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Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (Zack Snyder, Dec. 22 on Netflix)

No one's interested in your $200 million dollar / Three hour deconstruction

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To start, I'm not disturbed by graphic scenes in movies. However, if this had originally been written as a Star Wars film, I can see why it was rejected. There is some graphic brain bashing and a scene where Admiral Nobel picks through a dead guy's brain matter. There is a graphic sex scene with Kora where we see her scarred body. It wasn't a pointless scene though as she rejects any hint of affection from her suitor. There is also graphic dismemberment in the battle scenes.

As for the characters, I'm still waiting to learn about Kora's motivation to leave the Empire. Also, anyone who appears to be truly good has been killed. I've never seen Battle Beyond the Stars so I can't make comparisons to that--but I'm getting the vibe that we are not going to see characters who are truly noble and good--and we aren't really getting any motivations for the characters. I'm only two hours in so there is plenty of time for that.
I have a feeling the PG-13 versions are what the Star Wars movie would have been like, and once it was turned down and became original movies for Netflix, then he decided to do the R versions.
 
I've just finished the first part. I've watched it over four nights, but that's just because my house is so full of people right now that I haven't had the time. In the end, I think it is a pretty good movie. The main cast of characters has been lined up, each characters has been given a little bit of backstory with the exception of Admiral Noble who does have an intriguing scene at the end of the movie, and the pacing has actually been good. The final scene with Balisarius and Noble raises a number of questions. Is Kora actually Balisarius' daughter (rather than his just having raised her) and, if so, does she know this? And did she kill the princess as is claimed? (EDIT: We get Kora's version early in Part II.)

I put it at about the same level as Justice League (the extended version) and Army of the Dead, both movies I really enjoyed. I might have to go back and see Watchmen again to see if I feel differently about that movie now. I'm hoping to learn more about Jimmy, the android, because it seems that his background with the Princess might be a key element in the second part. Or, is his connection actually to Kora? The first part ends with a lot of questions and the hint that at least some of the protagonists are not who they seem. Also, I was surprised that Aris, after having been set up to be a main character in the opening seen, took a back seat for the rest of the movie. It is also nice to see that Zack has given Ray Fisher a place in the film after all the backlash the actor took about speaking out against Wheadon.

It is only The Seven Samurai in broad brushstrokes, similar to how Star Wars was inspired by The Hidden Fortress but not really the same thing. It is also easy to see how this could have been a Star Wars film, but in the end I think it works much better as its own thing.

In the coming months, I might go back and check the short version of this film to see what all the negativity was about. It seems to me that Netflix should have just released both versions at the same time because this movie is actually good--and I would have liked to have seen it on a big screen.

On to Part II.
 
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It seems to me that Netflix should have just released both versions at the same time

You may be right. From what I've read, it seems the main reason for having two versions is that Netflix wanted a more (relatively) family-friendly, PG-13 version to make what they hoped would be a new franchise more accessible to a wider audience. In that case, it would've made more sense to release both versions at once and promote them as PG-13 and R-rated versions, instead of artificially and misleadingly trying to replicate the hype of the JL "Snyder Cut." That was just a stupid decision on Netflix's part, and it seems to have backfired massively.
 
I enjoyed them. My only issue is the new opening which doesn’t really serve any purpose than to show how much of a dick the admiral is. Something I feel they show enough of already.
Plus I feel it takes away from his original introduction where you don’t know how much of a cruel man he is.
 
If you say so. The characters were fine to me. Still written better than most of the characters in Discovery
Not even on DISCOs worst day. And even on their worst day they had compelling actors. Rebel Moon? Not so much. A charisma black hole.
 
What's the use of building a world with crappy stories?

I'm not really sure sure how you can seriously call a reworking of Seven Sanurai/The Magnificent Seven/A Bug's Life (that also has elements of Dune, 300, Joss Whedon's Serenity, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Cowboy Bebop, and Attack on Titan mixed in) a crappy story, but to each their own.
 
I'm not really sure sure how you can seriously call a reworking of Seven Sanurai/The Magnificent Seven/A Bug's Life (that also has elements of Dune, 300, Joss Whedon's Serenity, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Cowboy Bebop, and Attack on Titan mixed in) a crappy story, but to each their own.
Because it’s not very good. Being based on better things doesn’t automatically make something good.
 
Because it’s not very good. Being based on better things doesn’t automatically make something good.

You can have a bad adaptation of a story, but a bad adaptation doesn't make the adapted story itself bad.

The film version of The Golden Compass was a bad adaptation of its namesake novel, but that fact didn't mean that the story of said novel was in itself bad.
 
What's the use of building a world with crappy stories?

Deadpool And Wolverine hardly has a story. At the core are other things, like humor, characters, action. It was absolutely super entertaining.

Now, granted.... The characters are not a highlight in the PG13 version of Rebel Moon, and I still need to see the R-rated version. I enjoyed the PG-13 versions for what they are; entertaining popcorn flicks with big action. Like a lot of the 80's and 90's movies we gush about. You know, the ones with crappy stories and stupid characters.

ETA: I always find it very odd that people will go out of their way to convince people to stop liking something they liked, because they don't like it themselves.
 
To follow up on my previous comment, I want to make it clear that I don't share the opinion that Rebel Moon (Chapter One, at least) is a bad adaptation of Seven Samurai (and it is an adaptation of that film, albeit one set in a new fictional universe built from scratch).

I like the things that I've seen that Snyder was either directly in charge of making or had a hand in influencing, and so I therefore liked the R-rated cut of Chapter One (I'm not going to call it a 'Director's Cut's because what it really is is just a different, more extreme version of the movie) and probably would've done so even if it weren't adapted from Seven Samurai (the story of which, incidentally, im actually only familiar with from adaptations and just general film knowledge).

My favorite characters from the first half of the overall story are Kora, Noble, and Nemesis (who I didn't originally realize had cybernetic arms), as they embody character archetypes (reformed villain, remorseless psychopath, and enigmatic mercenary, respectively) that appeal to me in whatever form(s) they appear across any and all genres of fiction.
 
You can have a bad adaptation of a story, but a bad adaptation doesn't make the adapted story itself bad.

The film version of The Golden Compass was a bad adaptation of its namesake novel, but that fact didn't mean that the story of said novel was in itself bad.
I didn’t say anything about the source material. Rebel Moon is not very good. That is not a reflection on Seven Samurai.
 
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