REBEL MOON - PART TWO: THE SCARGIVER -- Second Half of Zack Snyder's Kurosawa-Tinged Sci-Fi Epic Is More in Every Sense

Review by Sean Boelman

The first film of Zack Snyder's would-be franchise-starter sci-fi epic, Rebel Moon, was released in December to very little fanfare. Many were frustrated by its dependence on formula and generic tropes. Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver, shot simultaneously with the first one, isn't much less generic, but it is much more fun to watch.

This continuation picks up after the first movie, with Kora (Sofia Boutella) having killed the admiral Atticus Noble, and she and her band of warriors returning to the village, thinking they have avoided the oncoming conflict. However, as we know, Noble is not dead, and he is coming to siege the village. What comes is two hours of action ripped straight out of Akira Kurosawa’s films — it's about as blatant of a knockoff of Seven Samurai as you can find. (Worse yet, you can't even call it “Seven Samurai in Space” because so little of it actually has the sci-fi element.)

One of the more surprising things about The Scargiver is that it clocks in a full 10 minutes shorter than the first movie and moves so much faster. The entirety of Part One is rendered meaningless by the opening narration of this sequel. The first film essentially functions as a feature-length version of a Star Wars opening credits scroll to this movie’s conflict. Part Two has a lot more happening, but that doesn’t make it any less generic.

The area in which Rebel Moon’s generic nature becomes most evident is its character development. This sequel gives us more reason to care about and buy into these warriors’ stories, but each of their motivations against the villainous "Motherworld" (the “Empire” stand-in) is very bland. In the middle of the film, we hear the stories of each of the warriors and why they came to this fight, and they’re a rehash of every tragic backstory you’ve ever heard. While it’s incredibly easy to root for a band of peasants sticking it to the man, you might have a hard time remembering their names by the time the credits roll.

If audiences take one thing away from Rebel Moon - Part Two, it should be that Skrein is a much better actor than we give him credit for. Although his role is ridiculous, he acts the hell out of it. His inspired, menacing turn as the antagonist is the main thing that keeps the movie entertaining.

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast does not fare the same way. Boutella is not a compelling lead. Any of the allure she has shown in previous films is absent here in a role that is essentially a blank slate, and she is not able to paint on it. Djimon Hounsou is fine, but nothing particularly spectacular. He does the same thing here as he does in every other movie. Anthony Hopkins is humorously wasted. The rest of the cast makes little impression.

Of course, most people are watching Rebel Moon for its visuals and action. Although the film has many of Zack Snyder’s stylistic flourishes, it's much less inspired than a lot of his work. The world isn't very distinctive, feeling far too Earth-like for its own good. From a below-the-line standpoint, the CGI, score, and sound design are all solid but not astounding.

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver is certainly more movie than its predecessor. There's more story, more action, more slow motion, more cheese, and more of everything else you would expect from late-stage Zack Snyder. Whether that's a good or a bad thing to you depends on whether you're a fan of the filmmaker. But do we need four more of these? Probably not.

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver hits Netflix on April 19.

​Rating: 3/5