Rebel Moon (Netflix)

While I try not to be too prescriptive in what it takes to enjoy a film - how you engage and enjoy something might be very different to me after all - I would suggest you need to be a fan of 300 and/or Sucker Punch and be willing to watch for the spectacle rather than anything else to enjoy Rebel Moon. Having said that, I’m going to split my review into what’s bad that made me say this, then what’s good. So what’s bad? There’s almost no plot, rather there are a string of tropes that come so thick and fast they’re better described as a tapestry, strung together by a gossamer thin plot where they can’t find a trope to squeeze in. If you want to play 'spot the trope' as a drinking game, I’d suggest sips of beer; if you drink anything stronger, you’ll get very drunk, very quickly. Some of the tropes escape being racist af because the guy that honours his debts and is really good with animals is clearly not a First Nations American, because he’s from a planet in space… (the actor is actually British, his parents are from Russia and India, but the stereotype is strong). Equally we have an Asian woman who is great at martial arts. She’s very much made to look like a female samurai, although she’s actually Korean (fans of Sense8 might remember Donna Bae, who played Sun). You might also look and, without trying at all hard, say “that bit reminds me of…” and then run through a lot of other films and books. If you can’t disengage from an analytical watch, you will be throwing things at the screen far, far too early. What’s good? Every action sequence is beautiful. It’s visually the successor to Sucker Punch and 300, with 15 years more experience under Snyder's belt. I rarely rhapsodise about action scenes but these are truly beautiful. I’ve said in other reviews that I’m of the belief that a good action scene should advance the story. I’m not sure these do, but I’m not sure I care, I’d happily just watch them for themselves. The tropes may be laid on thick and fast, but they lead to some great speeches as well. There are films with “great speeches” that have left me totally unmoved, but Zack Snyder and his script writers have a way with words that reaches into what passes for my heart. A part of me wonders if this wouldn’t have been made if not for the buzz around Dennis Villeneuve's version of Dune. There are times I looked and said that they stole that idea from this place (I’m not going to tell you where the actual overall story comes from, that managed to surprise me) but, despite being rude about the requirements for watching this, once I stopped trying to do anything more than just watch the show, I really did relax and enjoy the ride and I’m looking forward to part two. Bechdel Test: Pass. This film might have passed without a female lead, but there are a hell of a lot of duologues, Kora to someone else. Many of these are to men, but there are more than enough to women and I think all of them pass the Bechdel Test. Ko Test: Pass. Sofia Boutella is Arabic, Doona Bae is Korean. They each pass the five speaking scenes mark. There are other WOC who speak English too, but probably don’t pass individually. Russo Test: Fail. There are a chunk of people where we don’t know their sexuality but where we do, they’re all straight.