Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire 4K 2023 2160p WEB-DL

The action will unfold on the territory of a peaceful colony in a remote part of the Galaxy. The peace of the locals is threatened by the army of the tyrant Balisarius. The people call for the help of a young woman with a mysterious past to find allies on neighboring planets to protect them.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire 4K Review
A peaceful colony at the edge of the universe. A woman Cora (Sofia Boutella) with a mysterious past challenges the galactic empire. The heroine gathers an army to fight the tyrant Balisarius.

Director Zack Snyder began his career in the mid-2000s with "Dawn of the Dead", he, against all odds, remained a proponent of originality, trying his hand at all sorts of genres. At the time of the movie's release, critics were happy to pompous style of the director and his pretentiousness. However, Snyder still got his "five minutes of fame", albeit belatedly: Christopher Nolan recently said that "Watchmen" was ahead of its time, "300 Spartans" and "Forbidden Reception" have rightly gained cult status, fans went on the warpath with Warner Bros. to release the director's version of "Justice League". In recent years, the author has settled on Netflix - quite a logical stop with a decent check. The only downside: often artists have to sacrifice their soul and creativity, but only a few people care, Snyder is not one of them. Because of this, his new "Rebellious Moon" is more like the ancient Greek Icarus: he flies high, ambitiously melts his wings and fails deafeningly.

The voice of Anthony Hopkins kicks off "Moon": the actor voices the robot Jimmy and superficially introduces the audience to the Mother World, another version of the galaxy far, far away. There's the oppression of the Imperium with its ruler Balisarius (Phra Phi), and the brave anonymous "rebels" who dream of ending tyranny and living in peace. All the introductions are there for the movie to succeed: a meager Worildbuilder, ex-soldier Cora going through a stage of redemption (the heroine now farms and crops), her outcast friends from all corners of outer space.

"Rebel Moon" originated in the late 1990s. Back then, Snyder, an aspiring music video maker, along with fellow screenwriter Kurt Jonstad, was inspired by Akira Kurosawa and his "Seven Samurai" (the latter acting as a reference here, demonstrating the creators' extensive cinephilic knowledge). Having decided to cross the idea with the universe of "Star Wars", the director presented the plans to the management of Lucasfilm, where another space opera was not appreciated (it has its own). It took 25 years to find funding and the realization of the most conventional story - small, insignificant, long lost value for the authors themselves. In 135 minutes, the characters convulse, saddle galactic hippogriffs, fight with the insidious admiral (exhausted on the villainous images of Ed Skrein). The special effects are modest, costing clearly less than their Marvel counterparts - the economy arouses respect. Sofia Boutella with fight choreography and a semblance of charisma pulls the timing on herself, as well as the star of "Cloud Atlas" Pae-Dun - that's who really and long deserves a solo project. Other cast members - from Charlie Hunnam to the tacitly boycotted-in-Hollywood Ray Fisher (Cyborg from "Justice League") - flicker before your eyes for no particular purpose.

If you want, you can lay the blame for the failure on the conniving streaming bosses who prevented Snyder from realizing a precious idea. But the problem is simpler and deeper at the same time: the crisis stems from the director's regular donkishness, his creative impulses and illusions. If a movie fails, which is a common practice for Snyder, he starts appealing to the limitations of the production stage and won't say a word about his own failure. The case of "Moon" proves that not every idea deserves to reach the screen, no matter what name adorns the credits. Snyder forgets to separate the grains from the husks, enters into battle with a soulless machine - and himself becomes part of it. "Rebel Moon" tests the audience's patience, spits on the narrative, pretends to be a Christmas present with a "childish" PG-13 rating. You don't need to unwrap such a present, it's easier to give it to the director's loyal fans, so that at least they can enjoy it.