Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver (Netflix) Apr 2024

Rebel Moon Part 2 is the second half of Zack Snyder’s tribute to science fiction and Akira Kurosawa that began last year in Rebel Moon Part 1. Though our band of heroes triumphed against the cruel Admiral Atticus Nobel, they return to the farming community on the moon of Veldt. No sooner are they welcomed that they find out Nobel cheated death and is arriving with his Dreadnaught ship and the imperium’s legions to sack the moon, take what they need and destroy everyone involved. 

In five days, the motley crew of warriors have to train the peaceful farmers into a force able to stand against imperium soldiers. Traps are dug, an entire tunnel system is created, and plans laid out for the oncoming siege. In the downtime between preparations, the warriors come clean with their pasts and their paths leading to who they are today. All this time, the ancient war robot “Jimmy” keeps watch over the community. What follows is an extended base defence sequence along with a risky gamble to infiltrate the dreadnaught and take it down from within. 

As with part 1, the movie is a grandiose almost operatic affair boasting stunning visuals, intriguing characters, and a production design that appeals to me. The warriors that Kora had gathered in part one now have more time to feature as characters in part 2. Millius the fanatical rebel fighter, Nemesis the cyborg swordswoman, Tarak the former prince turned axe wielding strongman, and Titus the disgraced former General of the imperium. We see their backstories and their development is shown in a nice “show don’t tell” manner as they bond with each other and the villagers. 

Every single role is masterfully played by the respective actors even the supporting parts like the imperium soldier Aris who sides with the villagers, or Den a passive farmer who takes a pivotal role in defending his home. They all have their memorable moments. The actors disappear into their roles which I love since I feel it lends authenticity. The robot Jimmy especially delivers, with his sorrowful tired voice played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, completing his arc of having an existence without purpose and the rediscovering a new purpose and a new cause to fight for. His subsequent contribution to the defence of Veldt is spectacular to behold. 

I did enjoy The Scargiver but it is not without its issues. It continues to feel “small” and there’s a sense that I am cheated out of a bigger story to instead focus on a relatively small scale confrontation that is reduced to a fixed number of sets. To illustrate this I refer to the final battle of the village. Instead of a cohesive sequence of a desperate last stand, going from the outer fields right into the town square, maybe even down to the last shelter, you instead of clear delineated “sets” that feel exactly like separate scenes. There’s Titus and Tarak on the bridge, the dusty “no man’s land” between the imperium’s landing party and the village entrance, a tunnel set, and the interior of the village hall. And the battle just plays out in these 4 locations. 

Where part 1 felt like it had a lot to do but with little time and space to do it, part 2 felt like it had very little but needed to do a lot to justify it as a separate movie. There are many scenes which come across like time padding with little relevance to the overall plot. Did we really need so much time dedicated to scenes of harvesting grain? Mind you it is easily the most epic harvesting of grain ever put to screen but still it is just harvesting grain.  Did we really need to see someone fumbling to turn 6 knobs to activate a communications device when turning 2 would have sufficed? Did we really need to see the whole dreadnaught slowly enter the frame and keep going for a whole minute when just 5 seconds of establishing shot would do?

A part of me was also disappointed that the writers did not pursue a deconstructive angle. In my review for part 1 I had picked up on a sense that the warriors may be less than who they claim they are. That they have become a product of the myths and rumors surrounding their exploits and the actual individual is much less impressive in person. Alas, there is no deconstruction to be held here but this was just my own expectation and not a fault of the movie. 

Once again I am left with wanting to see the stories hinted at, rather than the story presented. I want to see how a prim and proper Prince Tarak goes from the pampered aristocrat in his flashbacks to the bare chested barbarian berserker we see him as. I want to see how Nemesis’ people were wiped out, her connection to the ancient blades and cyborg arms she has, and what she did to earn her feared reputation. I want to see Titus and his former troops “fighting the forces of the mother world until our guns ran dry”.  A part of that stems from the continuing trend that Zack Snyder is not bringing anything new to the table. There is no “wow” factor as everything done here has already been done in Snyder’s previous movies.

That being said I rewatched both Rebel Moon movies back to back and it does make for a better experience. I came away from it not liking Rebel Moon the movie but being intrigued and drawn in by the universe that Rebel Moon sets up. I am drawn in by the stories yet to be told rather than the story that is being told. I am hooked by the characters but wish to see their unseen adventures outside of the one presented in this story.  I am fascinated by the technology, the setting, the worlds and factions in the universe of Rebel Moon rather than the Rebel Moon movies themselves. Does that make me a fan? I definitely want to see more.