it as the feature is quite visually stunning (as mentioned above), with Snyder delivering some stylish cinematic throughout the entire project, especially with his usage of slow-motion techniques that have become quite customary on his films. Some will say such techniques feel oversaturated, but it definitely works for some of the more dynamic shots that the director wants to achieve. Lastly, the film’s score, which was once again composed by Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) and a frequent collaborator with Snyder, is pretty great and continues to deliver a lot of those dramatic sequences in a fantastic way. The musical composition throughout the movie is very grandiose and large in symphonic scale and scope, offering a grandeur to expansive sci-fi journey. Whatever one might think of this movie, Holkenberg’s score is top notch and a fantastic listen to movie soundtrack scoring cinephiles out there. Definitely another recommended one.
Unfortunately, while there some improvements made from the previous entry, The Scargiver still carries a lot of the same problems and criticisms that plagued the first Rebel Moon feature, with Snyder still causing the same glaring cinematic bumps in this endeavor. Basically, those very same problematic areas only get exacerbated in the next installment…. and that’s never a good thing. How so? Well, for starters, (and again, I do apologize for utilizing a lot of the same word usage in this review as I used in the first feature) the movie (or rather Rebel Moon itself) is too derivate of its narrative prospects and within its world building. I did mention this before in A Child of Fire, so I won’t go into grandiose details as much as I did in my review for the movie. Yet, suffice to say that, I do give credit that Snyder’s ambition for this particular project is indeed a great one and tries to make the film feel vast within its size and scope. However, despite that notion, the film borrows far too heavily from other narratives and storytelling of tales of this same caliber. Of course, the most obvious comparison could be the form of both Star Wars (for its sci-fi aspects and nuances), but also of Magnificent Seven (original and remake). Of course, Snyder does interject a lot of mythmaking and lore into the movie’s world, yet it all still feels too derivate in comparing to the expansiveness that the Star Wars franchise, a massive universe of storytelling that weaves a multitude of variety threads of characters and their tales into a cohesive web within a universe that has its own mythmaking, rules, and laws to follow, was (and still is) able to do.
Thus, it all still comes up “empty handed” in this movie and I wish (and think many) would love to see the Rebel Moon universe expand the right way, but to stand on its feats of merits and world building storytelling.
As for the Magnificent Seven aspects, that (like the Star Wars parallelism) is abundantly crystal clear in how the main narrative is set up in The Scargiver, especially how everything played out in A Child of Fire, which utilizes that particular angle to be the main plot that pits heroes and against villains. Again, it’s all familiar with an evil oppression force closing around a humble village that doesn’t know how to defend itself, while a group of villagers go out to recruit warriors to help defend their home from an evil that is coming back within reinforcements. However, while it may pay homage to the classic western movie, it comes off as a bit too cliched at times. I do have admit (as mentioned earlier) that the action scenes are far better in this film than in the previous one, especially since the “big battle” plays an instrumental part in The Scargiver’s story, but it still comes off as a too shallow and derivate in both nature and taste; squandering such ambitions with a generic plot that has been down many times before and brings nothing new to the table beyond some visual effects.
Next, the overall direction of the movie is still wonky and awkward at times, with not a whole lot of time to fully digest everything that is going on. While the script’s derivate nature can’t be partly blamed for this, Snyder himself holds the reins on the project and it shows that he may not be up for the task with such lofty ambitions and cinematic aims that don’t exactly hit or come across the way he probably intended them to be. Yes, the project can be viewed as a somewhat “straight forward” narrative, with The Scargiver having a more linear path than A Child of Fire, but Snyder continues to make this second Rebel Moon outing weighed down with too many expositional dumps and lackluster moments that take away the excitement and enticement that the director would most likely want to convey properly. In addition, the film’s pacing is a bit off several times; creating an uneven movie that doesn’t really have a good follow. The beginning half of the feature seems to drag as it is a lot of build up to what is to come, but its presented in a way that is bland, with very little excitement. Snyder himself (to me, at least) can be a good director, but his work on the previous film and this one displays that the director’s skills can be rough around the edges, which causes The Scargiver’s viewing experience to diminish greatly.
For the film’s script, which was penned by Snyder along with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten, The Scargiver (again) feels quite derivate from other greater narrative pieces out there and lacks its own personal identity. The script tries to place just ideas into its own making, but ends up just feeling generic as they come, which doesn’t help the film’s tiresome tropes that have little to no creative ingenuity in it. This, of course, makes the movie feel a bit hollow and underwhelming, recycling a lot of ideas and nuances with nothing feeling really its own identity. Plus, the world building aspect, while trying to bring its own mythology and understanding to the story, feels underwhelming and not really drawn out, which does add to the whole derivate nature of the film. Additionally, the dialogue itself is a bit undercooked and is clunkily handled in its writing, which results in a rather flat and boring character dialogue moments and storytelling beats. Even with the movie using the first film and having more bombastic action scenes in the narrative plot, The Scargiver still ends up being rather limp in the script making department, with the feature’s final product clearly showing that throughout.
