Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Streaming on Netflix Now

★★ (out of 5)

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire should’ve aligned with my love for epic storytelling and world-building, but instead it left me feeling detached. The film has quite an interesting premise, but unfortunately does nothing interesting with it. It’s frustrating - all the pieces are there for greatness but it just misses the mark. It makes me so sad to see potential in a story only for it to lack in execution. Zack Snyder’s clunky execution makes even the most basic drama feel tedious as he tries to create his own Star Wars. Derivative of that, Seven Samurai and a few others with unimpressive slow-mo action and dull characters. Not to mention, this is ONLY HALF A MOVIE. Unlike some two-part stories which have proper endings, this feels like they just found a good part in the middle of the story and cut it. There is no reason this should be its own movie, and it genuinely only feels like the first half of something. Not only that, but this version has been slashed and cut to shit. Snyder’s vision involved longer, R-rated versions and yet for some reason Netflix opted to release cut-down versions of those with a PG rating and then release the proper cut later to artificially manufacture some sort of Snyder Cut excitement. But there’s absolutely no point, and it ultimately results in a disastrous first version here that feels like it was absolutely ripped to shreds in the editing room. It feels like a skeleton of a film that has some of the right pieces to function but lacks so much. I have zero idea why Netflix didn’t release the R-rated directors cut first. PLUS if you’re looking to make a big sci-fi epic… maybe don’t make it for Netflix. Movies like this should be seen on the biggest screen possible, regardless of quality, as small screens/lack of viewer investment easily diminish its scale. The fact this is only viewable on Netflix just cheapens it and adds to the detachment I feel. Yes, it has all of Snyder’s trademark cinematic techniques, and he definitely hasn’t lost his visual flair, so Snyder fans might enjoy it, but man what should’ve been a cool new sci-fi epic is instead one of the biggest letdowns of the year; a colossal misfire built entirely of spare parts. Waste of time until part two, or the release of the extended cut - don’t bother with this one.

Will revisit when those release.

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Premise: When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.

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Netflix

Directed by Zack Snyder

Screenplay by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad & Shay Hatten

Story by Zack Snyder

Cast: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michael Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins

Runtime: 2hr 13min

Rating: PG

Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

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IMDb Rating: 5.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 23%

RT Audience Score: 68%

RT Critic Average: 4.1/10

RT Audience Average: 3.6/5

Metacritic Score: 30

Letterboxd: 2.3/5

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Fun Fact: Zack Snyder first conceived this as a Star Wars movie, and pitched it to Lucasfilm shortly after it was bought by Disney in 2012, but it never got off the ground.

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