- REBEL MOON PART TWO: THE SCARGIVER
- Starring: Sofia Boutella, Ed Skrein
- Directed by: Zack Snyder
- Rating: PG-13
- Running Time: 2 hrs 2 mins
- Netflix
To be transparent, I have long been fan of director Zack Snyder’s work, especially his director’s cut of “Justice League” which I regard as one of the best comic book movies ever made. However, his 2023 sci-fi effort “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire” was an utter failure in almost every possible way. The lone bright spot was the performance of British actor Ed Skrein (“Deadpool,” “Game of Thrones”) as the story’s principal antagonist. Unfortunately, not much has changed with Snyder’s deplorable sequel, “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.” Filled with more unnecessary slow-motion shots than a Michael Bay-helmed piece of garbage; predictable in every conceivable way; and a convoluted storyline that needs three seasons on a streaming service to till in the backstory so that we might care about what’s going on.
In brief, we find our heroine Kora/Arthelais (Sofia Boutella, “Star Trek Beyond”) and her team of high-powered misfits basking in the relief that they have defeated and killed their archnemesis, Admiral Noble (Skrein). The victory means an assault on the moon Veldt has been prevented, which will allow its simple farming communities to live in peace and happiness. But wait, Admiral Noble is a tough cookie, and he is raised from the dead to resume his pursuit of Kora, who has been falsely blamed as the murderer of the royal family that governs most of space, which is outlandish in and of itself.
Admiral Noble, played again with entertaining villainy by Skrein who has made a career out of being a bad guy people like to hate, leads an Imperium fleet to Veldt where the farmers have harvested their grain before being trained for combat in just a few days by former Imperium admiral, Titus (Djimon Hounsou). They are also given a motivational speech that pales in comparison to more notable ones like Mel Gibson in “Braveheart” or Walter Matthau in “The Bad News Bears.” It all leads to a rather silly, over-the-top battle sequence that provides nothing that has not been seen a million times already in a million other movies.
Boutella has shined in other roles and has a knack for playing genuine heroine, but her talents are wasted with a script so bad that it reminds me of David Bowie’s song “Rebel, Rebel.” The only difference is that it’s not a face that’s a mess but an entire movie.
Overall, whatever you choose to do with your life is your business but please don’t waste a minute of it on this forgettable film.
“Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” receives ★ out of five.
