Samurai in the Galaxy: a movie review of "Rebel Moon Part 1: Child of Fire"
Lack of imagination as the main diagnosis of Zack Snyder's space opera.
A peaceful colony at the edge of the universe. A woman Cora (Sofia Boutella) with a mysterious past challenges the galactic empire. The heroine gathers an army to fight the tyrant Balisarius.
Director Zack Snyder began his career in the mid-2000s with "Dawn of the Dead"; against all odds, he remained an advocate of originality, trying his hand at all sorts of genres. At the time of the movie's release, critics were happy to pompous style of the director and his pretentiousness. However, Snyder still got his "five minutes of fame", albeit belatedly: Christopher Nolan recently said that "Watchmen" was ahead of its time, "300 Spartans" and "Forbidden Reception" have rightly gained cult status, fans went on the warpath with Warner Bros. to release the director's version of "Justice League". In recent years, the author has settled on Netflix - quite a logical stop with a decent check. The only downside: often artists have to sacrifice their soul and creativity, but only a few people care, Snyder is not one of them. Because of this, his new "Rebellious Moon" is more like the ancient Greek Icarus: he flies high, ambitiously melts his wings, and fails miserably.
The voice of Anthony Hopkins launches "Moon": the actor voices the robot Jimmy and superficially introduces the audience to the Mother World, another version of a distant galaxy. There's the oppression of the Imperium with its ruler Balisarius (Phra Phi), and the brave anonymous "rebels" who dream of ending tyranny and living in peace. The movie has all the ingredients for success: a meager Worildbuilder, former soldier Cora going through a stage of redemption (the heroine now farms and crops), her outcast friends from all corners of outer space.
"Rebel Moon" originated in the late 1990s. Back then, Snyder, an aspiring filmmaker, together with fellow screenwriter Kurt Jonstad, was inspired by Akira Kurosawa and his Seven Samurai (the latter acting as a reference here, demonstrating the creators' extensive cinephile knowledge). Having decided to cross the idea with the universe of "Star Wars", the director presented the plans to the management of Lucasfilm, where another space opera was not appreciated (it has its own). It took 25 years to find funding and the realization of the most conventional story - small, insignificant, long lost value for the authors themselves. In 135 minutes, the characters convulse, saddle galactic hippogriffs, fight with the insidious admiral (exhausted on the villainous images of Ed Skrein). The special effects are modest, costing clearly less than their Marvel counterparts - the economy arouses respect. Sofia Boutella with fight choreography and a semblance of charisma pulls the timing on herself, as well as the star of "Cloud Atlas" Pae-Dun - that's who really and long deserves a solo project. Other members of the cast - from Charlie Hunnam to the tacitly boycotted in Hollywood Ray Fisher (Cyborg from "Justice League") - flicker in front of your eyes without much purpose.
If you want, you can blame the failure on the insidious streaming bosses who prevented Snyder from realizing a precious idea. But the problem is simpler and deeper at the same time: the crisis stems from the director's regular donkishness, his creative impulses and illusions. If a movie fails, which is a common practice for Snyder, he starts appealing to the limitations of the production stage and won't say a word about his own failure. The case of "Moon" proves that not every idea deserves to reach the screen, no matter what name adorns the credits. Snyder forgets to separate the grains from the husks, enters into battle with a soulless machine - and himself becomes part of it. "Rebel Moon" tests the audience's patience, spits on the narrative, pretends to be a Christmas present with a "childish" PG-13 rating. You don't need to unwrap such a present, it's easier to give it to the director's loyal fans, so that at least they can enjoy it.
This article was sponosred by Bo Yuan Chang
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