MOVIE REVIEW – Zack Snyder’s *Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire* was a horrendously kitschy, cliché-ridden space opera that compulsively mimicked *Star Wars* and was deservedly slammed by critics. However, its one redeeming quality was that it contained a relatively coherent storyline, albeit across three sluggish and unimaginative acts. The sequel, *Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver*, which continues the already tepid story about warriors protecting a farming community on a remote moon, somehow turns out even worse, making the forced continuation seem utterly senseless.

From the outset, the original *Rebel Moon* was short on story, brimming with clichés and hollow characters, leaving one to question why any of the creators thought this would captivate anyone, thus giving no real reason for emotional commitment. At the start of the films, garbled, meaningless mythological backstories confused viewers with tales of a tyrant who supposedly seized control of the galaxy, but curiously, he barely figured in the narrative. The central character? Kora (Sofia Boutella), on the planet named Veldt, harbored a vast, haunting secret from her past, but truth be told, the story was so poorly constructed and the direction or acting so weak that by the second installment, I had forgotten she had any secrets at all, and frankly, no one else seemed to care either.

The Poor Man’s Empire Strikes Back

The problem begins where the first installment barely unveiled and detailed—that our hero, formerly a member of the “evil military empire,” a clear stand-in for the *Star Wars* empire, had committed numerous misdeeds. Burdened by shame and guilt, she remained hidden while witnessing the threat to the peaceful farming community and eventually mustered the courage to attempt redemption: gathering a group of special warriors to defend against the empire’s warmongering villains. They fought together, recruited allies, and triumphed against the odds, at least for now.

However, Kora’s past never provided enough intrigue or significance, despite the film setting it up as if it were the central narrative. Thus, *Rebel Moon* essentially was just a generic sci-fi story about a small group of good guys gearing up to clash with a larger force of brutal foes, with all the trimmings and visual effects adding little substance.

Originally Meant to Be One Film

The film, written by Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, and Shay Hatten, was intended to be a complete, full-length movie, which was then split into two parts by someone’s “GENIUS” idea. However, as the painfully insignificant plot structure of *The Scargiver* shows, this part serves only as unnecessary filler, meant to bridge the first part to the second while filled with boring filler scenes to stretch the story to film length, like strudel dough, including lengthy flashbacks to a torturous past. In the first hour, nothing substantial happens; we are just subjected to flashbacks and watching peasants till the land. Seriously, not even the propaganda films of socialist times showed as much plowing and harvesting as Zack Snyder’s attempt at an epic akin to *Star Wars*. It makes one think even the most devoted Zack Snyder fan would want to fast-forward to the battle just to see something finally happen.

Not a 300, Not Even Close

Do not be fooled into thinking that the battle scenes could match the clashes seen in Snyder’s best film, *300*. Everything is incredibly clichéd, utterly predictable, and often seems aimless—though it is certainly spectacular. Everyone slaughters each other non-stop, with constant massive explosions, as if not Zack Snyder, but Michael Bay directed the film.

Atticus Noble, the main villain from the first part who had already died, returns in this sci-fi, thankfully not too worse for wear and now more evil than ever. Interestingly, he no longer cares about requisitioning grain (although this was one of the main motivations of the empire in the previous part, no matter if his people might starve, the main thing is to try to take revenge on Kora, the “Scargiver,” who had already killed him once. Their clash would be central and everything else in the story is just filler, although that too is predictable and formulaic.

In conclusion, although I don’t consider Zack Snyder a bad director despite his missteps (nor particularly great), this film is definitely the nadir of his career so far. It overflows with all the typical Hollywood kitsch, clichés, and silliness, while also, as the middle part of a trilogy, it really doesn’t say much about anything. I truly don’t understand why Netflix continues to throw good money after bad on these duds.

-Herpai Gergely (BadSector)-