Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ Is an Overstuffed First Step Into an Epic Space Opera

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire opens a new universe for a sprawling space opera.

Rebel Moon begins on the Veldt, a bucolic paradise, where Kora (Sofia Boutella) has crash landed. The community adopts her as she tries to escape her troubled past—but the fascist Motherworld comes knocking when Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein) arrives and demands their harvest. To protect her new home from oppression, Kora must venture into space and assemble a crew to protect the simple farmers and take a stand.

Writer and director Zack Snyder made a name for himself for going big. Rebel Moon goes bigger and farther than any other Snyder project. The film was once pitched as a Star Wars movie and has many parallels to the original George Lucas saga. Where Lucas battled against a shoestring budget and limited special effects, Snyder had the resources to let his imagination run wild.

Rebel Moon doesn’t reveal one or two planets. We visit a handful of places, each vastly different from the previous one. Each planet and town has diverse populations of humanoid and non-humanoid creatures. One planet being mined for its resources has a half-spider, half-woman decrying the pollution from over-industrialization. Another planet looks like a dust farm where they are training a Bennu (space griffin). There’s also a peaceful robot named Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) that may have turned to animism.

The biggest flaw in the film is packing in too much. We already know there is a “part two” on the way, and the first film feels like a big setup for the next step. There isn’t enough time to get to know the characters or develop emotional attachments to them. As they assemble the team, they toss the new characters at you so quickly that you can’t appreciate their uniqueness.

Every character, along with their outlandish names, could be their own main character. But why have one person harmed by the Motherworld when you can have a whole team of them? This is a space opera, and Snyder gives it the over-the-top production a space opera needs, with several scenes that subvert tropes in unexpected and hilarious ways. Snyder took the formula and went in a direction that may not make sense to most. It’s space—who’s to say what makes sense?

Once again, Snyder proves he is masterful at creating stunning visuals. The film is beautiful to look at. He’s also brilliant at shooting a fight scene. They are always exciting and move like a choreographed dance. Rebel Moon puts the Snyder spin on a space epic and delivers a wild ride from start to finish. It’s not Shakespeare, but it sure is fun.

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire streams on Netflix beginning December 21 at 7 pm PST.

(featured image: Clay Enos/Netflix)