Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire review
Let’s be clear about Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire.
It’s not a groundbreaking original sci-fi outing by any means. Director/co-screenwriter Zack Snyder liberally borrows plot points and the basic setup of Seven Samurai by way of Star Wars.
But to be fair, it’s not like that wasn’t the case with Battle Beyond the Stars too. And from the strictly Seven Samurai formula, The Magnificent Seven already did it. Twice. And J.J. Abrams did his homage to Star Wars with The Force Awakens.
Snyder has his distinct style and Rebel Moon doesn’t deviate from his usual presentation. There’s plenty of bombastic action, random slow-motion just because it looks cool and frequent deep gazes in the distance. Snyder likely isn’t going to win over new fans with A Child of Fire, but his faithful fans will certainly appreciate it every bit of the grand visual spectacle. And on that front, there’s few films that can deliver on the level of Rebel Moon.
The trick is Snyder understand his strengths and leans heavily into them while focusing less on his weaknesses. He’s terrific at establishing characters, a premise and gorgeous battlefields ripe for explosions, bullets and all other forms of action carnage. An intricate script and engaging character development? Maybe not so much, but he works around those deficiencies.
Even with a helpful narration at the beginning, which admittedly felt like it would have been told better via a scroll, but there’s homage and outright ripping off, the premise was a bit confusing. Snyder and co-screenwriters Kurt Johnstad (Atomic Blonde) and Shay Hatten (John Wick Chapter 4) somewhat explain that an evil force dubbed Imperials (hmmm) are running around imposing their will and crushing anyone in their wake.
A peaceful farming village is the latest to get plundered by a squad led by Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein, Deadpool). The newest arrival to the village, Kora (Sofia Boutella, Hotel Artemis), has already witnessed the Imperials destruction firsthand and wants no part of an attempt at peace.
When one of the villagers nearly gets raped, Kora is forced to fight. Knowing she can’t take on Noble’s crew by herself when they return, Kora begins seeking aid with the assistance of villager Gunnar (Michiel Huisman, Game of Thrones).
That’s a simple premise, but it was odd that Snyder didn’t keep the Imperial defector Aris (Sky Yang) and robot bodyguard Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins), in the mix. They were featured heavily early on it seemed like they were going to be important players.
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Gunnar had some minor role in catching the Imperials’ attention and feels obliged to help. A good chunk of the middle of the film is Kora meeting and recruiting new members to join the team. She never has to make an especially hard pitch and Snyder uses these moments to explain the character’s unique skill sets with some intense action sequences.
Bounty hunter Kai (Charlie Hunnam) joins the cause early and leads the duo to some other potential allies. Tarak (Staz Nair, Supergirl) tames a giant eagle/crow while Nemesis (Doona Bae, Cloud Atlas) with her flaming swords — not lightsabers — battles a spider woman. Kora tracks down Titus (Djimon Hounsou), a former general whose tactics in a battle with the Imperials proved disastrous. The key recruit is Bloodaxe (Ray Fisher), the co-leader of a group of rebels/resistance fighters opposing Noble and his master.
These character interludes don’t do much in terms of advancing the plot, but they’re solid character spotlights. And it’s all just one extended setup before the epic climactic battle, which plays out like a major significant first salvo in a larger war.
The film isn’t really set up as an actor’s showcase. Skrein stands out mainly because a good scene-chewing villain in this type of movie usually gets some of the best lines. Fisher doesn’t have a ton of screen time but is positioned as a major player. It was nice seeing Fisher getting featured in another action film after getting bumped from the DC Extended Universe.
Claudia Bonfe’s set designs are mesmerizing and the detailed costuming from Stephanie Porter is elaborate and ornate. Clearly there was a lot of attention and thought put into all of the visual aspects of Rebel Moon.
Given the title there’s no real surprise there’s a cliffhanger of sorts. Snyder essentially just teases the second installment instead of leaving a character’s life or death fate hanging in the wind as the credits start.
Rebel Moon doesn’t change the game in terms of sci-fi action epics. It features a strong mix of characters, some memorable action sequences and a sequel already filmed with an April 2024 release date. And sometimes that’s all that’s needed.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Photo Credit: Netflix
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