Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

This looks like it was all made by AI.

 

[Alatar]

Looks damn good to me.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Looks like three completely different movies in one. Which might be good.... still looks like a knock-off of Dune, Star Wars and Harry Potter wrapped into one movie.

I have little faith in Snyder to give anything more than a lot of pretty pictures.

Only on Netflix... couldn't get a theatrical is NOT a good sign.

 

[Alatar]

Looks like three completely different movies in one. Which might be good.... still looks like a knock-off of Dune, Star Wars and Harry Potter wrapped into one movie.

I have little faith in Snyder to give anything more than a lot of pretty pictures.

Only on Netflix... couldn't get a theatrical is NOT a good sign.

This isn’t directed at @Wor-Gar per se. Everyone is entitled to express their personal views, and I respect that whole process as a community of fans. I like and respect Wor-Gar personally! This response is to the basic sentiment he expressed.

I’ll leave aside the first two points because at the end of the day appreciation of a film is a matter of personal taste. It’s pretty clear by now that Snyder tends to make polarizing films. Folks tend to either love what he does or hate it it. But he clearly has a very substantial loyal fan base. Haters will likely keep hating. Will the GA come along for the ride here? That’s the $64,000 question. And Netflix’s huge gamble, obviously. We’ll find out in a few months.

Regarding the last point I’m sure we all know how Netflix works, so I’m assuming Wor-Gar’s contention is it’s a bad sign that Snyder chose a streaming service versus a traditional film studio, i.e., one that makes films intended for release in the movie theater.

For a time it looked like movie theaters actually might not survive the ascendancy of streaming. Especially in the perfect storm of the pandemic. Thankfully, movie theaters are holding on. There‘s a something about the shared communal experience of sitting together in a theater combined with the grandeur of a giant screen and thundering sound system that people aren’t ready to give up. But the sheer convenience of watching at home with state of the art home theater is also pretty damn awesome as well. And imho a 65” or larger OLED TV with premium sound system can actually be a richer experience than a movie theater screen, due to the HDR on a glass screen at a smaller scale. Once the lights are out and you’re just taking it all in. The brain just responds to what’s there.

Anyway, this article explains the Netflix situation pretty well: https://screenrant.com/rebel-moon-movie-no-theater-release-zack-snyder-why/. Although I would add that what the article (and Zack himself in the interview) sidesteps, or remains vague about, is that Netflix’s business model simply does not support wide theater releases. That requires a huge infrastructure, with lots of staff and people running divisions, etc., that a streaming service lacks. When Zack says “draining” I think that’s code that given their lack of intrfrastructure to achieve a huge theater release Netflix would lose money if they tried!

I think the reason Zack chose Netflix is that 1) they wish to develop a sci-fi franchise that in terms of popularity will stand shoulder to shoulder with Star Wars and Dune—which Zack also wants to make, and 2) they gave Zack creative carte blanche, i.e., the execs imposed zero interference. How often does this happen in the entertainment industry? That’s extremely rare for a director to achieve.

Rather than characterizing Netflix backing Snyder to develop what they hope will be the next big sci-fi franchise as somehow a fail, in fact this is a monumental opportunity for both Snyder and Netflix. If it succeeds they will demonstrate that they can build as popular a universe as Star Wars on a streaming platform alone. Although honestly that’s essentially what Disney Plus has been doing since completion of the reboot trilogy with Rise of Skywalker via Mandalorian, Boba Fett, Obi Wan, Andor, and Ashoka.

This trailer makes clear that the cinematography has a truly cinematic feel to it. I’ve watched many reaction videos to the trailer. And as people note the gorgeous cinematography, a comment I repeatedly hear is that “this belongs in the movie theater!” That’s not something we’ve recently been getting on Disney Plus from the Star Wars franchise.

Anyway, I’m just pointing out that there’s a lot more nuance to this than the notion that even a very “cinematic” feeling movie automatically belongs in the movie theater. The cultural and business landscape is still very much in flux regarding streaming services. This is a truly intriguing play by Netflix.

 

[Sassafras]

I'll watch it. Always up for fantasy/sci-fi trope motley crew of adventurers/outcasts/badasses taking on the Big Bad.
At least at first.
Whether I STAY invested or drift off into the sunset to binge watch every John Wick film remains to be seen.

 

[abake]

I like Zack's movies, and the trailer looks fantastic, so I'll there.
And I do think it will be a huge hit for Netflix.

 

[Alatar]

New trailer dropping Nov. 12th, during the Giants vs. Cowboys game. The “teaser“ trailer we got back in early September was four minutes long and chockfull of gorgeous shots. Hyped for the next one!

 

[greygoose]

 

[abake]

It certainly seems to check all the Snyder boxes.
I'm still slightly bewildered at the eclectic nature of the costumes, but it does look pretty cool.