Rebel Moon Review: More Like Dune (Than Star Wars)
- 05/01/2024
The Star Wars connection hyped everybody. But Rebel Moon is not the next Star Wars. And it was never supposed to be. It's rough, not dreamy. Bloody and brutal instead of otherworldly and spiritual. More similar to the weird and solemn Dune movie adaptation.
was conceived as a stand-alone Star Wars movie, like Rogue One, but with new characters, all the way back in 1997. Years later, when Zack Snyder wanted to pitch it to Lucasfilms, Disney acquired Star Wars. And Disney had their own plans, so Snyder tweaked the screenplay and made it a completely original space adventure on Netflix.
Rebel Moon is not Star Wars anymore. Star Wars is closer to a folk tale, and Rebel Moon to a history book. It has more in common with the recent Dune movie adaptation, and maybe even the Game of Thrones TV Show. You’re placed in a fully developed socio-political context that you may have to figure out yourself. The tone is solemn and dark, filled with wicked characters (and some terrifyingly gross creatures).
This movie is a big deal. Zack Snyder planned sequels, games, comics, novels and everything else you can imagine related to Rebel Moon. And even his 2021 Army of the Dead movie – believe it or not – is in the same universe as Rebel Moon, featuring some aliens.
Rebel Moon feels solid. The ships, story, and 80s-action-hero-type-characters show well-developed world with its own history and rules. But as a story experience, A Child of Fire is more of an introduction; a foreshadowing device. A lot of world building, character introductions and an easing in of Snyder’s distinct visual style.
The cinematography is distinct because it uses weird lenses that create painterly shots with strong subject isolation. And this softens the Sci-Fi look with a different kind of sensitivity, rarely seen in mainstream movies, that also adds a vintage vibe to the movie.
In the third act, the tone becomes emotional and characters gain a lot of color and become relatable. That’s when the movie’s best qualities are visible: action and heroism. But Rebel Moon ends mid story, leaving the viewers hyped up for more.
Besides part two that will be released in March, a confirmed second version of this movie is on the way. The current version is a family-friendly one, with the action sequences cut before impact. The new one will be longer and urestrained.
As of writing this article, Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire is number one on Netflix in most countries. But the critics on Rotten Tomatoes tell a different story, showing a gap between them, the audience and the definition of a successful movie.
