I remember the moment I connected to Zack Snyder's aesthetic. It was a slow-motion shot from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice of a flood survivor reaching her hand desperately to Superman, cape billowing in the sky.
Initially, I thought, is it unnecessary to hold a visual for that long? Wouldn't it be more economical to have a montage of Superman saving people from the flood instead, like how Christopher Nolan might do in his more left-brained approach?
Then, it hit me that Zack Snyder's artistic intention is akin to a still painting, or a comic book splash page, and the audience is meant to bask in the prolonged moment and imagine the story behind the image, filling in what happened before and after.
I've since accepted Zack Snyder's visual storytelling style and his alternative way of thinking, even its flaws, and have retroactively enjoyed his films on a whole new level. Zack Snyder's Justice League is his best work to date.
Snyder's latest film released on Netflix, Rebel Moon, is an uninspired space adventure that indulges in long stretches of world-building and showcases its characters like a collection of action figures, before getting the audience to care about them.
Rebel Moon, pitched as "Seven Samurai set in the Star Wars universe'", originated as a story treatment Zack Snyder wrote in film school and was unsuccessfully pitched to Lucasfilm as a Star Wars movie. Following up on his partnership with Netflix after 2021's Army of the Dead, the story pitch has been reworked and released as an epic two-parter.
The film's biggest sin lies in its unoriginality. The script does little to repackage or find alternative original moments of its own. It feels like stepping into Zack Snyder's subconscious and seeing everything he's a fan of all clumped together.
Its cinematic influences are so blatant that film fans will immediately spot which movies the script is pulling from. There are droids, lightsabers, the Mos Eisley Cantina, its own version of Han Solo, and a familiar sequence from the first Avatar.
As the screenwriter, Zack Snyder also has a perplexing understanding of "show, don't tell". He can compose fantastic breathtaking visuals but still chooses to give exposition through words in the most boring way possible.
Shockingly, every character is introduced exactly the same. As the two farmers set off to recruit its ensemble of warriors across the galaxy, the routine quickly becomes repetitive.
Enter character. The character displays fighting ability and their backstory is verbally told. The character says yes. The recruiters move to recruit the next warrior on another planet. Repeat.
Snyder's trademark slow-motion shots didn't work as there was no emotional attachment to any of these characters or any substance behind the story for the audience to truly bask in. And at times, I was eagerly waiting for the next shot.
Rebel Moon re-highlights the lesson of Sucker Punch: Zack Snyder works better when he's working with a screenwriter, namely to do the plotting and keep him from his worst tendencies.
Ironically, or unironically depending on how you look at it, the film plays out exactly like what it sounds like on paper: Star Wars fan fiction. It truly can be enjoyed as the more mature and violent version of Star Wars.
That's how I ended up enjoying Rebel Moon. It's gotten up to 63 million views on Netflix within ten days of its release, so I cannot be alone. Certainly, there must be lots of people enjoying it in this way as well.
George Lucas' idea behind manufacturing toys was to allow fans to tell their own stories in the Star Wars universe. Admittedly, I wrote Star Wars fan fiction as a 12-year-old in a Creative Writing class, which were John Woo movies set in the Star Wars universe.
Rebel Moon would have certainly satisfied my 12-year-old self. Donna Bae, Snyder's version of a Jedi, wielding dual red laser swords battling Jenna Malone as a villainous arachnid cybernetic alien is truly metal.
All that said, can I say Rebel Moon is great and everybody should see it? No.
Did I enjoy it? Yes, I found enough pieces to enjoy it for what it was, though I still cannot defend it.
Will I watch Part 2? Yes, but only as more Star Wars fan fiction.
Initially, I thought, is it unnecessary to hold a visual for that long? Wouldn't it be more economical to have a montage of Superman saving people from the flood instead, like how Christopher Nolan might do in his more left-brained approach?
Then, it hit me that Zack Snyder's artistic intention is akin to a still painting, or a comic book splash page, and the audience is meant to bask in the prolonged moment and imagine the story behind the image, filling in what happened before and after.
I've since accepted Zack Snyder's visual storytelling style and his alternative way of thinking, even its flaws, and have retroactively enjoyed his films on a whole new level. Zack Snyder's Justice League is his best work to date.
Snyder's latest film released on Netflix, Rebel Moon, is an uninspired space adventure that indulges in long stretches of world-building and showcases its characters like a collection of action figures, before getting the audience to care about them.
Rebel Moon, pitched as "Seven Samurai set in the Star Wars universe'", originated as a story treatment Zack Snyder wrote in film school and was unsuccessfully pitched to Lucasfilm as a Star Wars movie. Following up on his partnership with Netflix after 2021's Army of the Dead, the story pitch has been reworked and released as an epic two-parter.
The film's biggest sin lies in its unoriginality. The script does little to repackage or find alternative original moments of its own. It feels like stepping into Zack Snyder's subconscious and seeing everything he's a fan of all clumped together.
Its cinematic influences are so blatant that film fans will immediately spot which movies the script is pulling from. There are droids, lightsabers, the Mos Eisley Cantina, its own version of Han Solo, and a familiar sequence from the first Avatar.
As the screenwriter, Zack Snyder also has a perplexing understanding of "show, don't tell". He can compose fantastic breathtaking visuals but still chooses to give exposition through words in the most boring way possible.
Shockingly, every character is introduced exactly the same. As the two farmers set off to recruit its ensemble of warriors across the galaxy, the routine quickly becomes repetitive.
Enter character. The character displays fighting ability and their backstory is verbally told. The character says yes. The recruiters move to recruit the next warrior on another planet. Repeat.
Snyder's trademark slow-motion shots didn't work as there was no emotional attachment to any of these characters or any substance behind the story for the audience to truly bask in. And at times, I was eagerly waiting for the next shot.
Rebel Moon re-highlights the lesson of Sucker Punch: Zack Snyder works better when he's working with a screenwriter, namely to do the plotting and keep him from his worst tendencies.
Ironically, or unironically depending on how you look at it, the film plays out exactly like what it sounds like on paper: Star Wars fan fiction. It truly can be enjoyed as the more mature and violent version of Star Wars.
That's how I ended up enjoying Rebel Moon. It's gotten up to 63 million views on Netflix within ten days of its release, so I cannot be alone. Certainly, there must be lots of people enjoying it in this way as well.
George Lucas' idea behind manufacturing toys was to allow fans to tell their own stories in the Star Wars universe. Admittedly, I wrote Star Wars fan fiction as a 12-year-old in a Creative Writing class, which were John Woo movies set in the Star Wars universe.
Rebel Moon would have certainly satisfied my 12-year-old self. Donna Bae, Snyder's version of a Jedi, wielding dual red laser swords battling Jenna Malone as a villainous arachnid cybernetic alien is truly metal.
All that said, can I say Rebel Moon is great and everybody should see it? No.
Did I enjoy it? Yes, I found enough pieces to enjoy it for what it was, though I still cannot defend it.
Will I watch Part 2? Yes, but only as more Star Wars fan fiction.