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.
For those who watch “Rebel Moon” and think it’s eerily similar to the Star Wars movies, that’s because director Zack Snyder pitched it to Lucasfilm shortly after they were bought out by Disney in 2012 as a Star Wars vehicle. Lucasfilm passed, and Snyder and producer Eric Newman then pitched it to Warner Bros., who also passed, before Netflix picked it up. This is the best Star Wars film we’ll never get to see. It is heavily influenced by Lucas, Akira Kurosawa, and the Heavy Metal magazines, but Star Wars is most prominent throughout.
It takes place in a distant galaxy where the Motherworld, a peaceful people, is ruled by a noble king and his niece. When they are suddenly killed, an attack supposedly carried out by anti-royalists, the king’s only son, Balisarius (Fra Fee), ascends the throne and establishes the Imperium, a militaristic state he devotes to conquering new worlds. A new recruit, Kora (Sofia Boutella), works her way up the ranks, becoming a ruthless field commander.
Years later, the story picks up on the planet of Veidt, where Kora now lives a tranquil life amongst peaceful people, including her two close friends, Gunnar (Michiel Huisman) and Hagen (Ingvar Sigurdsson). When Imperium forces, led by the merciless Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein), visit the village and kill their leader, demanding their submission and alliance to him, the people, only ever having known peace, accept defeat and submit to him in the hopes that no more blood will be shed.
He leaves a skeleton crew behind, and later that night, the men try to rape a young village girl, but Kora steps in and kills them all. She tells the people that Atticus will eventually come back and kill them, but they refuse to believe her, branding her as an outsider. However, they quickly change their minds when she informs them that she used to be one of them and grew tired of the senseless killings of hundreds of thousands of innocent people spanning endless galaxies.
Now, Kora and Gunnar must depart the planet in search of warriors who will come to Veidt to help defend the people against Atticus and the Imperium forces. But locating fearless fighters willing to fight to the death won’t be an easy journey.
I have found Zack Snyder’s filmography to be very hit-and-miss. I loved his feature film directorial debut, “Dawn of the Dead,” even surpassing Romero’s version. I thoroughly enjoyed “300” and “Man of Steel.” Still, I wasn’t blown away by “Watchmen,” “Sucker Punch,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” was just too bloody long and totally unnecessary, so going into “Rebel Moon,” I had no idea which Snyder I would be getting, but I would place it right next to “Dawn of the Dead,” in terms of pure unadulterated fun.
If Lucasfilm had enough foresight to see what a great Star Wars film this could have been, they would have had one of the best standalone Star Wars movies ever, right next to “Rogue One.” Snyder knocks this out of the ballpark, thematically and narratively hitting all the right notes. Each of the central characters serves a purpose that isn’t always discernible, at least in the beginning, but by the film’s finale, everyone and everything falls into place perfectly.
The action, humor, and, at times, moments of gravitas all work perfectly within the confines of the story. The concluding battle and fight between Kora and Atticus literally had me on the edge of my seat, and I can tell you, it’s been a long time since I was fully immersed in a fight such as this. The entire cast brings their A-game, and the action setpieces and special effects are out of this world (pun intended).
I don’t ever read other critics’ reviews before I write my own as it is easy to be influenced by others’ writings, but I had heard, in advance of the “Rebel Moon” screening, that the film was not doing well critically. All I have to say to those critics is, take that big stick out of your ass and learn how to let go and have fun all over again. I can promise you, you’ll have a more enjoyable time at the movies.
Available to stream on Netflix Friday, December 22nd
