Zack Snyder has become a brand by this point. Above all the opinions, both vitriolic and obsessive, he’s a filmmaker that has taken on a level of infamy very few in the space dream of achieving. Everyone knows the name.

Is that a good thing? Again, it’ll depend on who you ask; some folks have fallen in love with Snyder’s overzealous expressions of flamboyant style, while others have come to despise his work for that very same reason.

Born in the heart of the madness is a shoot-off term with almost as much recognition as the actual man himself, the “Snyder Cut”. More commonly referred to as a “Director’s Cut”, though the former term has become synonymous with it, Snyder tore the veil between what was a generally rare concept and a ravenous mainstream audience frustrated with a studio meddling with their superhero movies. The rest is history, and you can argue that part of the aftermath is upon us now in the director’s cut of Rebel Moon.

Pitched as Snyder’s Star Wars, the Netflix original duology was first delivered in the form of PG-13 cuts essentially akin to theatrical versions, which stood alone for months until Snyder was finally allowed to unleash his full vision in the form of extended R-rated editions.

A man and woman standing next to each other in the rain. — Courtesy of Netflix

As far as the first half of the duology goes, it’s a dire circumstance. Snyder clearly wants to take advantage of the added R-rating here, but his usage of overwrought violence and the messy special effects that bring it to life dampen most of the impact. A scene may hit here and there, especially some of the more complex action pieces later on, but the film opens on what is meant to be a tone-setter, and it’s a major whiff. Unrealistic, watery blood flows through a scene of fake fire, ash, and conflict. Unfortunately, it sort of ends up summing the whole thing up.

If you didn’t know already, Rebel Moon’s first chapter finds a peaceful, small moon settlement disturbed by the evil outreach of a brute force of tyranny whose power appears unmatched, at least at first. It’s a traditional story of galactic rebellion and heroism, only dolled out to more than 200 minutes and painted over with a red-gray sheen that makes the next scene nearly impossible to distinguish from the last.

It’s not a scenario like Snyder’s Justice League, wherein his cut was a completely different, and much better film; this director’s cut is simply a longer version of a film that many people didn’t like to begin with. It may be technically more sound, but if you’re looking for a complete overhaul, you won’t find it here.

Though it is hard not to respect Snyder’s reach with this one to some extent. Whether or not you like it, he’s taken this new world the whole nine yards, going out of his way to build a wide cast of characters from a smorgasbord of unpronounceable planets. The film quickly pivots from the aforementioned opening scene of shock to the village where the story really begins, and there, another issue rears its head.

Snyder just can’t seem to get a good grip on pacing this thing consistently. That’s hard to do as is given the length, and the extensive list of characters means the focus is divided among them in whiplash-inducing fashion. You’ll go from village to village, catfight to conquest, and feel only the bottom of your popcorn bucket before the first act even comes to a close.

Of course, characters come together after a while, hence the whole rebellion thing. But you’ve seen all of this before; the Star Wars comparisons, and others similar, are apt. Yet Rebel Moon isn’t a cinematic trendsetter as something like Star Wars was, and is. It’ll appeal to some for stylistic reasons, and others as something to throw on while they mosey around the room doing anything else, but for those trying to commit to a new story with something fresh to bite into, this just isn’t the place to look.

Rebel Moon – Part One: Director’s Cut is just a lengthy reminder as to why the first one didn’t work. Expectedly, it is an improvement for those who wanted more, but if you fall in with the majority, the egregious afternoon-long-length is confirmation that you can leave this one behind, in a cloud of computer-generated, unconvincing, concrete-gray dust.

Rebel Moon: Director’s Cut is now available to stream on Netflix.