Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is one of the most egregiously terrible blockbusters Netflix has ever released.
★☆☆☆☆
The follow up to Part One picks up right where the first Netflix film left off – with the group of rebels returning home to help protect the village of Veldt from the evil ‘Imperium’ forces.
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One of the things that makes Scargiver so bad, is that it truly could be better than it is.
Watching a made-by-committee blockbuster that Hollywood occasionally shoots out is a nothing experience, as there is never any sense that anything more is being attempted.
In the case of this film though, you can really feel Snyder tried to create a new and unique universe, with bizarre little elements left and right that should expand the world.
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These do not pay off unfortunately, and just seem to muddy the waters of this simultaneously bizarre yet boring sci-fi world.
The cast – in theory – should be great, with actors such as Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, and Ed Skrein being some of the best in the business.
Somehow though, one of the most disastrous aspects of this film is the characters. They are singularly dull and leave no room to care about them.
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This is most obvious in the main character Kora. Sofia Boutella is an entrancing actor who has an aura that makes her stand out in near every role she is placed in.
The fact that she is rendered as one of the most bland main characters of the 21st century is testament to this s**tshow of mediocrity.
Her romance with Gunnar is so devoid of chemistry that, when they kissed during a pivotal moment an 1.5 hours into the film, I was taken aback - because I had truly forgotten the pair were a couple.
Whilst Snyder has said an R Rated cut is on its way, you’ve got to think that was the version he wanted to make – and this was released purely to placate Netflix and get his cut of it made.
The character building in this film also features one of the laziest attempts to rush a reason for the audience to care I have ever seen.
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One scene literally features the rebels of the film sitting around ‘discussing why they care’. What followed was what felt like about 10-straight-minutes of flashbacks, showing each character’s backstory one by one.
Whilst the film’s two hour runtime felt an age to sit through, if you took out every meaningless slow-motion shot it probably could have been cut down to close to the hour mark.
This is a common criticism of Snyder’s filmography, often used falsely and unfairly against him. That is not the case in Part Two, with almost endless slow-motion shots of wheat (??).
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Part One was critically panned, but it felt like there was an excuse somewhere. ‘Oh, it’s just setting up an epic Part Two, it takes a while for a new universe to kick into gear’.
That excuse no longer applies, because Part Two is even worse.
Bland, uninspired, it plods along before racing to the finish line, and I have rarely been so happy for a film experience to be over.
A bad film where they didn’t care is a boring experience. A bad film where they clearly did care yet still failed so miserably, is a sad one.
This film’s upcoming R-Rated cut may find it a cult audience, but viewers would surely be better off waiting for it to arrive rather than watch this.
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV
Michael Slavin