Watch Rebel Moon - Part Two on Netflix
Written by: Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, Zack Snyder (screenplay), Zack Snyder (story)
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Staz Nair, Fra Fee, Elise Duffy, Anthony Hopkins
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Kora and surviving warriors prepare to defend Veldt, their new home, alongside its people against the Realm. The warriors face their pasts, revealing their motivations before the Realm's forces arrive to crush the growing rebellion.
Verdict
This is a lot like the first movie with less foundation and less narrative. That's impressive as the first movie was a bunch of action sequences loosely tied together. It's more mindless action sequences with little substance. While this has some neat images and ideas it doesn't pull it together. The most surprising thing is that this story might take two to four more movies to conclude. I can't fathom how they will stretch this story any further. You could edit the first two movies down to just one movie and still have room to finish the plot.
Skip it.
Review
This is the sequel to last years Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire. It was a nice idea, but heavily derivative. It wanted to be a space opera, but instead was only concerned with action scenes. I didn't enjoy it, but I wanted to see how the story resolved. This initially was going to be a two part story.
I didn't like the first movie. It was shallow; a bunch of action scenes tied together with the thinnest of plots. This movie doesn't provide much introduction, picking up right where the first one ended. This is hoping that you've not only seen the first movie, but that you remember it as well. The voice over doesn't quite give us enough. This feels messy as I'm left trying to remember what happened in the first one. That one ended with Kora (Sofia Boutella) apparently killing Noble (Ed Skrein) with Noble taken back to his ship.
Kora arrives back to Veldt with her rebel team she recruited in the first movie. Kora tells the village that Noble is dead and won't come back, but that is quickly dispelled. The village must prepare for Noble's arrival. This village has the tech for floating wagons, but still use a handheld sickle to cut wheat.
I don't like how this edits the story. The mercenaries help the town with one wheat harvest and they're invested. This could have taken a bit more time and shown them fitting into the village slower which is more believable. The village becomes enamored too quickly. Also this movie, like the first and most of Snyder's movies, really likes slow motion. Do we need a slow motion shot of cutting wheat?
The mercenaries prepare the village for battle, but I'm not sure farmers with sickles will fare too well against guns. One afternoon is all it takes to get them ready. Are the villagers that adept or just too hopeless? The unfortunate thing is this movie has excellent source material, Seven Samurai, yet it can't capitalize or is trying to make distinct choices to appear different.
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| Robot Jimmy |
The Empire, or whatever this movie calls them, attacks. It's no surprise it's a rough battle when the farmers are so over-matched. While the farmers fight surprisingly well, the bad guys appear in the distance with a tank. Where'd that come from? Robot Jimmy makes an appearance. He was a character that appeared in the first movie a couple of times but never seemed to have a reason. That purpose is fulfilled now. The movies should have built around him instead. Also how many times is the tide of this battle going to turn?
This is the same as the first movie, more interested in action than any kind of story. This series seems to believe the story is what gets in the way when you're crafting action scenes. You could edit these two movies into one. Unnecessary describes so much in these movies.
I was surprised that this movie has no conclusion. It doesn't even try. It just ends. Originally this was a two part movie, then a trilogy. Now Snyder states this will be comprised of four or six additional movies depending on whether they split the second and third 'chapters.' That seems so indeterminably long. This wants to be Star Wars, but at least Star Wars told complete stories in each movie. It also provides characters for which we can root. There's just not enough in Rebel Moon to make it interesting.
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