‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire’ (Netflix) Non-Spoiler Review – Interesting Insights Into Interconnectedness And Intercourse

After over two years since the release of Justice League (the Snyder Cut) on HBO Max and Army of the Dead on Netflix, director/producer Zack Snyder returns with another long-awaited action film on the latter streaming service: Rebel Moon. The first of two films, subtitled Part One: A Child of Fire, shows a promising story for what is a science-fiction tale in the depths of space. While it does have a small set of flaws, the movie does hold a moral about co-existence and how the loss of harmony affects people on a collective level.

The film’s story is written by Snyder, and its screenplay is co-written with executive producers Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten.

In this review, I will discuss Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire. As the title of this article suggests, there will be no spoilers present here.

Discussion

Narratively speaking, Rebel Moon is very evidently a beat-by-beat replication of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. While the late Japanese filmmaker’s cinematic masterpiece was grounded on the lands of his home country, Snyder’s similar telling of the tale features some elements of George Lucas’s Star Wars—later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope. A minor mechanical character named Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) along with a deformed alien to almost resemble the iconic Cornelius Evazan are neat allusions to the late-1970s classic. Like Snyder’s DC Extended Universe masterpiece, Rebel Moon follows the path of Seven Samurai through Kora’s (Sofia Boutella) accumulation of rebel fighters across the cosmos.

The film’s action sequences are nicely choreographed, although the editing in some areas does spoil the enjoyment to be had. In the first act alone, there are too many choppy cuts where Kora fights off Motherworld soldiers and takes one of their guns. At the beginning of the second act, Kora takes an alien’s knife and slams their head against a bar table. This also takes up too many cuts. Visually, the landscapes of the different planets such as the frontier facet of Neu-Wodi or the factory-polluted atmosphere of Daggus are stunning, but there also needs to be sweeter polishing done. On the other hand, I do love seeing Snyder’s mythos of a new world being established, with crab-like machines to restrain apprehended individuals, or the parasite who speaks through a human (James O’Halloran).

Holkenborg’s scoring is unique. Sometimes, the soundtrack becomes something of a classic orchestration with a harmonious chorus. At other times, it sounds like a Wild Western in space, yet not too similar to Disney+’s The Mandalorian. I appreciate how majestic the composition can be at times, including a shot where the rebel fighters are seen riding off into the sunset.

From Script to Screen

The screenwriters’ three-act plot structure is very evident. As it appears, from its opening to its final frame, the film does not look like it was meant to have the runtime it ended up with, and a director’s cut should have been the necessary option from the get-go. The first act feels straightforward in its attempts to mirror the opening twenty-five minutes of Seven Samurai. Still, the elements that comprise this act do not prove a great start to the film. It introduces the villagers of Veldt, some of whom viewers might care about. Sam (Charlotte Maggi) is a farm girl who is one of the only people who cares for Jimmy, sharing a scene ripped out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Motherworld Private Aris (Sky Yang) looks to be her love interest. Yet, it isn’t quite clear by the end of this act.

By the time one knows it, that’s when the film sooner than later ditches the village to embark on a journey outwards. The middle act’s recruitment of the rebel “fighters” or “warriors” showcases a stronger progression of events ahead. Once the screenwriters get their characters on the move, there appears to be an end goal. What I find awkward is the means and excuse of Kora gathering these rebels—including Tarak Decimus (Staz Nair) and Nemesis (Doona Bae). Knowing what that builds up to, perhaps there could have been another way to go about it. The scenes that introduce each rebel do not run long enough for viewers to get a clear sense of who they are. The best to demonstrate their background is Nemesis, whose story is not entirely clear until after a second viewing.

The final act is way too brisk in its pacing, and it would fare better if more could be developed within its second act—and maybe the beginning of the final act—to reach the climax of the film. The specific action sequence between Kora and Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) is decent enough, but it would help if the Gondival set piece did not feel so limiting.

Interconnectedness and Loss

Sadly, the execution of the Seven Samurai-like narrative feels to be done more subtly in Snyder’s take on Justice League. Given its runtime of two hours and sixteen minutes—twelve minutes less if excluding end credits—, the substance of Rebel Moon isn’t wholly satisfactory. What is provided is there; it exists, it is surely present. Yet, the subtext is buried way too deep to be uncovered by just any viewer. Here and there, the film highlights the juxtaposition of the Motherworld and its conquered planets.

The villagers of Veldt are introduced as a people anticipating a harvest season. However, for their crops to grow, the villagers themselves must copulate. Whether taken literally or figuratively, this aspect of Snyder’s film focuses on people’s interconnectedness with the earth. The village, which brings forth the major conflict for what is to come, is a rare embodiment of hope. To an extent, Jimmy possesses that same feeling within himself. This might be a clue as to what his role might be in April’s sequel. It just so happens that the rebel fighters such as Kora, Nemesis, and Titus (Djimon Hounsou) are, by contrast and as the outcome of the Motherworld’s rule, hopeless beings.

