Rebel Moon Was Better Than I Expected
Last night my partner went out to a family gathering, so I stayed at home with the baby. He went to sleep around 9 and I was a bit bored floating around YouTube, then decided to check out Zak Snyder's film, which I heard was a Star Wars rip-off.
What I Was Expecting
Well, going into this film, I assumed it was going to be a rip-off of the original Star Wars film. So, a young farmer on a baron and boring world, who is thrust into a fight against an evil empire that will inevitably be defeated by the end of the movie.
Is it that?
Not really. Yes, the main character Kora is a farmer helping out this village who are essentially Irish/ Scandinavian peasants.
Paddy Vikings in space, what's not to like? I did kind of roll my eyes a bit initially because they're peasants with paddy caps, and I just thought, why is it that anytime there are poor peasants they're Irish in some way? I'm offended and demand reparations! They're appropriating my culture!
In fairness, they only look kind of Irish in their scruffy attire. But, they're clearly based on Vikings. Their accents, the longhouse they hold meetings in, ale... they were seconds away from saying Skol before drinking.
We discover that the main character was found on a crashed ship, and her stand-in father is encouraging her to marry and join the community fully, which she refuses. Initially, I thought this was because she, 'Don't need a man.' But, as her backstory unfolds, it makes sense.
A cruiser arrives and she is more panicked than anyone as she sounds the alarm, the chilled reaction of the others leaves us intrigued and we understand that there's a lot more to Kora than meets the eye.
The Main Character: She kicks ass part way into the film, and by this point, we're already intrigued, but she showcases some great fighting skills that don't make a lot of sense, until we discover her backstory... which is really good, and makes a lot of sense.
By comparison, it took 3 films for us to know who Rey was, and by the time we did it was too late. The mystery was a letdown. This movie isn't afraid to tell us who she is within the first 45 minutes, and her backstory is really interesting and adds to the world of this film.
The Baddies
The dropships they come from the cruiser in reminded me of the ship from Firefly, not in a rip-off kind of way, but it may have been an inspiration.
When the baddies come to meet the villagers, their attire is very Nazi-inspired, and to be honest, what sci-fi show doesn't take inspiration from the Nazis, they're one of the evilest forces in our recent history, and in fairness to them, were one of the best-dressed forces - thanks to Hugo Boss.
Starship Troopers, Star Wars, and many other shows and films use them as inspiration for their evil regimes, and why not?
The thing I really like about these baddies, compared to most modern films, and especially Disney Star Wars films and shows. Shouting doesn't equal scary.
These guys are cold and calculated, they use their even tone and composure as a way to convey dominance. If you have power, you don't need to shout.
New Star Wars by comparison gives us frothing-at-the-mouth nutcases, who - apparently - are powerful, yet end up feeling weak by the way they act.
The baddies in this film remind me of the original Star Wars trilogy's imperial forces, cunning, cold, and domineering in their presence alone. The initial inciting incident reminds me of Inglorious Bastards' opening scene.
Comparing This To Star Wars
I think it's unfair to compare this story to Star Wars, and doing so would lead to a conclusion that may not please the heads of Disney.
The Force Awakens - Disney's first installment into their sequel trilogy - feels way more like a rip-off of the original Star Wars films but is far weaker in comparison. The Last Jedi was weaker than that, and then The Rise of Skywalker was better, but the bar was so low by that stage that it didn't mean much.
Solo was crap, Obi-Wan was crap, Boba Fett was crap. Mando, Rogue One, Andor, and The final season of The Clone Wars are literally the only good things Disney did with the franchise since 2012... They made refugees of their fanbase, and now I feel like those fans they lost may gravitate towards this film, and the movies to come.
Rebel Moon is well made, really well shot, isn't afraid of being dark, the world feels good, the aliens look interesting, and it left me wanting to discover more.
I'm a huge fan of Star Wars, but I have to say, there hasn't been a lot in the last few years that has grabbed me, in regards to the franchise and Disney's mismanagement of it. Rebel Moon, to me, seems like a far better option, and could potentially open the floodgates to something new that any sci-fi fan could appreciate.
What This Film Means
Okay, this isn't really to do with the review, but is more so, to do with my own sci-fi/ fantasy/ space opera I've been writing here on Hive.
I've been building a world of aliens, and other worlds, and these stories spawned from a script I was writing after watching The Last Jedi, which was essentially my own idea of what the sequels should have been. Then, as I got into it I said, "Why not just write my own thing." - That I did.
Lightsabers were something that I always wanted to add to my world - obviously called something else - but I thought that would be a bit too on the nose. But, after seeing them used in this movie I'm thinking that I may as well add them in there.
In my opinion, Disney has missed some amazing opportunities and hasn't catered to any of their fans, or shown the slightest respect for the lore, or franchise as a whole and I'm happy that there is something like Rebel Moon, which is essentially giving us a darker sci-fi franchise that anyone can appreciate, especially if they're one of the many jaded fans of Star Wars.
