Things are not looking good for what could be the next big sci-fi epic. Netflix released Zach Snyder’s Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, and the first part of the duology is not looking too peachy after terrible review scores have come crashing in. The Justice League director still has another film set to be released on the streaming service on April 19, 2024.
Based on a rejected Star Wars pitch that pivoted into something original, the film follows a settlement that has its peace threatened. One woman, Kora (Sofia Boutella), must seek out warriors to help defend the community.
The Review Scores for Netflix and Zach Snyder’s Rebel Moon Look Grim
As of writing, the critics’ review score of Rebel Moon is at 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Much of the issues stem from the story and script. For instance, David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote about the script co-written by the director, and how Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten were “feeding Seven Samurai and Star Wars into AI scriptwriting software.” Meanwhile, Valerie Complex of Deadline wrote that the characters “lack depth and undergo little development, making it difficult for the audience to invest emotionally in their journey.”
If you have seen any Zach Snyder movies, then you know he has a certain style that has garnered him a strong fanbase. This sense of style came to bite him back for his sci-fi blockbuster. One of the most brutal comments was written by David Ehrlich from IndieWire, who wrote that it was “the cinematic equivalent of an NFT.” Complex wrote the use of slow motion “feels antiquated and distracting” and hindered the action scenes.
The influences were apparent. As review after review drop for Rebel Moon, many have had a wide breadth of comparisons, like Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Dune, Avatar, and more. Owen Gleiberman at Variety boiled it down to the film being “derivative” and has “smelted down and reduced” its influences “to a highly edible sauce of overfamiliar tropes.”
A score for audiences has not been made available on Rotten Tomatoes. On IMDB, it is currently at 8.6 from 63 reviews, giving hope that the space opera can find an audience.
Netflix and Zach Snyder both need to find a substantial audience to keep the potential of the IP alive as they try to franchise it out. While another movie will be released next year, more will come in the form of other media. A video game is in the works, and a prequel comic will arrive in January.
