It’s basically The Magnificent Seven meets Star Wars.
Netflix has just added Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver, the latest movie from famed director Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel, Watchmen), to its library worldwide.
The follow-up to 2023’s Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, the new sci-fi epic continues the story of Kora (Sofia Boutella) – a former soldier who, in the first film, fled from her life of fighting and settled down in a peaceful farming colony on the moon of Veldt.
When an evil oppressive galactic empire began terrorising the village, however, Kora vowed to defend her new home and began seeking out a team of fighters from other worlds to help her in this quest.
The plot synopsis for Part Two reads: “The rebel warriors gear up for battle against the ruthless forces of the Motherworld as unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge — and legends are made.”
Having seen Rebel Moon: Part Two, JOE is happy to report that the newly-released sequel is an improvement on its predecessor – feeling much more pacy and tighter.
Yes, the follow-up still suffers from some of the problems of the original – an overuse of gobbledygook-like exposition to explain its fictional universe, a certain lack of story closure in order to set up a future sequel.
But, while these issues are most glaring at the very start and end of the sequel, Part Two does eventually live up to the promise of the sci-fi franchise’s story – becoming essentially The Magnificent Seven but set in a Star Wars-like universe.
This is most evident in the movie’s second half which is basically one long epic fight scene – as Kora, her fellow rebels and the villagers defend their home from the sadistic invading army.
JOE had the opportunity to speak to Snyder ahead of the Netflix blockbuster’s release and we asked him about the similarities between Rebel Moon: Part Two and his earlier hit 300 – as both feature lead characters going to battle in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
On this, Snyder said: “I don’t know that it was super conscious, like we were like: ‘Oh, this is like a 300 vibe.’ I think it was more that those are just sort of universal stories.
“Look, I build a team quite often so I think ending up with a thing that evokes some sort of 300 vibes is probably not outrageous.”
In regards to the sequel’s Western elements, he added: “Reluctant gunfighter. It’s a lot of that… I think it is a bit of a secret Western. I was very aware of all the tropes.”
Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver is streaming on Netflix worldwide right now. You can also expect director’s cuts for both Part One and Two to drop on the service in the near future.
To read more from our Snyder interview, click here.
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