Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Parts of Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver” felt reminiscent of the 2001 Bollywood movie “Lagaan” by Ashutosh Gowariker, which portrays the plight of farmers in an Indian village oppressed by British rulers. Despite a poor harvest, the villagers are asked to pay double taxes, an exceedingly harsh demand. Similarly, in the intergalactic tale of “Rebel Moon,” the moon-village of Veldt faces terror from the Imperium, who demand the farmers surrender their grain within an impossible timeline. Perhaps I wasn’t reminded of “Lagaan” in “Rebel Moon Part 1” because it didn’t feature as many farming scenes as this second installment does. Besides, the comparison seem unfair, because despite their similar “David versus Goliath” themes, “Lagaan” was a lavish, entertaining musical, while “Rebel Moon Part 2” struggles to capture viewer attention in the first half.
Sofia Boutella reprises her roles as protagonist Kora, who gathers around a band of warriors to help Veldt fight the Imperium’s forces led by Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein). The first part had revealed her back-story as a former decorated loyalist of the Imperium, also known as “The Scargiver”, however, “Rebel Moon Part 2” has a few more new revelations about her character. The primary plot of-course is about Kora’s band of rebels taking on the mighty Imperium with their humble resources. Rage against the system is the order of the day.
The only exciting aspect of the first hour of this two-hour-long film is the flashback depicting how the Imperium’s King was betrayed by his own generals. Zack Snyder serves a darkly theatrical Julius Caesar-style assassination of the royals, with the generals opting for old-school murder, each wielding a knife to slay their king. Otherwise, the first half is a snooze-fest, with an unnecessary section where each warrior on Kora’s side – fallen general Titus (Djimon Hounsou), Prince Tarak (Staz Nair), Nemesis (Doona Bae), Milius (Elise Duffy) – take turns telling their tragic life stories. Anthony Hopkins as the voice for sentient robot Jimmy is ironically the most convincing character of “Rebel Moon”. Except for Ed Skrein and Sofia Boutella, who are both in their respective roles, the rest of the cast just doesn’t deliver memorable or engaging performance. Djimon Hounsou’s portrayal of general Titus felt he was in a college play – too over-the-top to feel authentic.
It’s only when the villagers of Veldt rise up against the Imperium in the film’s second act, that things finally get interesting. The pace picks up a notch, and Zack Snyder and team deliver some epic action scenes in the climactic war. There’s a Star Wars’ style light-sabre duel between two key characters, and the visual effects of the fancy swords is a tad bit cooler in this universe. The creators should’ve skipped the dilly-dallying and sentimental storytelling, diving straight into the war preparations and final face-off.
Just like “Dune,” “Rebel Moon” is a retro-futuristic space opera. On one hand, you have the villagers of Veldt living like 19th-century serfs, while on the other hand, you have the Imperium’s mighty space fleet capable of traveling lightyears in days, equipped with medical technology that can virtually resurrect a dead man. Though it may seem bizarre at first viewing, you just have to roll with it in the second part. And while the cinematography for “Rebel Moon” isn’t as visually stunning as Dune, it’s still an engaging spectacle, let down by a sluggish script.
Rating: 5 on 10. Stream the film on Netflix.
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