News culture “Sexy and bloody” Netflix and Zack Snyder are responsible for this fiasco. I saw the 6h30 of Rebel Moon Director’s Cut and it’s crazy!
Published on 02/08/2024 at 16:15
Share :
Zack Snyder is on a mission. The universe perceived by science fiction fans as a potential “Star Wars killer” has had the effect of a damp squib on Netflix. The American director is relying in August 2024 on an adult version and two hours of additional scenes to save what can be saved. Are these two Director’s Cuts enough to revive the interest of SF fans in this stillborn franchise?
Everything you need to know about the Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon
Netflix had put all the odds on its side to make Rebel Moon the standard-bearer of science fiction on the competitive SVOD market, and even in cinema. The streaming platform spent without counting (the budget of the diptych amounts to 166 million US dollars excluding marketing costs) and extended this universe in the making to video games, animation and comic books. It was a bad move for him because Child of Fire was panned by critics (22% on RottenTomatoes), nipping in the bud any hope of one day competing with the undisputed master of space opera… Star Wars. And Rebel Moon: The Notcher manages to do worse than its predecessor (17% on RottenTomatoes) four months later.
The feedback is unanimous. Zack Snyder had carte blanche and he messed up, resulting in a fresco lasting over 4 hours deprived of the talent of his master builder. Nevertheless, the filmmaker behind Watchmen: Guardians and Man of Steel has a big surprise in store for Netflix subscribers. Rebel Moon Part 1 and Part 2 were just drafts. The real, “adult” versions offer two hours of unreleased scenes, and finally offer the uncompromising vision of its director. If the Director’s Cut doesn’t live up to expectations, it will be Zack Snyder’s fault and no one else’s. If it doesn’t, Netflix will have to answer for it.
The synopsis of Rebel Moon: A peaceful colony on a moon at the edge of the universe finds itself under threat from the armies of the tyrannical regent Balisarius. From then on, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious outsider, becomes the best hope for survival for the villagers she shares her life with. Tasked with recruiting seasoned fighters to repel the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of soldiers: misfits, insurgents, peasants and war orphans who share a common need for redemption and vengeance. As the shadow of an entire kingdom falls upon the most vulnerable of moons, a new army of heroes is born. (Netflix France)
Le casting de Rebel Moon : Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins, Michiel Huisman
The Director’s Cuts of Rebel Moon: Child of Fire and Rebel Moon: The Notcher are available exclusively on Netflix starting August 2, 2024.
Get a Netflix subscription card on Micromania
Sex and blood to save Netflix’s Star Wars!
Zack Snyder is no stranger to this. He has even made it a trademark over the years. His filmography is punctuated by Director’s Cuts that are supposed to put the church back at the center of the village. It is common in Hollywood for a director to be dispossessed of his work in whole or in part, and this has been the case with Z. Snyder on many occasions in the past. The extended versions have allowed him to wash away certain affronts made to his films, the most notable examples of which are Watchmen: Guardians, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and especially Justice League. But what about Rebel Moon? Netflix has given Zack Snyder carte blanche. The very existence of Director’s Cut is therefore, on paper, total nonsense.
From a purely mathematical point of view, these two extended versions of Rebel Moon “offer” Netflix subscribers one hour each of unpublished scenes for a diptych now spanning 6 hours and 30 minutes. This is an opportunity for Zack Snyder to explore this science fiction universe that has barely been touched upon until now and to delve deeper into the characters who have remained in the background. And it is fitting to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar. The Director’s Cut of Child of Fire tries to correct the situation without succeeding. The first 20 minutes, however, breathe a wind of hope by focusing on the character of Aris.
Better yet, and I didn’t believe it anymore. Zack Snyder is able to direct a fight scene without chopping it up with a lot of slow motion. Proof, if proof were needed, that the filmmaker can be sober. Unfortunately, he falls back very quickly, too quickly, into his usual ways. The Director’s Cut could have cleaned up the action of those “slow motions” that ruin the staging, but it doesn’t. After viewing, there remain in the memory several sketches centered on figures who are too little highlighted and two or three visually stunning sequences imbued with a gentle macabre poetry.
This new version of Rebel Moon sold itself mainly on one promise… to serve Zack Snyder’s uncompromising, uncensored vision, which translates to sex and blood on screen. And you’re going to be served. It cuts up, it explodes, it slices, it kills, it oozes and it copulates as much as you want without ever serving the purpose of the two films. The most disappointing thing at this stage remains the Director’s Cut of The Entailleuse which really brings nothing to the story. Even the scene concerning the regent Balisarius and the one weaving a link between Aris and the villager Sam turn out to be anecdotal. What a waste!
2 additional hours to tell nothing more (or almost). The Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon, which, as a reminder, lasts 390 minutes, achieves an unprecedented feat: marking time. There is no doubt that Zack Snyder’s saga is trying to go somewhere, but I can’t say where.
Get a Netflix subscription card on Micromania
About Rebel Moon
News culture
Much more than Netflix’s Star Wars, Rebel Moon is “unfortunately” the ultimate sci-fi movie!
News culture
“The Dirty Dozen Meets the Magnificent Seven in Space” Rebel Moon on Netflix is going to be epic!
News culture
The most ambitious sci-fi film of 2023 is not coming to theaters. With Rebel Moon, Netflix challenges Star Wars
This page contains affiliate links to some products that JV has selected for you. Each purchase you make by clicking on one of these links will not cost you more, but the e-retailer will pay us a commission. The prices indicated in the article are those offered by the merchant sites at the time of publication of the article and these prices are likely to vary at the sole discretion of the merchant site without JV being informed. Learn more.