The sound design was good, the music was good, the ship designs were good, the weapons were good, the aliens looked great, and the actors were all great too. All in all, this film is a step in the right direction, and I'm really looking forward to April when the next installment is out. The creators of this film have done a great job introducing us to this new world, and have built a good foundation for moving forward.
I may watch this some time. I am a sucker for big space operas. They do seem to repeat certain themes of destiny and loyalty. From what I've seen Rebel Moon borrows from Seven Samurai (or The Magnificent Seven or even Battle Beyond the Stars if you remember that). Samurai movies and westerns have all the classic themes of good versus evil. Throw in some war film action and you have something like this. I thought Starship Troopers did a nice job of subverting the genre.
This may be one to watch when the other half is out so I can turn up the surround sound.
!BEER
I have watched Magnificent Seven, or Battle Beyond The Stars, I have to do my homework, I have heard of the former though.
Yeah, George Lucas took a lot of inspiration from those films for Star Wars, and you're right, those themes are very present in a lot of sci-fi. I always liked Firefly, and how each episode is stand-alone to a certain extent with a much larger storyline, and ideas and style taken from old westerns. Same as Mandalorian really.
Starship Troopers is one of my favourites, and it did such a good job of bringing something new to the table in regards to its social commentary. 2 and 3 are good too, but the first one is the best.
Oh man, this with the surround sound on would be epic. Do watch it man, I'd love to hear what you think. It got a critic score of 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, which seems really unfair.
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Firefly had a real western vibe and it's a shame it didn't run for longer. I've not seen the Starship Troopers sequels.
Last night we watched the new Chicken Run. That was silly fun.
God haven't seen Chicken Run in ages, but I saw there's a new one out.
Starship Troopers sequels are cool. The second one is small scale and takes place in one location. The 3rd one brings back some of the characters from the 1st one, and it's really good.
Did you ever see the Firefly film? Serenity. It finished the story they all wanted to tell with the show.
I have seen Serenity, but that was before I watched the series recently, so I need to see it again really.
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BEER.Hey @killerwot, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @steevc for you. Enjoy it!Do you want to win SOME BEER together with your friends and draw the
BEERKING.I love your review and it makes me want to watch rebel moon. Good evening!
Thanks, I appreciate that. It's well worth checking out if you're a fan of Sci-fi.
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I'm all for new science-fiction stuff. Something beyond the current superhero titles. Hollywood's slacking big time. The most recent I enjoyed was The Creator, if you saw that; if not, check it out!
Oh, thanks for reminding me, I really wanted to check that one out when I seen the trailer a while back, it looked deadly!
Yeah, I'm bored of most of the stuff being produced now. The reviews for this film are all negative, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.
I have yet to see this movie, I had forgotten to put it on my list. Thank you very much for sharing your opinion.
Thanks so much for the comment. Do check it out, it has has some terrible reviews so I'd be interested in hearing other people opinions on it.
Hello @killerwot... I just watched this movie too. First of all, the movie is visually very impressive. The decor and costumes are beautifully designed. But as someone who follows cinema closely, I could not find the effect I expected from this movie. I wanted to watch the movie because it was directed by Zack Synder and some superhero movies are successful. However, the film is based on a very classic scenario. Even though it is weak in terms of scenario, it is one of the movies that I can recommend to be watched again. Thanks for your post. 😇😇
Thanks for your comment, and I agree with your assessment. Worth a watch, but the story isn't groundbreaking. The characters were enjoyable, and the film looked amazing, and you're right, the design of the décor, costumes, and even the aliens were also pretty cool too.
I'm looking forward to the next installment because I feel that this film serves the purpose of setting up a larger story, and it also eludes to a much larger world.
To each their own. I don't claim my opinion is more valid than anyone else's but while I thought it was visually good, the story was just awful in my mind. It seemed to me like they had a ton of side quests left in a video game and went and did all of them and then based a film on it.
I think the story in and of itself wasn't mind-blowing, and it kind of reminded me of KOTR, or Mass Effect, in the sense that there's a threat, and a bunch of people are being rounded up to help fight it. I did enjoy the twist at the end with Kai.
It's a tough one really, because what they're attempting to do is set up for a larger franchise, and I think in that regard they've set the premise up, to then expand upon it with the next installment. Also, they managed to get a lot into the runtime without getting bogged down in world-building details, even though I would have liked to see a bit more of that, and the character development of the cast.
Visually I thought it looked great, had a fair amount of action, and also eluded to a much larger world and scope, without being boring. The story was the only thing that let it down, but there were more things I liked about it than things I didn't like. Review-wise, I'd say it's mid to high 60s, maybe low 70s. It's not a game changer, but the potential is there and it left me wanting to see the next part.
everything that you wrote there is fair. I think they have their work cut out for them thought because the larger consensus is that this franchise-builder has failed in the initial build. We'll see. I think they've already filmed most of the 2nd one so it's not like they are gonna Eragon this.