Tag Archives: Dune

Film Reviews

Film Review: Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

REVIEW

 

A ruthless admiral of the empire of the Motherworld, Atticus Noble, demands the villagers of Veldt an extraordinary supply of grain in 10 weeks. One of the villagers Kora decides to assemble the warriors from across the galaxy to fight against the Motherland.

I have a tremendous respect for Zack Snyder because of his style of filmmaking and the dark elements of political philosophy that he applies in his directional artistry. The meticulous structure that constructs his artistic image of the world that he shoots in the film takes time to grow. Same is the case with the first part of Rebel Moon that is now the beginning of an exciting franchise.

Although, the core of story doesn’t add much to new ideas as the plot heavily reminds me of Star Wars and Dune as well as Zack’s very own Justice League but Zack Snyder has this quality of making the film look beautiful and artistic that covers the mediocrity of the story. To my surprise, even action sequences were unimpressive. Slow-motion technique has been one of Zack’s uncontrolled habit in detailing a shot. But this time, he overused this and he needs to put limit on the slow-mos.

After I get settled with the plot in the first 40 minutes, the growth of the screenplay got confined because the remainder of the film proceeded with Kora recruiting warriors by traveling to different planets and after watching their heroics against the oppression. Moreover, the introduction of the warriors who join Kora’s justice league lack character development. The final thirty minutes were interesting but the screen-time overall is nearly 140 minutes which is quite short for a space opera. And this is exactly why the characters of Titus, Nemesis, Bloodaxe, and Tarak were unable to grow nor their worlds were given enough minutes to understand and therefore looked like mere theme parks to us.

So what’s the talking point if the film has an ordinary story and typical action sequences? It is the fictional universe and its aesthetics that are captivating. The entire universal detailing of the Rebel Moon is not based on some novel but Zack’s own vision about his universe. Rebel Moon is like any director’s re-imagination of Star Wars with darker elements and mature content. And after watching the trailer of the second part of the Rebel Moon, the vision is much clear that the Rebel Moon franchise has similar plot elements of Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai. Even Kora had seven.

There was an interesting shot about a princess of whom Kora was the royal bodyguard. Her name was Issa and had the ability to give life to the dead. Did Zack get inspiration from the Islamic faith or should I assume if it is a strange coincidence? Because Issa in Islam is the messenger of God and he was a lifegiver.

Junkie XL‘s music is a plus and so far has been a fabulous collaboration with Zack. And there is no question about Zack’s art of worldbuilding, exellence in CGI and VFX.

CLOSING REMARKS

Although, the second part will give the whole picture of where Rebel Moon stands in the elite ranks of space universes or if not. See, Rebel Moon without a doubt is enjoyable especially for Zack Snyder cultists like me. But on a judgement scale, Rebel Moon offers a repeated plot line that has been watched before with better scripts and action sequences. The visual spectacle is never a question, its just the film lacks novelty.

RATING 6.5/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

LETTERBOXD https://letterboxd.com/TheDarkKnaik/

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TIKTOK

@thedarkknaik

TWITTER

Story

Film Review: Dune (2021)

In 10191, the desert planet Arrakis gets colonized when the Emperor assigns the ruler of the ocean planet Caladan, Duke Leto of Atreides to rule Arrakis. As Leto wishes his son Paul to succeed him, their rivals Harkonnens return to claim the land.

Dune is Frank Herbert‘s gift to the sci-fi readers in the literary history that was published more than 50 years ago. It was adapted more than once with time. But Denis Villeneuve‘s one is the highly awaited film with a budget of $165m as a lot of expectations from the sci-fi can be built thanks to a friendly heavy-productional budget that can justify the demands of the true sci-fi content now.

Although this is the first part and we wait for the announcement of its sequel, the 156-minute film held a strong promise to keep its soul pure and close to the book. I haven’t read but in the picture, I must say there was a blend of praiseworthy artistry and sharp criticism at the same time.

Many viewers complained about the film being very slow. It is true but those who have watched Denis Villeneuve’s previous works will understand that it is in his artistry. He keeps the picture slow and grows on the viewers.

I felt that Dune was easily the case of two eggs in the same basket. As much as the first hour maintained the superior quality of sci-fi epic, the second hour visibly began to fade in its pace. As much of the story moved in the first half, the other half took way too many minutes in setting the dust and reaching towards the mark.

The biggest plus of the film is undoubtedly the stunning visuals, the camera work, and the very detailed presentation of the fictional planets. Honestly, the sandworm should not have been revealed in the first trailer. Forget the nomination, the film deserves to win in either VFX or sound recording/mixing. I was expecting a lot from Hans Zimmer but I feel he did just a decent work but not as much worthy as we remember his past scores.

The presence of ensemble casting is another reason for the film’s magnitude of visual presentation. Timothee Chalamet has risen to fame in just four years and at age 25, he is one exceptional talent we will see building his acting career on the advanced level, all depending on the choices he will make while playing his part.

Denis Villeneuve was the right man for this job. If he was not hired, I would have picked Guillermo del Toro for this epic. The wait for the next part begins with the first part’s conclusion. Watching this film is a necessary exercise for the peers and pupils of science fiction.

Ratings: 8/10