Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder‘s would-be Star Wars that received an infinite-money budget from Netflix to be made, will be out very soon — and today was the day the embargo was lifted on reviews. And woof, they’re howling. Almost no one who pre-screened Snyder’s space epic seems to like it, with most citing derivative and tropey plot beats, wooden dialogue, and an overall sense of blandness to the presentation.
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman says the movie steals not just from Star Wars but from every popular sci-fi and fantasy movie of the last fifty years, yet does nothing fresh or interesting with what it pilfered. He expressed doubt that the film would attract attention beyond Snyder’s usual fanbase. “Rebel Moon, while eminently watchable, is a movie built so entirely out of spare parts that it may, in the end, be for Snyder cultists only.”
Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier was a bit kinder, but still couldn’t recommend it: “Rebel Moon has long speeches about loyalty, family, honor, purpose, all kinds of things. But presented as such, those themes feel like a big hodgepodge too, with few if any of them landing. The result is a film that’s undeniably beautiful, expertly designed, and enjoyable enough to watch, but leaves little lasting impression.”
Even IGN, who is notorious for going easy on everybody and never scoring above a 7, gave Rebel Moon a 4. Reviewer Hanna Ines Flint called the flick a “Star Bore” and said “After two hours of mediocre world-building, pedestrian storytelling, and a rather run-of-the-mill climactic battle, there’s very little incentive to return to this far, far away galaxy.”
We’re sure none of this will affect the ratings for Rebel Moon, as pre-hyped projects tend to do well on streaming even if no one likes them. FUBAR, the Netflix series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, wasn’t liked either but finished in their Top 10 for 2023. A bad movie is also less of a commitment than a bad series: you watch it, you regret it, you move on. You can get Rebel Moon over with December 21 — but remember it’s Part 1 of 2.
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