Like before, the film’s visual effects are a bit of a mixed bag at times, which does come off as a distraction while viewing the movie as a whole. With a large production budget implemented, one would expect a high caliber of CGI effects to be heavily utilized to help present such an extravagant sci-fi universe that is filled with other worlds, new creatures, and individuals with unique profiles / characteristics. However, while the concept designs of such people / places in the movie are solid, the actual computer generated renderings is a “meh”. Some parts look really good, while other times it looks quite bad. Thus, the inconsistency of the visual effects for the movie is called into question and sort of takes us (the viewer) out of the sci-fi experience with such wishy-washy visual effects.
Lastly, I know that this movie (and A Child of Fire) are getting a director’s cut very soon and I will be interested to see what’s been added to both feature films. That being said, this only further cements that the ideas that the supposed theatrical cuts of the two Rebel Moon movies (so far at least) are problems for their existence. Much like what happened with theatrical cut Justice League (and the difference made to Zack Snyder’s Justice League), it seems like a lot of ideas and sequences were removed from the final cut of the theatrical release, which result in some wonky and messy scenes throughout both features. The Scargiver clearly showcases that point and ends up being a bit choppy in numerous areas.
With the movie acting as a continuation, the cast in The Scargiver is pretty much the same, with many (if not all) of the players from the A Child of Fire returning to their post to play their respective characters. Still, much like before, the final result is still somewhat of a mixed bag , with familiar names and faces bringing a decent level of quality to the feature, yet still feel a bit misguided underneath such bland and stock-like characters that are too derivate and cliched to make a lasting memorable impression. Leading the charge in the movie is actress Sofia Boutella, who plays the main protagonist character of Kora, a former Imperium soldier who is haunted by her past and looking to save the farming village who took her in. Like what I said before, Boutella, who is known for her roles in Star Trek Beyond, The Mummy, and Kingsman: The Secret Service, is one of those acting talents that has appeared in a lot of high profile projects throughout her career, but never gets the “stardom” recognition that is awarded to others around her age and caliber range. She’s sort of like an “unsung” actress, who does a film and then disappears after, only to remerge a few years later with another project to do. Thus, her involvement in Rebel Moon continues to be a welcome one and that believe that she has the acting chops to pull off the character of Kora. While that might be true, Boutella (sadly) does struggle to make a lasting impression in the role and just comes off as a standard hero-like character with a dark past; a scenario that has been done before many times. Boutella, while capable of handling herself, just seems lost in the movie and can’t make the character her own. In truth, the character of Kora is quite the recycled heroine archetype, which (again) can be seeing in a multitude of project endeavors. Thus, despite her attempts to further flesh out Kora, Boutella still seems like a bland portrayal of an otherwise bland main character that has little to no character growth beyond a few fleeting snippets here and there.
Behind Boutella, actor Michael Huisman (Game of Thrones and Age of Adaline) continues to make for a somewhat decent (yet still cliched) sidekick characters in the movie as Gunnar, a farmer from Kora’s village and who is secretly in love with her. While I do like Huisman and think he is a capable actor from his previous projects and character roles, his performances is still just “okay”, with not a whole lot of time to develop them beyond his classic character archetypes as both the concerned companion to the main character. The character of Gunnar is pretty much that in a nutshell as the script doesn’t give much beyond their surface level. Huisman is has gumption, screen presence, and charisma, but that can only do so much with the material given them, which is paltry and vanilla as they come. Thus, Gunnar continues to be just a walking trope characters that are boring and generic as they come.
The other “hero” characters that follow Kora and Gunnar are, more or less, the same and once again fall prey to the side-effect of the feature’s “hurried” narrative progression, with very little time to make a very lasting impact on us (as the viewers) to be memorable. This includes such talents like actor Staz Nair (Game of Thrones and Supergirl) as the nobleman-turned blacksmith who has the ability to bond with animals of nature named Tarak actress Bae Donna (Stranger and Sense8) as the skilled cyborg swordmaster Nemesis, non-binary acting talent Elise Duffy (Sleepyhead and Acid Noir) as Bloodaxe soldier Milius, actor Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator and Blood Diamond) as Titus, a former general of the Imperium, and actor Anthon Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs and The Father) as the voice of Jimmy, the last member of a race of mechanical knights. All of these acting talents are rather good from their past work and do certainly make for an interesting team of collective ragtag of band of rogue characters. Unfortunately, the character themselves are rather generic, which is mostly due to the narrative script (and overall direction for them) not really go anywhere as the movie doesn’t allow much screen time for their characters to develop much. As mentioned above, I do have to give credit that the movie does give a few more screentime throughout the feature in allowing these particular characters to be showcased, including exploring their backstory. It’s definitely a nice touch and I liked it, but I just wish that there was more of it. Because of this, these side characters still end up undeveloped. Definitely better than in the previous movie, but still underdeveloped. nonetheless.
