Rebel Moon (Review) A Caravan of Cringe!

Minor Spoilers

It seems after visionary filmmaker George Lucas created his Magnum Space Opera Opus Star Wars, nearly every director wanted to make their very own sci fi epic be it James Cameron's Avatar, or the Wachowski's Matrix franchise. So now it's Director Zack Snyder's turn with his very own franchise builder Rebel Moon.But instead of coming up with something more original, Snyder takes it upon himself to borrow directly from the source, as in the “force” as in Star Wars?

In this somewhat anticipated Space Epic series, set in an alternate galaxy, our story begins when the Motherworld, a "Galactic Empire" ran by oligarchs sends their conquering army the imperium to plunder the crops on the planet Veldt, Admiral Atticus Noble arrives to "negotiate" with the harvesting villagers in a "you know where this is going" buildup reminiscent to the Inglorious Basterds' opening. But instead of Hans Lander we have the head Space Nazi in charge Atticus dressed up like Erwin Rommel attacking defenseless villagers to the extent of murder and attempted rape that is until our main hero is Kora, no not that Korra, but a former soldier who sought refuge after a brutal past only to defend the villagers. Fed up with the imperium's acts of oppression, Kora (Sofia Boutella) becomes this unifier by assembling various warriors to rebel against the imperialist forces of the Motherworld. But not all in one chapter of course.

Snyder is very unapologetic when it comes to referencing Star Wars, and it shows when both Kora and Gunner enter a "Cantina" with full harassment trope in tow, followed by a Han Solo archetype Kai played by Charlie Hunnam, who has his own Millennium Falcon followed by his Irish brogue that’s cringe inducing as with the film's overall dialog. And at times, what substitutes for dialog is plenty of "screaming" or extended diatribes.

The similarities between Rebel and Star Wars primarily Rogue One, doesn’t end there, we have a native American like warrior called Tarak who sounds awfully familiar to "Turok" as I'm the Dinosaur Hunter. Tarak doesn't do much throughout the movie except serve as eye candy for the ladies or the LGBTQ crowd while Djimon Hounsou as General Titus is also pushed aside making more room for Kora's uninspiring story arc.

Once the action starts 38 minutes in, it doesn't really matter at that point because the first 38 minutes could’ve been focused on better things like "quality storytelling?"

While there were predictable outcomes in Rebel Moon, some questionable scenes just came out of nowhere, like Gunner being sexually assaulted.

You'll also find a blink and you "won’t" miss it Star Trek Nemesis shoutout. Now unless I'm mistaken, there was a hidden anecdote during a scene where our protagonist is trying to recruit more warriors such as Darian Bloodaxe, for her fight against Noble's forces.

While I get how Zack is trying cram as much backstory as allotted within this 2 hour and 15-minute movie I can do without the preamble flashbacks.

The visual effects fit within the confines of this film's budget but it's the Director's signature trademark stylized aesthetics that adds more flair during the action sequences. In some ways, it’s like watching a movie based on the Playstation game Killzone.

In my opinion, Rebel Moon is on the same cringe level as JJ Abrams Rise of Skywalker, you're better off waiting for that Director's cut to see whether there have been significant improvements or better yet, rewatch Rogue One. Y'know, the superior Star Wars film from this decade. It's unfortunate that the same director who gave us great films such as Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman....OK, the last one is highly debatable, has ended what remains of his illustrious career with this Caravan of Cringe. Rebel Moon is a "Rebel with a pause" as in pressing the pause button for extended laughter at this dumpster fire! That said, my apologies to Rotten Tomatoes for questioning their credibility on this movie only.