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

⭐⭐1/2 

Science fiction has been in a bit of a pickle for a few years now, as it is extremely hard for filmmakers to create something that truly feels original without borrowing heavily from other franchises or standalone films. However, there is a difference between borrowing and being inspired and essentially blatantly ripping off. Zack Snyder, a filmmaker who I’ve defended for years now, and while he is clearly a competent filmmaker, it’s very hard to defend this. Right off the bat, there is no reason for this to be a part one, as Snyder has had no hesitations in the past of extending his films’ runtimes. There is nothing about this universe that can’t be told entirely in one lengthy movie. The long awaited Snyder Cut of Justice League clocked in at approximately four hours and was more than a complete movie, which could have benefited this as well. I’m probably just rambling now, but it really is somewhat baffling that Snyder was allowed to cut his movie in half with no discernible purpose. 

Calling this a ripoff doesn’t quite capture just how unoriginal this is. Nearly every facet of this is copied basically verbatim from Star Wars, right down to the costumes reminiscent of Nazi attire. Charlie Hunnam’s character is obviously a copy of Han Solo; the villain is obviously a copy of the Empire; the robot voiced by Anthony Hopkins is obviously a copy of C3PO and so on. There’s even a point where the characters draw a sword that is obviously a copy of a lightsaber. These similarities were so striking that I had to double check if this was a Star Wars movie at some point, and to my surprise, it was. Funnily enough, Snyder originally described this as “Seven Samurai in space” which was also what Lucas intended those original films to be. Originally pitched as a darker take on the mythical franchise in 1997 that was rejected, Netflix decided to give Snyder a shot to make what he pitched all those years before. 

Despite the elephant in the room of this being a ripoff, none of this is outwardly terrible. It looks nice and the production value is great, and the performances are serviceable even Charlie Hunnam’s accent is… interesting to say the least (I will clarify that I think Hunnam is a talented actor and that I have been a big fan of him since his Sons of Anarchy days). It has some nice emotional beats and the exposition dumps are put on hold for some well choreographed action. Unfortunately, this action is rendered somewhat toothless by the PG-13 rating. Many of Netflix’s movies are butchered by said rating, but there is still a palpable excitement in the action sequences that make the movie decent enough, even if there is an almost comical reliance on slow motion that has become a signature in Snyder’s filmmaking at this point, and while that may be a point of criticism for other moviegoers, it’s not something that bothers me in his films. 

It’s perfectly watchable, and that’s about it.