It’s been four months since Rebel Moon Part One debuted on Netflix and it seemed like everyone had something to say about. The opinions were wide in range, going from “It’s terrible” to “Zack Snyder’s generic Star Wars movie” to “It’s awesome!” As for me, I enjoyed Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire and couldn’t wait for the next.
Kora (Sofia Boutella), Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), and the gang take their talents to Veldt where they promise to help defend its inhabitants. They arrive to a hero’s welcome and the villagers are thrilled to see that Kora returned with reinforcements to protect their land. The warriors learn more about the land and each other as they prepare to defend their new home against the Realm.
Production design continued to impress in The Scargiver, aiming to make their sets as realistic as possible. Two wheat fields were planted for the set of Rebel Moon. “We had one in Simi Valley, CA that was about five acres wide that was planted specifically for scenes that had to showcase the expansiveness of Veldt,” said production designer Stefan Dechant. “Then we had a smaller one planted in the main village set at Blue Cloud Studios in Santa Clarita that was about two-and-a-half, three acres large.”
Tom Holkenborg was in charge of vibes for the film, building both fear and suspense through music. The fight scenes (specifically the ones that featured Kora in them) were awesome and the battle scenes were fierce. Violence was the central theme in Part Two and that’s supported by the 45-minute battle that takes place on Veldt. For that sequence, the entire team studied war movies and actual footage from World War II to help inform the battle sequences.
Production design, music, and VFX were solid, just like the first film. The team went to great lengths to keep things as realistic as possible. Where things got lost a bit were some of the fight scenes, a handful of dialogue, and a few things that didn’t make sense. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won’t mention the nonsensical but if you’re coming into this having seen the first film then you’ll recognize it. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the audience. I can tell you right now, if you didn’t like the first film, you’re probably not going to like this one. If you loved the first film, then you’ll enjoy the second. There’s lots of action and ‘things that go boom’ but things get sorta campy in the middle. The group pow-wow was a bit awkward and didn’t feel 100% natural.
Ed Skrein is an amazing antagonist and plays his role as Atticus Noble to perfection. He was more of a central figure in villainy in the first film. Here, he takes a bit of a step back in presence and in power. It’s unfortunate because it does play into the storyline (where it’s supposed to) but that same presence that was there in Part One wasn’t replicated. Sofia Boutella can do no wrong in my eyes and puts on another excellent performance. We’re still waiting to see what magnificent purpose awaits Jimmy or if he’s going to get the Game of Thrones treatment (forgotten).
Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver gets a 7.5 out of 10. Look, it’s hard to do a sequel and get it absolutely right, let alone surpass the first. But this film has too many ups and downs to overlook. The PG-13 rating is accurate. There’s no nudity but two hours’ worth of violence and talks of violence. It’ll be interesting to see if the film has enough Michael Bay-esque explosions to attract the ever-wandering eye or if audiences will feel like it’s overcompensating for something.
Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver is available on Friday, April 19, on Netflix
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Netflix