Review: Rebel Moon Part 2: Meandering and Self-Indulgent

Rebel Moon Part 2, the second installment in Zack Snyder's space opera franchise, is a meandering and self-indulgent mess that fails to deliver on the promise of its predecessor. The film suffers from a bloated runtime, a weak plot, and uninspired characters.

The story picks up where the first film left off, with the rebel alliance led by Kora (Sofia Boutella) continuing their fight against the tyrannical Balisarius (Ed Skrein). However, the rebels' plans are soon thwarted when Balisarius unleashes a new weapon of mass destruction, forcing them to flee their home planet. Sound familiar? That’s because Rebel Moon wants to be a major IP like Star Wars so much  that it just repeats Star Wars tropes and plots without trying too hard to conceal them. 

From there, the film follows Kora and her allies that she collected from across the galaxy. But the film continues the habit of the previous installment of never really taking the time to develop these characters or their relationships with each other. 

The film's pacing is also glacial, with long stretches of exposition and dialogue that drag the film down. Specifically, the awkward scenes of overly clunky and forced exposition meant to make up for the lack of connective tissue between these characters. As well fill in for the total lack of character development. Mark Twain told us to “Show Don’t Tell.” Well, Zack Snyder says, “But, I’ve already written this pretentious and pedantic expositive dialog!”

The characters in Rebel Moon Part 2 are also one-dimensional and uninspired. Kora is a bland and uninteresting protagonist, and the supporting cast is filled with forgettable characters who never really get a chance to shine.

Overall, Rebel Moon Part 2 is a major disappointment. The film is a bloated, convoluted, and uninspired mess that fails to deliver on the promise of its predecessor.

Rebel Moon Part 2 Now Streaming On Netflix