Zack Snyder, the renowned writer-director, recently spoke exclusively to Empire magazine about the negative reviews surrounding his space epic, “Rebel Moon.” While Sofia Boutella, the star of the film, admitted that the critics’ bashing affected her emotionally, Snyder seems unfazed by the backlash. He expressed his perplexity at how anything in “Rebel Moon – Part One” could warrant such hostile reviews.
A Polarizing Reaction to Snyder’s Movies
“I don’t really have a rebuttal to the reviews,” Snyder said. “For whatever reason, the reaction to my movies is very polarizing, and it always has been. The movie, it doesn’t seem like there’s that much in it that would warrant such visceral responses.”
Snyder’s “Rebel Moon” originally started as a pitch for “Star Wars” that he offered to Lucasfilm. The film follows Boutella’s character, a former soldier who recruits warriors from across the universe to fight against the evil Imperium when her farming colony is threatened.
Emotionally Affected by Negative Reviews
Boutella, on the other hand, was deeply affected by the extremely negative reviews. She revealed, “I always thought that I was fully armed to take on those punches, and then I read the critics that came down on ‘Rebel Moon’ and it really affected me. I’m just gonna be honest about it. I feel like I’m carrying it for everybody that cared so much about this project, and that’s what affected me. Not the way I look. If anything, I’ve been pretty lucky, and people like my work in it, but the movie was criticized.”
She continued, passionately defending the project, “It really affected me for all of those who put so much heart, tears, and sweat into this project. It’s hard to see something being demolished to that extent. I’m proud to have been part of it, and if there is no more ‘Rebel Moon,’ it will be a very important part of my life that I will defend forever.”
Director’s Cuts with Extra Gore and Violence
In addition to the upcoming second installment of “Rebel Moon,” Snyder plans to release R-rated director’s cuts of each film. According to him, these cuts will include all the gore, hard R-ness, nudity, violence, and crazy moments. He expressed his curiosity about how the critics will respond to these director’s cuts, calling it “a different kettle of fish.”
Snyder’s first “Rebel Moon” movie currently holds a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Owen Gleiberman, the chief film critic for Variety, described the film as “insanely derivative” in his review, stating that it “knocks off ‘Star Wars’ and a dozen other sources … It is a movie built so entirely out of spare parts that it may, in the end, be for Snyder cultists only.”
Netflix’s Success with “Rebel Moon”
During a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Snyder praised Netflix’s business model for releasing movies like “Rebel Moon.” He revealed that the film has garnered around 80 million to 90 million “views” so far. By equating these views to audience reach, he suggested that more people have likely seen “Rebel Moon” than Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” which grossed $1.4 billion at the box office last year.
“Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” is set for release on April 19.
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