One of the best parts of the Star Wars phenomenon in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s was the glut of Star Wars rip-offs that were made in the wake of its success. Sadly, we never got a resurgence of the genre when the prequels and sequels hit. Rebel Moon began life as an official Star Wars project with Zack Snyder at the helm. When Disney eventually passed on it, he retooled the script and took it to Netflix. Now, the idea of a Zack Snyder Star Wars movie was promising enough, but a Zack Snyder Star Wars rip-off, in theory, should’ve had limitless possibilities. For one, it would’ve freed him from having to acknowledge decades of lore and would’ve allowed him to do his own thing. It’s a shame that none of it really works.
Rebel Moon is basically Seven Samurai in space. Intergalactic fascists come to a small farming planet and demand two seasons’ worth of harvest in two months. Instead of kowtowing to their demands, a tough farm girl named Kora (Sofia Boutella) goes out and finds some ruffians to help defend her village.
Of course, a Seven Samurai-inspired space opera was already done as the Roger Corman-produced Battle Beyond the Stars, one of the very Star Wars rip-offs I was taking about before. You would think this sort of thing would be in Snyder’s wheelhouse, given his knack for grand scale fights and penchant for excess. Sadly, neither are really on display here.
Admittedly, some of this isn't bad. I liked the robot (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) who finds some semblance of humanity and decides to fight alongside the farmers. I dug the variation on the old cowboy theme of taming a wild bronco, but instead of a horse, this time it’s a giant raven. Ray Fisher also brings a few sparks late in the game as a resistance fighter who joins the cause.
A few hallmarks of an old-fashioned Star Wars rip-off are present (there’s a cantina scene and someone brandishes fake lightsabers), however they are kind of weak. The fact that Snyder was unbuttoned by the Star Wars mythology should’ve given him a clean slate to work with. However, he fails to come up with a memorable lore of his own. Also, the designs of the various creatures and spaceships are uninspired and underwhelming. The recruiting scenes of the various antiheroes and hired guns feel rushed too. Some of them even feel like parts from an entirely other movie that Snyder shoehorned in there (like the spider lady scene).
Boutella is pretty bland in the lead too. She’s capable in her action scenes, but doesn’t have the screen presence to really carry the film. Ed Skrein is similarly bland and unmemorable as the villain.
Like most two-parters (I’m thinking specifically of Dune), the climax is on a smaller scale and not all that satisfying. Maybe Part Two will be better. Then again, this one was so underwhelming, I’m not exactly sure when I’ll get around to watching the sequel.
I Boutella was good in the lead and the film was overall fine but I feel like with Justice League it'll be better once the directors cut is released.
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