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Sofia Boutella. © 2023 Netflix, The Stone Quarry, and Grand Electric. Directed by Zack Snyder.
Watched it on Netflix
There Are No Heroes. Only Rebels. The answer to an adult-oriented Star Wars franchise is here from the visionary Zack Snyder. However, the answer wasn't exactly as you expected. It is an original sci-fi film for sure, but unfortunately, this feels like A New Hope but with no flavor and complexity in its story. It does have the classic Snyder direction, but the film falls flat when the story takes over the stage after an action scene is over. For this being a part one of a new larger-scale story, I don't know about this one chief. Let's travel to the outer galaxy and explore the Motherworld. Story: When a colony on the edge of the galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, they dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighbouring planets to help them take a stand. What Snyder does well with his direction is delivering unique world-building and eye-gazing visual sequences that will glue you to the end. Snyder proves with each film that he still has the high intense visual flavor with his stylized action sequences and beautiful eye-popping cinematography. Since his first time being the director of photography with Army of the Dead, he continues his DP work by bringing his unique visual direction with its action and drama sequences. His iconic slow-motion style is still present in this film and it is utilized well here which is a major positive since he typically overuses it a lot in his previous work. There are some wonderful and dazzling shots with raw and gritty gun-play action and fight sequences. His gun-play action sequences are the strongest ones, especially the smaller fight scenes which feel visceral and effective. Besides the action and visuals, the strongest parts of the film are the protagonist Kora (Sofia Boutella), and the world-building of Rebel Moon. I enjoyed Kora's journey and her backstory which revolves around her deadly work with the Motherworld. Boutella's performance was solid and honestly, one of the few performances that worked here alongside the main villain. Kora's personality works for Boutella's performance and her character progression worked decently throughout. However, there is nothing uniquely special besides her being a bad guy at first and turning herself into a rebel. There is another character trait from Kora with someone being related to her but that's a spoiler. Even with that spoiler, if you have seen A New Hope, you can guess what will happen immediately which waters down her backstory. Yet, her entire character backstory connects to the larger world of Rebel Moon which made me appreciate the world-building. Especially with the flashback sequences, I was eager to learn more about Snyder's new out-galaxy universe. The main story, including Kora's backstory, utilized the world-building very well. We get a sense of the huge epic scale of this galactic universe while learning the new lore that Snyder is providing us. The world-building also happens in the background while it doesn't overtake the main story and conflict. Overall, it is seamless and unique which breaths originality to this universe. Even though this concept was initially a Star Wars project, it felt distinct and completely different due to its production design and technical filmmaking behind it. Snyder's production of his films is always insane and this one is no different. The production team brought a unique flavor to the set designs, costumes, and props used in the film. It is more gritter than I expected but it adds to a level of realism and tactical look onto the world's atmospheric look. Some of the makeup of certain characters look solid and the attention to detail on certain set work looks very impressive. Luckily, the score wasn't half-baked and there was epicness behind the music. Junkie XL knows how to pull off an energetic score into an action sequence and even a slow-dramatic scene. His music always adds an epic feel to it, no matter the scene. Through just the production alone, I got to give my hats to the team who made this world feel alive in certain sequences. However, even with all of that cool production design and work, the film stumbles upon a missile and blows itself up with its bland story, underdeveloped characters, and even its rough visuals. Not even Snyder himself can save his DP work with its rough VFX work.
Where do I start? I don't know, maybe the most crucial part of the film which is the story itself. Snyder's storytelling is distinctly unique and questionable than any blockbuster filmmaker's work I've seen in recent memory. Snyder loves to stretch his stories to the limits and while his recent film went back to his filmmaking roots with Army of the Dead, by creating a simple heist zombie film with depth characters and interesting consequences, in his new film, he does the opposite. Did it work? Not fully but at least he tried to compete against Star Wars. I'll give him props for the world-building of this new universe but even with all of that, the plot couldn't save the film's blandness through its tone, emotionality, and even the fucking visuals. It is chaotic but not in a good way.