The fact that there is so much shared loss between the rebels demonstrates there is something to fight for. To put it simply, they are all broken individuals. The film integrates fictional animals such as a bennu (big black crow-like creature) and urakis (cow-like horses) to showcase how characters interact with nature. It also makes note of special characters: one who can resurrect the dead—the “Lifegiver”—and another implied to bring death—the “Scargiver”, after whom the sequel is subtitled.

The Crew Behind Rebel Moon – Part One

Snyder serves as the director of photography for the film. Jac Fitzgerald and Tucker Korte are the second-unit DPs.

Tom “Junkie XL” Holkenborg (The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Alita: Battle Angel) scores the soundtrack.

Ching-Shan Chang, Dallin Burns, Jack Roberts, Luca Fagagnini, and Rafael Frost compose additional music. Mikael Sandgren and Michael Bauer are the music editors.

Scott Hecker and Chuck Michael are the sound designers and supervisors. Brad Sokol is the assistant sound editor.

Andrew Vernon, Nick Interlandi, Bryan Jerden, and Alexander Pugh are the sound effects designers. Greg Ten Bosch is the sound FX editor.

Dody Dorn is the editor.

Lee Bermejo, Tim Divar, David Hartman, Ray Harvie, Daniel Warren Johnson, Jay Oliva, Jeffrey Paulsrud, Richard Poulain, Jared Purrington, and Andres Velasco serve as the storyboard artists.

Kristy Carlson serves as the casting director. Jeanette Benzie serves as the casting associate. Devin Rossinsky serves as the casting assistant.

Sarah Scott serves as the intimacy coordinator.

Stunt Team

Damon Caro serves as the supervising stunt coordinator. Freddy Bouciegues and John Koyama serve as stunt coordinators. Malosi Leonard serves as an assistant stunt coordinator.

Ryan Gray and Jimmy Chhiu are the fight coordinators.

Mel Jin serves as the Kora stunt double. Albert “Spider” Valladares plays the Atticus Noble stunt double.

Michael Timothy Brown and Ryan Klarenbach play the Tarak Decimus stunt doubles. Junko Goda and Megan Hui serve as the Nemesis stunt doubles.

Craig Johnson plays the Darrian Bloodaxe stunt double. Arrden Griffith, Janell Emily Haney, and Trevor Logan play the Milius stunt doubles.

Hawk Walts and Derek Graf serve as the Dash Thif stunt doubles.

Bethany Curry serves as the Harmada stunt double. Jade Quon and Samantha Rodes play the Daggus child stunt doubles.

Aesthetics

Stephen Swain and Stefan Dechant serve as the production designers. Julien Pougnier serves as the supervising art director.

Desma Murphy, Kevin Ishioka, Sandra Doyle Carmola, Richard L. Johnson, Eric Sundahl, Jennifer Bash, Virginia Berg, and Jason Perrine are the art directors.

Howard Swindell serves as the creature concept artist.

Stephanie Porter serves as the costume designer. Tamsin Costello and Erica Rice are the assistant costume designers.

Aurora Bergere is the makeup department head. Michelle Audrina Kim is the makeup department assistant head.

Jules Holdren is the hair department head. April Schuller is the hair department assistant head.

Justin Raleigh serves as the special effects makeup and prosthetics designer.

Visual Effects

Marcus Taormina, John “DJ” Desjardin, Ken McGaugh, Robin Hollander, Justin Mitchell, Farhad Mohasseb, Mai-Ling Dydo, Sebastien Francoeur, and Gregory D. Liegey are the visual effects supervisors.

Tamara Watts Kent, David Robinson, Hugo R.A. Morris, Phi Van Le, Catherine Hughes, Lara Osland, and Graeme Marshall are the VFX producers.

Jeremy Bradley, Liana Jackson, Ricardo Benni, and Ilkka Uitto are the VFX editors. Yufei Skylar Zhang is the VFX assistant editor.

The Cast of Rebel Moon – Part One

Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond) portrays Kora, a former soldier for the Motherworld. The character is also referred to as “Arthelais” and “Scargiver”.

Michiel Huisman (The Invitation, Game of Thrones, The Haunting of Hill House, The Flight Attendant) plays Gunnar, a farmer on a world called Veldt. Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak) portrays Kai, a starship pilot.

Djimon Hounsou (Push, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shazam!, The King’s Man) portrays Titus, a former general. Doona Bae portrays Nemesis, a swordmaster. Staz Nair plays Tarak Decimus, a nobleman-turned-blacksmith.

Ray Fisher (True Detective, Justice League) portrays Darrian Bloodaxe. Cleopatra Coleman (The Last Man on Earth, Infinity Pool) portrays Devra Bloodaxe, Darrian’s sister and a co-leader of a rebel army. E. Duffy portrays Milius, a non-binary rebel who fights under the siblings.

Ed Skrein (Deadpool, Alita: Battle Angel) plays Atticus Noble, an admiral for the Motherworld. Fra Fee (Disney+’s Hawkeye) portrays Belisarius—a senator and general of the Motherworld and the adoptive father of Kora.

