Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire

Beginning with an epic musical score and grand voiceover before cutting to a vibrant alien sky, Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon sets the tone for an eye-widening sci-fi adventure. Unfortunately, despite the director’s knack for spectacle, it soon transpires that this first instalment is a bland amalgamation of various other sci-fi flicks, with little in the way of personality or originality of its own.

The plot follows a plucky farmer named Kora (Sofia Boutella) who flees her peaceful home after a tyrannical ruler’s ruthless soldiers demand all the village’s harvest. Her goal is to assemble a group of warriors strong enough to fight back against the invaders, and that’s about as far as the script goes in terms of its plot. Much of the film sees Kora and her growing band of companions zipping across various planets and getting into fights along the way. It’s essentially Seven Samurai in space, with elements of Dune and Star Wars sprinkled on top dragged across an over two-hour runtime.

The protagonists’ journey takes them to a host of distinct and interesting locations that are home to some strange creatures. These inclusions give glimpses into a vast world full of intrigue, but there’s never enough time spent developing these ideas. One scene, for example, sees Jenna Malone play a half-human-half-spider creature who captures the children of settlers as revenge for what happened to her. Rather than explore this subplot to give the world some flavour, the script blasts past this encounter with another flashy action scene.

This absence of worldbuilding likewise extends to the band of heroes. Whereas a large part of the charm and humanity of Kurosawa’s samurai classic came from the characters gradually forming bonds with each other, there’s rarely any interaction between Rebel Moon’s warriors. Most of what viewers need to know about them is told through some quick exposition before they vanish into the background. It doesn’t help that the actors feel like they’re going through the motions, delivering their lines lifelessly. The exception to this being Ed Skrein, who enjoys every second of playing the villainous admiral.

Although its gorgeous panoramic shots and slick action scenes make Rebel Moon a good-looking film, its paper-thin plot and underdeveloped characters are what ultimately cause Zack Snyder’s space odyssey to fall disappointingly flat.

Andrew Murray

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is released on Netflix on 22^nd December 2023.

Watch the trailer for Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire here: