Kora is an ex-soldier, who defected from the Imperium, an infantry, part of The Motherworld a militaristic empire who seek to rule the universe through centuries of conquests and war. Living a quiet life on a distant moon on a farm helping out the locals, the imperium comes knocking and Admiral Atticus Noble seeks out the moon and it's dwellers. Knowing how Noble will operate, Kora decides to help the farmers out by rallying a team of warriors to help her take down the Motherworld and stop their tyranny.
Very cut and dry. A simple story of good vs bad. We have a protagonist and we have an antagonist. Before this movie was released, I heard that this film was proposed to Lucas Film (now at Disney) as a Star Wars movie and Lucas rejected it. Netflix took it and allowed Zack to make the movie he wanted. There is a very high possibility that nobody oversaw his work and let Zack get on with it because if I am honest, it shows. Zack is a great storyteller with a visual flare that dwarfs Michael Bay. I have said this many times here in many reviews. I am not a Zack fanboy but I do like his movies, so maybe I am being a bit biased here, but I would not say the movie is straight-up trash. It just feels like a movie made specifically to be a part 1, than a movie that happens to be a part 1. If that makes any sense! For example, this year alone we have had two movies I can draw from that felt like a whole movie but ended on a cliffhanger because they were part 1 of 2; 'Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse' and 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1'. Both films were lengthy, told a story with minimal flashbacks and were split into a three-act structure. You are introduced to the characters, we are told as to what is to be done and how to do it, and we go about trying to achieve that goal. This movie does not quite do that. We are introduced to the characters, we are told what is to be done, we spend time looking for more characters and given even more back-story of the main character (exposition) and then a fight ensues, finished, the end. The entire film felt like a first act including part of a second act with nothing but flashbacks and slow motion. Or better yet, more accurately, the film could have been a series and this was the end of Season One. The film generally felt unengaging because of this, slightly disjointed, and rushed, although still operating at a slow pace not really getting anywhere and everything simply felt surface level. It spends a lot of time trying to get somewhere but ultimately getting nowhere. The film reminded me of playing an RPG game, you've got your main character and they are on a quest, they pick up an assortment of different characters who will help you in your fight and each of them look very different from each other with different skill sets. Not terrible, but not executed in a way that made the characters stick out. The characters do not really sit with you either. It is very exposition-heavy for the main character. These are the issues with this film, along with the main actress being OK and the dialogue also being, just OK. The villain was trying to be menacing, but...was not that menacing at all, the film just felt very brief and chopped.
The music, and the action, are all superb. It is funny how a lot of the action is in slow motion so you can see the detail and what is going on, a Zack Snyder staple; the problem is, it was just a little overdone in my honest opinion, just a little too heavy-handed. Visually the movie is great though, something you can never take away from Zack. The music is also really good as it gave me Man of Steel vibes in places. The special effects could have been a little better considering 'The Creator' looked amazing on a shoestring budget, but it is Netflix, I am not going to cry over the special effects here. The acting from most of the characters was good. Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein and Charlie Hunnam were the standouts, but I just feel these characters could have been given more. Maybe if there were less slow-mo and more and better dialogue, the characters would have connected with the audience better, but then this leads me to the part 1 of it all.
Of recent, I have heard that Zack has a director's cut of this first part which makes me think 1 of 2 things happened here. Netflix stepped in and was actually involved in overseeing his work and told him to strip the movie down to a respectable time (because we all know Zack cannot make short films), so Zack did a lot of chopping and what he cut out of it, IS in fact in the directors cut which will tell more story OR, Zack and/or Netflix came to the decision of having a director's cut because "Release the Snyder Cut" was a movement and maybe Netflix thought they could capitalise off the back of that, either way, the film feels rushed and it ends awkwardly. The characters are touched on at a surface level, if that and the story hardly had any meat on its bones. It would have been nice to have the characters more fleshed out and memorable because the movie simply comes across as a fetch quest.
But did I enjoy the movie overall? Yes and no. I made 3 attempts to watch this movie and each time I tried, I was tired and I did fall asleep. All. Three. Times. Being ill and tired is one thing, but the main character is cool, but not really engaging. All the flashbacks and exposition got tired and boring. The slow motion, the visuals and the coolness of the film does not do enough to keep your attention because, well...we have seen it all before, you know. Sophia is nice and all, but they tried too hard for her to be badass but could have done more with her character if they took her in another direction. Like, she was the reluctant hero, with the charisma of a grape, but giving out forced speeches that had the weight of a feather which was meant to influence people to help her with her plight. Maybe it is her delivery. Maybe it is just how it is written. Maybe Part 2 will be better (because the trailer actually does look better) and maybe this film should have been one long 7-hour movie (I kid). Zack is a great filmmaker, but he does really need to know how to use better executions when directing. He is not trash by any means, but his misses are usually centred around the same things, all the time. Where is 300 Zack or Man of Steel Zack? There were glimpses of him here, but not enough. More Suckerpunch Snyder I'm afraid. Good but not as engaging with the characters overall lends to the film feeling hollow. The visuals, action and music are good though, but just not enough.
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