Rebel Moon is the Future of Entertainment
Whether We Like It Or Not
CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD.
There is no nice way of putting it. Rebel Moon is terrible. But not terrible for the reasons that most people have noticed. After being out for a little less than two weeks, most people have panned the movie for what it is. A sloppy, copy and paste job of some of the most popular science fiction franchises. However, Rebel Moon is far more problematic than that. It goes beyond common sci-fi tropes. It mashes together nearly every successful genre possible in hopes of appealing to the majority people. In doing this, it is everything and nothing at once.
As bad as Rebel Moon is, the worst part is that it was not, as far as the viewing public knows, written by an artificial intelligence algorithm. Yet, despite this, it comes off as a movie ripped from the pages of a generative AI.
What’s the conflict? A rebel faction fighting against an empire. Check.
What’s the name of the empire? The Galactic Empire. Stunningly original.
Who are the rebel’s supporters? Space vikings. Yes, space vikings because vikings were farmers first. Also, the aesthetic of the villagers is practically straight from any viking/norse movie of the last decade. An escaped soldier. A random pilot. A vague, non-white guy named Tarak that can tame animals by speaking with them. Just ignore that bit of racism. Not to be confused with Turok, the Dinosaur Hunter. What does Tarak tame? A black hippogriffin. I’m not even a fan of Harry Potter, and this thing made me cringe. An enslaved general that has lost all of his men named Maximus. I mean Titus. Sorry, wrong movie. And last but not least, a sword master cyborg lady that saves the Fellowship from a scary spider creature in the depths of darkness. Sorry if I missed any of the other SPAM fried tropes baked into this mess. I started to zone out after a while to figure out if they’re was at least a salvageable storyline to follow.
Who are the rebels fighting? Oh, you know the usual Soviet aestheticed, fascistic, Peaky Blinder Admiral, and his fantical horde of Warhammer 40K infused, Necromongeresk cronies. A general turned senator who wants to reconstitute the Galactic Empire.
But none of this story salad is the real problem with Rebel Moon. The real problem is that this is the way most executives want to go with entertainment in the future. They want artists to make the most bland entertainment possible in the future, so long as it gets people to show up for views, fill theaters, or gets books off the shelf. They don’t care if the work has any soul, so long as their shareholders get their returns and profits go up.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, this has been going on since the beginning of the film industry. Think about it. Most of the early successes, and often most popular films are adaptations of previous works. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was Walt Disney’s first successful motion picture. Seventy percent of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time are based on works that originated outside of the film industry. This is why Rebel Moon is not just a terrible movie. A script so bad that the House of Mouse saw no hope. No, it is but the tip of a horrid iceberg rushing towards us. A prophetic vision of a future where we’re told everything is awesome, while being shoveled the most nauseating nonsense to consume in our meager down time between being overworked and underpaid.
That is the true crime that Rebel Moon has committed. So, buckle up and grab a bucket of popcorn, we’re in for a bumpy ride in the future of entertainment.
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Comments (16)
The points you mentioned present a different perspective from what we commonly see on the web. However, I'm curious to learn more about why people didn't like it.
Thanks for the warning. I think I'll pass on this one. (Not that I had any intention of seeing it in the first place.)
Great review! Thanks for the heads up I'm not gonna watch it now. Congratulations on the top story!
I read your review and the comments below, I watched it and did not think it was that bad. But that is just me. You guys are the experts on such things,,,so I defer to you all. But, I kind of liked it, yep..I am the know nothing about such things party pooper. No apalogies here. Congrats on TS.
First of all, congratulations on your TS status. I totally agree with your assessment of Rebel Moon. We watched it a few nights ago on Netflix and thought it was one of the most mundane movies we'd ever seen. Actually, it was very predictable and boringly so. Your review of it was spot on!!
Well now, I am glad I didn't bother. I quite like Snyder in general. But, I watched a trailer for it the other day there for the first time and was like...this is like one of those bad mash-up fan-made trailers people make on YouTube all the time with a stupid-size budget. What a waste of time. I am not going to bother watching it and know that means I am basically avoiding something and thinking it bad without giving it the time of day but I'd rather spend my time wisely lol. Thank you for this awesome review and it was fun reading something that wasn't poetry from you (I love your poetry, but loved how your voice came through on this too) Congrats on Top Story too!
"🌙 Just caught a glimpse of 'Rebel Moon,' and I'm convinced it's the future of entertainment! Imagine the epic lunar battles infused with the energy of <a href="https://manoknapulamodapk.org/">Manok Na Pula APK Mod</a> – it's a game-changer! Roosters in space, max level intensity – who wouldn't be excited? Count me in for this cosmic adventure!
Good review. Yes! there's way too much Star Wars type of space opera out there the last few years. Will give this a miss. The first season of Mando was fun, but by the time I got to Andor (which everyone says it good) I had gotten tired of watching the next mismatched band embark on a camping trip with laser guns.
Good thing I watched the Critical Drinker's video about this first, so I knew what movie this was while reading your wonderful review! Such a forgettable formula, I didn't even retain the name, but it's safe to say I would have come away from the film with the same thoughts as you, had I chosen to sit through it. What a shame, to see the "blockbusters" nowadays. Really, if things don't improve in the next 2-3 years (to get past The Message's planned entertainment pre-outrage), I may just have to solely stick to the past gems and revert to DVDs. I mean...I'm already doing that...but you know, I might have to do it harder. I will be avoiding this one! Thank you for your service. 🫡 And congrats on TS!
Hmm. Firstly, great review. You said what needed to be said. My daughter told me the other day that there was a rumour that Disney's new movie Wish was their attempt at an all AI animated movie. Scary thought. I haven't seen this movie but it ticks all my boxes for something I would watch, so marketing have done their homework. My dilemma is that if I watch it, I'm feeding the algorythm, but if I avoid it I'm not feeding my addiction to mindless scifi. I know what I need to do and I will try to be strong. Thanks for shining light on a bleak future for creativity. And I really like the main actress too. She was great in Kingsman.
I mean, I’m still going to watch it. But thank you so much for setting my expectations! I was expecting mediocre, but jeez if it could have been written by AI? Oof. I’m now slightly dreading it Awesome article!
Zack Synder falls into the same camp as Rob Zombie for me. I think he's a solid, competent director but a god awful screen writer. If you throw this movie on while you're working or doing stuff around the house, put it on mute and throw some music on. It's pretty to look at but the dialogue is quite painful.
It's all about the cash, not the art and it extends to everything. I had a chat with an author called Rita Leganski who wrote a wonderful book called "The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow" and I asked her if she was writing anything else as I really enjoyed her work. She advised that she had but that her work was not trending and so would probably not be published. Whatever happened to creativity? It seems that we are no longer able to decide what we like and will only be given what is chosen for us. Oh man. Great review, by the way. Loved the tone of it and the message. I don't think that I will be watching it any time soon.
Excellent review!
"I’m not even a fan of Harry Potter, and this thing made me cringe." That made me laugh so much! Also, this movie is like the epitome of cliche! I would never watch it hahahaha!
A well done review!