Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, 2023.
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Stuart Martin, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Michiel Huisman, Alfonso Herrera, Ed Skrein, Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee, Rhian Rees, Jena Malone, E. Duffy, Charlotte Maggi, Sky Yang, and Staz Nair.
SYNOPSIS:
When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.
After invading Las Vegas with a horde of zombies, Zack Snyder is back with his ambitious space opera franchise-to-be. Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire intrigues with its world building and visual spectacle, but is lacking in much else. Snyder, who is known for his lengthy films and even longer director cuts, would have ironically been served better if he and Netflix released his 3-hour R-rated cut rather than have their cake and eat it too with this tamed down PG-13 version that plays more like a series of character vignettes than a cohesive story.
Taking place in some distant galaxy, an all-powerful empire called the Motherworld stretches its reach across the stars and threatens the livelihood of a peaceful moon village. When its newest resident, one with a mysterious past, promises to protect her new home it sets off an adventure to several planets as she recruits a group of fighters to team up with a growing resistance and take on the Motherworld’s mighty Imperium army. Essentially, it’s Dune meets Star Wars meets Seven Samurai.
The comparison to those iconic films wouldn’t be so bad if Rebel Moon‘s world was fleshed out more. The mythology Snyder crafts in the film is interesting and while it borrows or pays tribute to famous sci-fi franchises and our ancient history, there’s enough to make it feel mostly original as Snyder applies his own creative touch to the typical story beats and tropes one might see in a film like this. However, therein lies the rub as the film’s pacing goes off once Sofia Boutella’s Kora begins her mission to recruit mercenaries and rebels to her cause. It begins to feel repetitive as she meets one team member after the other, they have a moment to show off their skill and then promptly forgotten about until the big climax. Aside from the main trio of Boutella, Michiel Huisman and Charlie Hunnam, there’s little feeling of comradery in their group as the members hardly interact with each other.
Perhaps it is the knowledge Snyder is working on a 3-hour cut that delves deeper into the character’s backstories and greater mythology that makes A Child of Fire‘s flaws so much more apparent, but those essential character beats where the team does build familiarity with each other are surely (or hopefully at least) being held back for Snyder’s cut. It almost makes it feel like this Netflix release is a cliff notes version of the story Snyder is making.
That being said, the characters themselves each stand out and have solid moments, both in their own recruitment scenes and action. This is due to the strength of the cast, one area Snyder often excels at in his films. Boutella adds a lot of dimension to Kora, giving her emotional layers and nuance beyond just being an extraordinarily skilled and deadly soldier. Her background as a dancer is an advantage with the choreography as it seems Boutella performed many of the stunts and fights herself. Charlie Hunnam gives Kai a charismatic swagger as the crew’s bandit turned rebel and he shares some nice chemistry with Boutella while Michiel Huisman displays Gunnar’s lessening naivety about the dangers of the universe and of people in general, but also grows his own strength and courage as the journey goes on.
Of the ensemble cast, Doona Bae arguably stands out the most as the dual ̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶s̶a̶b̶e̶r̶ sword wielding Nemesis, conveying her own emotional depth and compassion. Staz Nair similarly shows off Tarak’s compassion and worldly wisdom while Ray Fisher gives a commanding presence as the rebel leader Darrian Bloodaxe. Also delivering a strong presence is Djimon Hounsou as the former Imperium general Titus, a man who is haunted by his past actions and is in search of redemption, revenge or death. Hounsou adds a lot of gravitas to his role, but is surprisingly not in the film very much despite his compelling performance and backstory.
The same can really be said for all of the supporting characters as, again, once they’re recruited they don’t play much into the story until the climax. Meanwhile, playing the villainous Imperium admiral Noble is Ed Skrein, who eats up the scenery but doesn’t make Noble a typical moustache-twirling villain. Instead, he shows Noble as an intelligent and coldly logical individual with his own code, even if that code allows him to commit heinous acts.
The film’s pacing is somewhat muddled as the film slows down at several points for lengthy exposition and flashbacks and its repetitive nature in the recruitment of Kora’s team. Being a Snyder film, the visuals are great and the design of the worlds and aliens are intriguing, even if some of the races we see might feel a little familiar to sci-fi fans.
The action is also well done with some exciting set pieces and choreography, although it is very noticeable where Snyder intends to include more blood and other violence in his upcoming R-rated cut as this version lacks his trademark gore he’s often known for. It does work in its attempt to appeal to a broader audience that way, but combined with how little the other characters are utilized, its pacing and story, the positive elements might not be enough for audiences to come back for Part Two: The Scargiver in April or a double dose of A Child of Fire with the director’s cut.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire amounts to an experiment by Snyder and Netflix to do two vastly different things with the same project, but if they had followed Snyder’s usual instincts it may have led to a more fully realized and complete project rather than something that feels half finished.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
Originally published December 18, 2023. Updated December 20, 2023.