Good Guys

Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves) plays Den, a local farmer on Veldt. Ingvar Sigurdsson (The Northman) portrays Hagen, a local on Veldt who rescued Kora from her crash landing on the world.

Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, The Father) voices Jimmy—a JC-1435 machine of the Motherworld’s Mechanicas Militarium and a defender of the slain king. Dustin Ceithamer (The New Mutants, Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, HBO’s The Last of Us) plays Jimmy’s body. Charlotte Maggi plays Sam, a farm girl on Veldt.

Corey Stoll (Push, Ant-Man, Scenes from a Marriage) portrays Sindri, the head village chief of a Veldt community. Sky Yang plays Aris, a private under the Motherworld.

Tony Amendola plays Levitica, a king on planet Sharaan who shelters the Bloodaxes and their rebellion army.

Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw) and Rhian Rees portray the King and the Queen of the Motherworld, respectively. Stella Grace Fitzgerald plays Princess Issa. Elizabeth Martinez plays a young Kora at the age of 9.

Bad Guys

Derek Mears (Friday the 13th remake, Swamp Thing) portrays Simeon—a blue-skinned humanoid alien and hawkshaw bounty hunter working for the Motherworld. Dominic Burgess portrays Dash Thif, an alien at a brothel in a port town on Veldt called Providence.

Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, Sucker Punch, The Neon Demon, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) portrays Harmada, a spider-like humanoid alien on a cobalt mining planet, Daggus, who steals children.

Alfonso Herrera (Fox’s The Exorcist, Sense8, Ozark) plays Cassius, a soldier under Noble. Brandon Auret plays Faunus, a Motherworld officer. Greg Kriek plays Marcus, a soldier under Faunus.

Other Minor Characters

Ray Porter (Zack Snyder’s Justice League) plays Hickman, a farm rancher on a frontier homestead called Neu-Wodi to whom Tarak is indebted.

James O’Halloran portrays a “rough man” with a parasite. Ceithamer also plays an alien bartender in the Providence brothel.

Carolyne Chen and Quinn Zheng play a Daggus child and mother, respectively.

Rory Gibson plays Kora’s classmate.

Performances and Character Developments

Stoll’s role as Veldt village chief, Sindri, while incredibly minor, holds a charming performance. Once viewers get the distracting beard look out of the way, Sindri comes off as a man who thinks highly of his co-inhabitants. He introduces the theme of interconnectedness that is delivered so beautifully that it is easy to miss it upon a first watch. His scene with Skrein’s Noble is intense and about as harsh as what is depicted in Seven Samurai.

Skrein does not have as much time on-screen as I would like. However, when he does get the spotlight, there is something rather enticing about what he does. His body has more orifices than a regular human being where he can smoke through what seems to be hookah tubes and engage in tentacle eroticism. The many holes that he has across his chest and back serve a purpose aside from drug abuse and sexual intercourse, though. The final scene in the film pays off, almost painting him as Rebel Moon‘s version of Darth Vader.

As a woman of color leading the film, Boutella’s Kora deserves the credit she is due. She seems to be the only person of color in the first act. Perhaps, it is to exhibit her loneliness in the world made pale by the Motherworld. Having seen Kingsman: The Secret Service nearly a decade ago, it is more than fair to see the actor take on a larger role such as this. Kora is solid as a character full of resolve, and it is not without its anguish. I am curious as to what more she has to show in the sequel in a few months.

The Rebels

With the film’s runtime, the rebels do not get a lot of room for speaking, and the most you can see that happening is in their introductory scenes. Out of the few, Nemesis takes the cake with brilliance. Bae’s swordsmanship is phenomenal, whether she faces the dangers of a giant spider woman or is urged into decapitating a foe. Her interaction with Harmada, a spider-like humanoid housed within the cobalt mines of Daggus, is one from the heart. There is a painful empathy that she has with the woman due to the tragic circumstances they both face as mothers. This truly lends a layer to the theme of interconnectedness offered, with Bae delivering some of the better lines out of the bunch.

Fisher’s role as Darrian Bloodaxe is interesting. His decision to engage with the rebels is a rhetorically sound one, acting as a revolutionary who fights for those who cannot fight for themselves. There is not much of the character in action, but by the end, there is something more noble about him than the antagonist himself. By comparison, Hunnam’s performance as Kai is brilliant. He comes off as a sort of bold Han Solo archetype who runs errands and lends a helping hand. Unfortunately, there is not much to show for it, and there is a reason why that is.

Final Thoughts on Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire has several noteworthy scenes. Despite that, with seldom space for anyone but Kora to flourish, it is difficult to see any development occur. Following in the paths of Seven Samurai and Justice League, there is an open spot that could be filled by a seventh rebel. However, whom that may be remains to be revealed in the following film later this spring. Alongside Army of the Dead, Rebel Moon looks to be Zack Snyder’s next big achievement in storytelling, and yet, it leaves behind a lot to be fulfilled.

3.5/5

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is now streaming via Netflix!

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