Rebel Moon Review Parts 1 & 2 (Director's Cut)

Rebel Moon Review by El Mars Papasito

I must preface this with that I have not seen the PG-13 cuts of these films.  I saw them about 6 months apart though the second part took me about 2 months to finish because of personal life things that took up my time.  I did enjoy them more than the latest Star Wars trilogy.

I've seen limited opinions online.  Most of them seem to focus on the similarities with Star Wars especially the latest trilogy which also has a female lead heroine.  I'm not the kind to be turned off by a female becoming the sole lead heroine.  We all know science and though the circumstances are unrealistic based on said science I don't think they are impossible.  Though rationally it would have to be in a world where feminine upper body strength greatly evolved while masculine strength devolved or stagnated.  That or the lead would have to be a trans.  Either way I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of enjoying a story.

I found Kora completely empathetic.  I also thought her detached presence is not because of a lack of charisma or "bad acting" but its because of her tragic past and upbringing.  She has been around betrayal and violence all her life.  Of course she's gonna be at least a bit jaded.  People ain't necessarily happy go lucky after having lived their whole life in and out of conflict.  I can't go into explicit detail, but there is a reason she has all the disposition of a Daria with much less sarcasm, humor and charm.

Part 1 was more intriguing than the second which I felt was a good conclusion, but the film could have been done in 3 hours instead of being dragged out into two parts supposedly due to classic 'studio meddling' on behalf of Netflix executives.  The reason JJ Abrams dragged the movie into two parts was because he was forced to make a PG 13 edition and a Rated "R" version at the same time.  The only way he could convince executives to go along with this was is if he divided the film into two parts, therefore being allowed to release the intended "adult" version via a Director's Cut.

Honestly, I don't see how this movie can work without the detailed explicit violence featuring heads being bloodily blasted by lazer guns, people sliced in half with visible blood and occasional guts showing.  This is how a realistic Star Wars movie would be.  And the violence is somewhat poetic like a John Woo movie.  The brutality and gore just adds to the drama of war and how these farmers being robbed of their natural resources are willing to put their lives on the line to save future generations from starvation, exploitation and slavery.

I do spoiler free reviews.  But the plot is that Kora comes from a land devastated by an evil empire that looks like what would have happened if the Soviet Union ruled the world.  She was an orphan adopted by the empire and trained in their ways including combat.  She grew up to be an elite warrior for the empire who was lead by a clueless king that could not see the obvious impending insurrection by Kora's father.  There's a magical princess in the middle of this epic, but If I say the background there I give away the most intriguing plot threads.  

Point is, Kora rebels against her father and is now an anonymous farmer on a distant planet until... The Evil Empire begins extorting the planet for food regardless of what humble peasants, women and children included die of starvation and violence from the Empire imposing their will on the planets' humble citizens.  Of course, Kora decides to train them in the art of combat and they must translate their farming skills into weaponry and such.  There's also a independent rebel allegiance we don't learn of until halfway through the first film.  And an almost pointless love story tacked on.

Does it touch upon the same plot threads as the Star Wars franchise?  Yes.  But so does every war film.  Especially those that make the villain the figurehead of an evil empire like those war films about Nazis and Super Nazis where the leads have always been sent on a mission to kill Hitler.  It's that but in Space.

But the mistake of extending the movie into almost a 5 hour two part saga when you needed a little over 3 hours max...there's pacing problems in parts of the film where it has a bit of lagging.  I did not see the PG-13 cut, but the "R" edition with the gory violence had great action.  And the action scenes in this film do not drag at all.  It's basically worth all the time they take to over explain lingering plot threads in order to get to the action.

My guess is that a thirsty executive or two probably had dollar signs in their eyes when the prestigious JJ Abrams who has a pretty solid box office record (critical is another question) offered to divide the film into two parts.  I have not researched the numbers yet but it appears whatever success Rebel Moon has had is moderate.  That sucks for someone like me because a 3rd part is teased at the end.  And if the 3rd ever gets made and goes into theatres, JJ Abrams has one customer waiting in myself; assuming I and JJ Abrams are still alive and healthy in 6 years when Disney buys all the rights to the sequels.  We shall see.

Rating for parts 1 & 2:  8.25/10

Rebel Moon The Director's Cut 1 & 2 is available to watch on Netflix