The story is remarkably similar to A New Hope but it changes a lot through its plot and certain character decisions. Yet, it feels too predicted and it doesn't challenge anything new besides its world-building and lore of the story. There is this one robot who is voiced by Anthony Hopkins who voiceovers the lore of the universe but it's done well through its visuals. Even Kora's flashbacks were solid but it felt cheap, just to drag the film. Even the execution of those flashbacks was done poorly and it could've been a simple sequence by not letting Kora tell the audience in which we know what the hell is happening on-screen. You are literally telling us what happened and we know what's happening on-screen. The classic "show, not tell" rule is being broken here. I know what Snyder is going for but it is too repetitive in its execution throughout the plot. Speaking about the plot, it is simple to follow but it is not complex enough where you know what is about to happen in the next scene. The only thing I was kind of surprised about, yet expected what was going to happen was a cliche plot twist with one of the side characters. It was expected, yet Snyder hid it well so I'll give props to him. The plot feels rushed and sometimes, lacks depth with certain character moments for the progression of the story. There are multiple scenes where we get to see a character moment but only one and that's it. They are just present in the background with nothing else to do but fight. The lack of depth killed a potentially awesome story and by the end, I couldn't give a shit anymore. You can tell there were cut sequences and even shots in the film that could've added depth but we have to wait for the R-rated cut soon. Like, c'mon? Seriously Netflix? Even if this was the final cut that Snyder approved, the screenplay really lacks its side characters and even its plot progression of the film. Some say it could be its structure but I don't see that being a negative. Yet, with all of those issues from the screenplay, I was thinking to myself watching this PG-13 cut thinking, "Snyder should've gotten another writer and written more drafts of the script." However, to my surprise, it is written not by one, but two different screenwriters. They have worked with Snyder in the past and I was hoping they would fix Snyder's common story issues but it is still the same. Snyder wants that complexity but he still hasn't cracked it fully unless it is a long ass cut. At this point, I want Snyder to go back to his old filmmaking roots by creating smaller-scale stories with characters that I want to connect. Unfortunately for this film, I couldn't care less for the others. Even with all of these script and story issues, the visuals itself is a mixed bag to a degree. Snyder's visuals are always satisfying to watch but even with the praise I've given earlier in the review, I found new issues with Snyder's cinematography that not many will take it lightly. The dream lenses being used here weren't as effective as Army of the Dead. In that film, it worked because of its dreamy reality look of the zombie apocalypse and the shining lights of Las Vegas. It also worked due to the realistic feel of the zombie city. In Rebel Moon, it works but in certain sequences, it feels way too flashy and even unnatural in certain settings. I liked the anamorphic look but the visual flair dies off right in the final act which is disappointing. Plus, I feel like having a different DP could've worked better for certain action and drama sequences. Even with those issues, the VFX in certain shots looks unfinished and slapped on calling it a day. There is one certain world where it appears to be full of galactic long brick houses that look bland and honestly, dull. I get that the film is limited on a certain budget but at least they could have added detail. Luckily, the film didn't have a lot of shaky cam compared to his previous film. However, there are still some issues with its technical filmmaking which is the editing of the film. The editing is bizarre and unfocused throughout. In certain action sequences, the editing is way too chopped up, especially in fight sequences. Good thing the editing didn't butcher during the important drama scenes. But the biggest "oh well" moment I've witnessed in the film is the ending itself. It felt so cliche and unfinished in the story sense. I felt nothing and worse, I thought the film would end on a particular note but it kept adding shit, and the film does it like twice. It's like 3 endings into one but unfocused with its editing. When the actual credits rolled, I just shrugged and turned off the television. Don't even get me started with some of the color-grading issues. That could be a Netflix issue but still, in the end, this was a total disappointment. I don't know why Netflix couldn't just release the full R-rated cut in the first place. I could've liked it even more but unfortunately, they want to ride that Snyder cut release format to make fans please even more. Note for Netflix, just release the entire film unless you were planning it for a theatrical release. I can hear Snyder fans babbling but I can tell you this. They only released it in under ten theaters. At this point, I don't know what was Netflix's release goal for this film. Taking all this in from the story, production, and even with the weird Netflix release, in the end, I feel empty and my excitement for the sequel is low. I had high expectations for this film to be a potential Star Wars competitor, but my expectations fumbled down every thirty minutes while I was watching Rebel Moon. Even if this wasn't a Star Wars competitor, I expected solid storytelling in this vast new rich universe. Unfortunately, it hasn't reached it yet and it is going to take a while. Hopefully, the second part of the film will focus on major character development for the side characters and Kora while giving us some good old stylized Snyder action. This was a rocky film to watch but I'm still hopeful for Snyder to cook something up good. Unless the film is in slow motion for half of the runtime.
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Vizeit Score: "C"
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Copyright © 2023 Vizeit Reviews. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Editor In-Chief/Owner of Vizeit Reviews | (Chicago Indie Critics Member [CIC])
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