As for the villains in Rebel Moon, actor Ed Skrein returns to play the character of Atticus Noble, an admiral of the Motherworld Imperium and Balisarius’s right-hand man, and gives the same decent performances in the part. Known for his roles in Deadpool, Midway, and The Transporter Refueled, Skrein is quite the skilled actor and, given how his physical appearances and vocal talents are utilized, can easily be stereotyped into playing a bad guy role in any project on both the small and big screen. So, his participation in the first Rebel Moon was indeed a welcomed one, especially given his past record of playing villains. However, much like what I said about him in my review for A Child of Fire, Skrein brings the right amount of energy and charisma of playing the role, but the character of Noble is still a bit too cliché at times, with the movie showcasing his ruthless villainy in almost every scene he’s in, yet still lacks a personality beyond those stereotypical nuances of a bad guy. Thus, Noble, despite Skrein once again fully embracing (and committing) that campy bad guy tone and persona, is still a rather generic and bland antagonist.
The rest of the cast, including actor Fra Free (Hawkeye and Les Miserable) as Balisarius, an ambitious senator who seized control of the Motherworld’s throne after the death of the previous king and queen (Free gets downgraded in this movie and only a fleeting scene in the feature), actress Cleopatra Coleman (The Last Man on Earth and Dopesick) as Darrian’s sister and the leader of a rebel insurgence Devra Bloodaxe, actor Ingvar Sigurdsson (Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Everest) as Kora’s friend Hagen, actor Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves and Miss Scarlet & the Duke) as local villager / farmer Den, actor Alfonso Herrera (Ozark and Sense8) as Noble’s enforcer Cassius, actor Sky Yang (Holding and Halo) as Motherworld soldier Aris, Actress Charlotte Maggi (Summer Love and MaveriX) as farmer villager Sam, actress Sisse Marie (The Lost Princess and Let’s Make it) as Astrid, actress Stella Grace Fitzgerald (Mrs. Davis and Chicago P.D) as the Princess Issa, and actor Cary Elwes (Robin Hood: Men in Tights and The Princess Bride) and actress Rhian Rees (For All Mankind and Halloween) as the King and Queen of the Motherworld’s Imperium, are delegated to smaller minor character roles in the movie. While not of the acting talent involved in this group gives any type of bad or over-the-top performances within their respective roles, these characters are merely there to help propel the narrative forward and / or to fill in gaps for exposition sequences. It’s a bit of shame that some of these individuals don’t get much more screen time as some are played by some solid actors / actresses. In the end, however, most are pretty forgetful in the grand scheme of things that are happening in the movie, which is a tad disappointing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As rebels and allies gather together to save the people of a peaceful farm village, Kora and her companions face the realization of the daunting task that is set before them as Noble, who is now seeking revenge, and his forces plan to annihilate them all in the movie Rebel Moon: The Scargiver. Director Zack Snyder’s latest film takes what he established in the first Rebel Moon project and uses that movie to catapult this sequel feature by further exploring the narrative and characters from the previous installment. Such further progression examines several of the heroes and current situation for a slightly more rousing space opera epic than the last one. Unfortunately, despite improved action sequences and very same ambitious scope and vastness that Synder tries to do with the project as well as some terrific cinematography work and fantastic musical score, the film still ultimately fails to with its audience yet again, which is mostly due to the part of the film’s derivate nature, lackluster narrative, generic dialogue lines, numerous expositional dumps, rushed story progression, spotty visual effects, and forgettable stock-like characters from a recognizable, but wasted acting talents. Personally, I did not like this movie….plain and simple. It’s not complete worthless or utterly deplorable as there are a few (yet small) redeeming qualities that do make the movie stand out than its predecessor, including Snyder’s ambition for the project, the action scenes, and some cinematography / scoring work in the presentation. However, everything else is still just as forgettable and derivate as it was in the previous film,. I can still definitely see where Snyder was trying to go with the story and the movie in general, but such aspiration flounder in such unoriginal and uninteresting elements that make up the movie, which still truly remains a shame. This was one movie that definitely was not worth the hype….and I think many will agree with me on that. Again, I found that The Scargiver is the superior film when comparing A Child of Fire, but only by a small margin. Thus, my recommendation for this movie would be a hard “skip it” as it does little to push anything new for the sci-fi epic genre or even for movie entertainment escapism. Basically, just watch any one of the Star Wars projects or anything similar (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Stargate, etc.) over this feature. The conclusion of the movie leaves the story open for further exploring into Snyder’s Rebel Moon universe, with a third installment being planned by the director himself. That being said, I’m not a against such an idea, but I’m sure most of the fanbase / viewers, who were once eager to see this movie are going to less enthusiastic to see it, especially after the failing attempts made in this currently duology presentation. There is a glimmer of hope that Snyder can turn it all around for something really fun and creative, but maybe that’s just a fool’s hope. In the end, Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver is an improvement on its part one chapter, yet still falls prey to its own messy and derivate nature, with its further anticipation not reaching the lofty aspirations that Snyder was hoping for and just ends up being another entry in this generically bland sci-fi epic.
2.2 Out of 5 (Skip It)
Released On: April 19th, 2024
Reviewed On: June 22nd, 2024
Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver is 122 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for sequences for strong language, brief strong language, and suicide
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