Despite riding a considerable amount of hype thanks to director Zack Snyder embarking on a massive marketing push, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire arrived on Netflix to a barrage of negative reviews. Heading into the release of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, the marketing campaign has been far more reserved. However, the outcome is still the same: Another round of brutal reviews.
Much like A Child of Fire, The Scargiver appears to be plagued by all of the same problems (nonsensical plot, dull acting, too much slo-mo), and in some areas, even worse (the hair and makeup get a notable call-out). More than anything, the critical reactions mostly share a similar theme: The sequel doesn’t do much to justify Snyder making such an obvious clone of Star Wars.
You can see what the critics are saying below:
David Ehrlich, IndieWire:
Much as I might have hoped that the second and more concentrated half of Snyder’s sci-fi “Seven Samurai” would somehow atone for the sins of its previous chapter, I wasn’t exactly shocked to discover that it lacks any trace of a pulse from the moment it starts. Five months in the morgue can have that effect. Be that as it may, the sheer lifelessness of this Sora-like spectacle still manages to defy even the lowest of expectations.
Valerie Complex, Deadline:
What is more noticeable here than the previous film is the makeup and hair are given little attention to detail. This is surprising because at least in Snyder’s content, the actors look stunning. Here, everything looks caked and glued on. Almost as if the budget had run low in that department. In fact, the entirety of this movie reads like the budget ran low and everything that’s halfway comprehensible was put in the first part because that’s where the money is—based on visuals alone.
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter:
If you thought the previous installment was all build-up, you may be distressed to learn that the follow-up is…a lot more build-up. Although this time it’s a little faster-paced and leads to an extended battle sequence comprising roughly the film’s second half. It’s hard to tell, however, since Snyder employs so much of his trademark slow-motion that you get the feeling the movie would be a short if delivered at normal speed.
Hanna Ines Flint, IGN:
Ed Skrein’s antagonist performance stands out amid a sea of uninspired filler in Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. Zack Snyder’s unsatisfying conclusion to his bombastic space opera is filled with flimsy character studies, exposition overload, and largely half-baked action sequences that rarely live up to the sci-fi classics it emulates. This finale is the cinematic equivalent of finishing a second-hand jigsaw puzzle only to find several pieces missing.
Nick Schager, The Daily Beast:
Set to Tom Holkenborg’s bombastic score, Gregorian chanting, and endless pew-pew-pews, Rebel Moon—Part Two: The Scargiver roars and rampages, yet its drama can’t match its aesthetic pomposity. A depressingly thin and lifeless saga of underdogs triumphing in the face of insurmountable odds, it trades only in formula and phony corner-cutting.
Jesse Hassenger, The Guardian:
Rebel Moon almost certainly didn’t need to be two multiple-cut movies. It probably could have gotten by as zero. But as a playground for Snyder’s favorite bits of speed-ramping, shallow-focusing and pulp thievery, it’s harmless, sometimes pleasingly weird fun. (That said, the first part is better and weirder.) The large-scale pointlessness feels more soothing than his past insistence on attempting to translate Watchmen into a big-screen epic, or make Superman into a tortured soul. Even Rebel Moon’s shameless attempts at serialization – The Scargiver essentially ends with another extended sequel tease, this time for a movie that stands a decent chance of never happening – feel freeing, because they excuse Snyder from the uncomfortable business of staging an apocalyptic showdown, or, worse, imparting a mournful philosophy.
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is available for streaming on Netflix.