Critics Have Seen Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire, And They’re Not Holding Back On Zack Snyder’s Space Epic

Zack Snyder is famous for telling epic stories with impressive ensemble casts, so it’s no surprise that sci-fi fans have been eagerly anticipating Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire. That wait is almost over, as the first part of the space opera is set to hit Netflix on December 22. The story centers around a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy that is threatened by a tyrannical leader. The colonists turn to Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former member of the Imperium, to rally warriors against the Motherworld. Critics have had a chance to screen the film, and they’re not holding back with their thoughts.

In addition to Sofia Boutella, Rebel Moon’s cast for Part One includes a host of impressive names, including Djimon Hounsou, Charlie Hunnam, Ray Fisher, Michiel Huisman, Cary Elwes and many more. Let’s see what the critics are saying about the movie, starting with CinemaBlend’s review of Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire. Mike Reyes rates the movie 2.5 stars out of 5, saying he can feel the potential of this franchise, but this offering for Netflix is incomplete and formulaic. He continues:  

Rebel Moon – Part One’s theatrical cut is ultimately so compromised, I’m surprised it was allowed to be released. Will I continue on with Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver? I absolutely will, if not only to see where all of this setup is heading. Am I still going to watch the extended R-rated version of A Child of Fire? I feel like I have to, if only to see why it wasn’t released to launch the franchise.

With Rebel Moon being split into two movies, viewers are left not only with the promise of a Part Two – The Scargiver but an R-rated Zack Snyder director’s cut of Rebel Moon – Part One, which other critics agree undercuts the product that is set to hit Netflix. Neil Smith of GamesRadar gives the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying that while Rebel Moon’s ending leaves too many loose ends, fans of Snyder’s heightened brand of stern, muscular filmmaking won’t be left wanting. Smith writes: 

It all ends with a dramatic reversal straight out of the Empire Strikes Back playbook that brings things to an explosive if inconclusive conclusion – the inevitable price of A Child of Fire being a scene-setting prelude for a second installment (Part Two: The Scargiver) that will doubtless tie up the various loose threads left frustratingly dangling here.

This project has been drawing comparisons to Star Wars from its inception, and even Zack Snyder spoke about how Star Wars influenced Rebel Moon. However, Nick Schager of the Daily Beast says inspiration doesn’t excuse A Child of Fire’s inability to fashion a single idea that’s not a dull sci-fi cliche. The lack of originality is matched by its humorlessness, per the critic, who writes: 

Cribbing so liberally from Star Wars that George Lucas deserves hefty royalties, this misbegotten attempt at creating a new out-of-this-world Snyderverse is merely a knockoff dressed up in its director’s stylistic signatures, and all the more depressing for not even properly concluding its painfully shallow tale.

William Bibbiani of The Wrap notes that nothing about Rebel Moon feels fresh, though many parts of the movie are at least competent, given Zack Snyder’s expertise at epic action sequences. Bibbiani continues:  

Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire isn’t a complete film. The story will continue and presumably conclude in the next installment. So perhaps some of this movie’s issues will be addressed later on, and Part 1 will improve with the benefit of hindsight. Or perhaps it will look worse after the follow-up comes out, which is equally plausible. Until then it is simply what it is, and that is a hugely expensive but uninspired Star Wars knockoff with some thrilling action sequences, and some truly ugly moments that taint the entire thing.

David Ehrlich of IndieWire grades it a D-, calling Rebel Moon Zack Snyder’s worst movie so far. The critic says there’s nothing original or imaginative about the Netflix film, as the director seems determined to remix a million things you’ve seen before into something you’ll wish you’d never seen at all. Ehrlich writes: 

The result is (the first half of) a singularly torturous slog that tries — and fails, and fails, and fails again for 134 minutes of agonizing tedium that are only interrupted by the occasional jolt of sadness for the wasted talent of everyone involved — to distill an iota of creative value from pre-existing images that never seemed worthless until Snyder tried to make them unique. It’s the cinematic equivalent of an NFT.

The criticism is pretty sharp for Zack Snyder’s first Rebel Moon offering, but as this is a project that a lot of people have been looking forward to for a long time, viewers should feel free to draw their own conclusions. Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire can be streamed with a Netflix subscription starting December 22 ahead of Part Two: The Scargiver, which will be released April 19, 2024. Be sure to check out what else is new and coming soon to Netflix.