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Zack Snyder has always been a very polarizing director for many moviegoers: fans of his would always talk about his singularity among many directors in the blockbuster scene, and detractors deride his work for being derivative. Sometimes, both can be true – although it’s hard to really deny that whatever he’s making has always come from a sense of earnestness, to the point where feeling derivative doesn’t always matter. Even then, I think that at worst, Snyder tries to bite more than he can chew, especially when the case is a project as ambitious as this: the first of a two-part space opera aiming at launching a franchise.

Set within a fictional galaxy ruled by the Motherworld, we’re later introduced to our hero, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a villager on the planet of Veldt with a mysterious past. Everything on Veldt seems like an idyllic and peaceful lifestyle, until the Motherworld’s military, the Imperium, led by the ruthless Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein), threatens their orderly way of life. This sets out Kora on a quest to find warriors across the galaxy who are willing to help protect her own home, even if the returns seem diminishing. For many cinephiles, this outline may just as well be a familiar one – as a matter of fact, it’s Seven Samurai but set in space.

Rebel Moon’s origins as Zack Snyder’s own pitch for a Star Wars spin-off series are apparent, though it became clear that he wants to create something that’s very distinctly his own. All of this starts off from an evident love of the storytellers who have influenced Snyder through his career. You can’t really help but at least admire the fact that Snyder ostensibly is making this as sort of his own love letter to the greats who came beforehand, even beyond George Lucas and Akira Kurosawa. Obviously, Snyder feels very singular from most other filmmakers whose aim is to create a franchise within this new universe he’s made for himself.

Truth be told, I’m not bothered by the fact that Snyder is indeed telling a story that’s very derivative of his influences. The Seven Samurai-esque narrative has already become so familiar for many all throughout the years, and I think that it’s only a story that continues to reinvent itself for many generations because it’s just a great way to hook people in. There’s a nice cast of characters assembled here, all of whom get their own distinctive action sequence but knowing the game that Zack Snyder is playing along with here, part of you also wishes that they all had more time to be fleshed out.

All this owes itself to the fact that the version of Rebel Moon that will be seen by many, at the time of this review’s publication, is in fact, a truncated version for the sake of maintaining a PG-13 rating. Zack Snyder has emphasized that in the coming days, an R-rated director’s cut is to be released closer to the streaming date of Part 2, but the missing bits are very evidently felt in this shortened down version of the film. As many of Zack Snyder’s more ardent fans would point out, Snyder’s director’s cuts have made a case for him being an auteur working within today’s blockbuster scene. But this PG-13 version is simply a compromised version of what would be his entire vision. I don’t think much of this is Snyder’s fault after all, but more at the hands of Netflix, who are the film’s distributors.

Even then, I think there’s still glimmers of a very good film that are shining in Rebel Moon. Perhaps the best part of it all, is just that Zack Snyder knows exactly what he wanted to make out of this. The action looks great, even if a lot of it is just Snyder’s usual slow motion tricks that look cool. But I can’t help but at least sit back and admire a director being so full of himself on the camera, whether it’s for better or worse. For better, in that it’s clear that Zack Snyder wants to make clear everything that he loves gets its time on the screen. For worse, in that it’s a truncated version of something that could have been – perhaps as a result of the missing hour, or that it’s half a completed story. Nonetheless, I’m still interested to see what Snyder has next up his sleeve.

Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Netflix.

Directed by Zack Snyder
Screenplay by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten
Produced by Deborah Snyder, Eric Newman, Zack Snyder, Wesley Coller
Starring Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins
Release Date: December 21, 2023
Running Time: 134 minutes