Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
First things first. If your trailer is 3:42 then your trailer is too long. It is WAY too long. Second thing is that I know my thoughts on this trailer are incredibly late. Still I never really dove in, so now I am diving in.
“When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.”
Director: Zack Synder
Writers: Shay Hatten, Kurt Johnstad, Zack Synder
Staring: Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins, Jena Malone, Cary Elwes, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Corey Stoll, Djimon Hounsou
Release Date: December 22, 2023
IMDB
First things first. If your trailer is 3:42 then your trailer is too long. It is WAY too long. Second thing is that I know my thoughts on this trailer are incredibly late. Still I never really dove in, so now I am diving in.
The opening shots of the grain and the metallic hand grazing over the field reminds me of Gladiator (2000). Definitely a different dynamic with this character being in black and (most likely) evil, so perhaps his grazing of the plot is a harbinger for a symbolic plague set to destroy the fruitful land.
Princess Issa (###) is the focal point of Rebel Moon (2023). That is very safe to say. With the prophetic nickname of “The Redeemer”, she is said to have the power to stop the madness of war..which seems to be never ending. The dark times are first brought to light in the trailer with General Titus (Djimon Hounsou) on his knees seemingly looking at many of his soldiers getting ready to be executed.
About 40 seconds into the trailer we get more grain footage, this time with a man cultivating it and blowing some of it into the wind. Have to feel like the community Rebel Moon is going to be dropping the audience into is primarily focused on living off the land and having a healthy relationship with it.
The voice of Anthony Hopkins comes from out of nowhere and starts expunging on some rather depressing thoughts. This character Jimmy seems to be living under a rock unable to live out the world he knows much about. His speech stops with the thought that he has love for a child that he can not save.
Quick cut to Kora (Sofia Boutella), and the audience is immediately focused on the thin, muscular, blue color ironworker. It would appear that the evil force sprinkling war across the galaxy is looking for her because Admiral Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) immediately notes how he has found the “Scargiver”. And it’s about time we get some Zack Snyder slow-motion action. We went over a full minute before we saw his trademark stamped and sealed.
We get a glimpse into Kora’s backstory and how she was a child of war. She appears to have been a part of this conquering army but became disenfranchised with it when they said that love is weakness.
Now at the 90 second mark we get a different character voicing over the science-fiction visuals. She is telling us how there is a difference between justice and revenge, but it is hard to pay attention to the words when we see Rebel Moon’s version of lightsabers and a giant spider creature weidling flesh-sharpened knives as legs. We aren’t just getting human on human violence, but a bit of creature feature action as well.
Charlie Hunnam appears, but for a brief second. The trailer of smash-cutting between various action-soaked visuals like explosions, gun-pointing, and manly yells. The sensory overload lasts just a few moments before we have some sort of royal figure put a pause on his crowning and the preview with a “One moment. I do love this part.” To be honest, I don’t entirely know who this character is but I love how he is oozing with vainness. He is going to be great to hate.
The final third of the Rebel Moon trailer is centered around the idea of the oppressed are not afraid of those who tower over them, and now is the time for those slaves (of the system of literally) to break free and show their courage without hesitation. We have visual proof that there are pegasus-like creatures in this world, and the only way for one to get on its back is to jump slow motion off a cliff’s edge with no net underneath you.
Anthony Hopkins is back with the prophetic quote “A king is a man, and a man can fail.” which perfectly lines up with a clip of a crown toppling on the ground. The same crown that the vain regal asshole made sure to appreciate a bit earlier in this trailer. Hopkins, who again plays the character Jimmy but I am just going to call him Hopkins, continues his quote with “But a myth is indestructible.” This quote here reminds me a bit of Dune and the Harkonnen’s desire to end the Fremen and their religious hope of the Muad’Dib. If you are an oppressor, you can not let your underlings build something up as a rallying cry. That always spells disaster.
Hopkins also has the last line: “Who among you is willing to die for what we believe?”. It is followed by Kora stepping into the frame in front of a bunch of men. If I had a bet, this is Kora walking into an underground community she didn’t know existed and she is beginning to realize the world is bigger than she thought and she has a bigger part to play whether or not she likes it.
The end of the Rebel Moon trailer tells the audience that Part 1: A Child Of Fire is coming December 22, 2023, and Part 2: The Scargiver comes out April 19, 2024. With the billing of two different movies coming out, we get some sort of valid reason as to why this trailer was nearly four minutes wrong.
Rebel Moon has all the hallmarks of a classic hero story set in a science fiction environment. The greatest science fiction hero quest is Star Wars, and it isn’t a major surprise to learn that Snyder wrote this story as part of the Star Wars universe within the established Skywalker storyline. The script never got off the ground, so now Snyder has taken the next step and made it wholly original. Well, to a point. There are lightsaber looking weapons, and the idea of the hero being a farmer unaware of her past as a princess becoming enlightened to a rebellion that wants to take down a dark-clothed domineering empire…well that is very familiar.
BUT THAT ISN’T A BAD THING. Listen, George Lucas and Star Wars stole from other groundbreaking heroic tales. Everyone borrows something from everyone. It matters how you change the subtleties around the core. It matters what frills you toss on the Christamas tree. Everyone gets a tree, but how do you decorate it?
Zack Snyder has a fairly divisive filmmaker with his styles, but he always does generate eyeballs. Snyder’s run in the DC was not well loved by all, but I will be the first to admit that Zack Synder’s Justice League (2021) was way better than I thought it would be. Also I had a good time with Army Of The Dead (2021); it was Synder creating fun without being too serious. Hell, 300 (2006) is one of my foundational movies from high school and I stand on the pedestal shouting that Watchmen (2009) deserves more respect.
Maybe I am a bigger Snyder fan than I thought. Maybe I have come to appreciate how he has a distinct style that he always hangs his hat on. I prefer Snyder to Michael Bay. I think those two are pretty comparable in their careers and approach to movies.
Now I need to wrap this up because I am just running my stream of consciousness fingers non-stop.
Rebel Moon is a massive swing for Netflix. They are giving Snyder the keys and letting him drive Rebel Moon to its final destination. WIll the franchise avoid potholes, speed bumps, and the traffic of unjustified expectations? We will find out when A Child Of Fire comes out on December 22, 2023.
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