Rebel Moon Debuts on Rotten Tomatoes With Rotten 9% Score

Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 9%. Since posting, the score has creeped up to 19% according to 24 reviews. A lot of the takes on Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire point out that Zack Snyder has not lost his feel for a striking image. However, there are some criticisms about how cohesive the narrative of this science fiction adventure is. There's no question that the director sees Rebel Moon as a burgeoning multimedia franchise. (There have already been comic series announced and a second part is on the way as well!) But, the initial critical reaction is quite a bit more negative than many would have expected after the big premiere this week.

Fans of Snyder's previous work with Watchmen, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Sucker Punch, and the like all wonder what the critics were expecting. In the press tour and media features on Rebel Moon, there was an admission that this film and its sequel would feel a lot like Star Wars and other science fiction mainstays. The problem for a lot of the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes' site lay with the fact that some of the Snyder mainstays like slow-motion action sequences are detrimental to the flow of the film. Needless to say, there will be a lot of viewer reaction when the movie hits Netflix.

The first reviews are in for #RebelMoon – Part One: A Child Of Fire – currently it's Rotten at 9% on the Tomatometer, with 22 reviews: https://t.co/QABQhRXOIH pic.twitter.com/dk0P3Y40JV

— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) December 15, 2023

Rebel Moon Is Getting A Director's Cut

At this point, the fans expect and demand a Director's Cut of any Zack Snyder project. Rebel Moon will be no different thanks to Netflix. During a red-band trailer event for the movie, Snyder explained why he loves the concept of a Director's Cut so much. In fact, the director traces his obsession all the way back to film school.

"It was cool because I think the one thing with Netflix was coming off Justice League, and look, I've done since Dawn of the Dead, I did a Director's Cut for Dawn... Watchmen. I have two, there's two Director's Cuts, which is crazy," Snyder said. "Yeah, BvS, of course, is one of my favorites, of course. And Justice League, that goes without saying. And so, it was just cool in the initial conversation I was having with Netflix about just this concept of them saying like, 'Oh, well, why don't we make it part of the plan?' That makes it a lot easier." 

"There's a great history of director's cuts that are just cool. When I was in film school, I just always thought that was cool that there was this other movie that you could discover. And so, for me, there's a lot of... When you make a movie, you have a lot of voices in your own creative mind telling you what would be narratively just the strongest solution," he continued. "And then, you have this other tug on you. I do anyway, that is like, 'Well, what if there's rabbit holes that are really amazing to go down and just kind of learn about different aspects of the characters?' For me, those have always been a thing that in the drawing when I draw the scenes or when I am writing the script, I always end up with a lot of that stuff that I feel like really tells the sort of deeper dive story."

Why did Zack Snyder Make Rebel Moon?

Back when Rebel Moon was first announced, Snyder shared his thoughts on the project. It turns out his past was always going to lead him to a story like this. Being a film fan from his student days gave him the idea for the germ that would become Rebel Moon. Now, with the movie so close to being out in the world, it must be a surreal sensation.

"This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan," Snyder wrote in a statement. "It's my love of sci-fi and a giant adventure. My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out... I've spent the last two or three years building out this universe. Every corner has to be painted in. I've been doing designs, constantly drawing and really cultivating its fertile ground to make this world fully realized."

What do you think of the response to Rebel Moon? Let us know down in the comments!