My wife and I watched it last night. We both liked it.
We both liked 300, which was directed by Snyder, and he used some of the same directing techniques in Rebel Moon. Some of the fight scenes were a lot like the Matrix (Same for 300). Part One is definitely a Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven type story. And some scenes and visual aesthetic felt like references to other movies — Star Wars cantina scene, Lord of the Rings (the village on Veldt reminded me of the Shire, and one unnamed character reminded me of an orc, and the “cantina“ scene also reminded me of the Inn at Bree), Gladiator (the colosseum on one planet they visited, and the character they met there was played by an actor from Gladiator). There were a lot of moments like that, but it doesn’t bother me. I liked all those movies, and the way those things were incorporated into this movie made it feel fresh enough.
The one thing I would say is that it doesn’t leave you feeling like the story has advanced very far. Most of the time is spent on “world building”, introducing characters, and filling in backstory. I’m looking forward to Part Two maybe moving things along a bit faster.
But I’m still interested. I think he has a kind of polarizing style, but I’ve liked a few of his movies, so I think I’ll probably like this one. I’ll report back later.
