Sunday, 7 January 2024

VOD: Rebel Moon Part One A Child Of Fire (dir: Zack Snyder, 2023)

 "This is the beginning of something."

This first half of Zack Snyder's epic fantasy/sci-fi two-film project that has risen from the ashes of his rejected Star Wars movie clearly bears the hallmarks of that franchise but attempts to go a more down-and-dirty route, as we find the tyrannical Motherworld's rule expanding across the universe and crushing any enemies, here with a focus on a small farming community learning to live with the military invaders.  Cue mysterious land-girl Sofia Boutella taking out a bunch of rapey soldiers singlehandedly and embarking on a planet-hopping familial revenge path, picking up a rag-tag band of rebel fighters along the way.  Sumptuous visuals and large-scale action sequences vie with very familiar story beats and character types alongside plenty of heroic slo-mo and that signature flat-looking Snyder sheen.  There is also entertainment to be had deciding which is more bizarre: Ed Skrein's haircut or Charlie Hunnam's unnecessary attempt at an Irish accent.  In spite of boasting a noisy enormous-scale finale, this film is definitely a 'part one of two', but of its genre it is entertainingly po-faced enough.
 

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