Zack Snyder is back with his most ambitious project yet. The American filmmaker, who started off his career with a film like Dawn of the Dead before he transversed in the realm of comic-book mayhem, has carved a dedicated fanbase on the internet, especially due to his stylistic flourishes and his deep understanding of all action movies, i.e., the consequences of the violence. While it feels a little anti-agenda to me, personally, I understand why he has become such a torchbearer for the nerds out there. With Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire (2023), Snyder has just established the base for his own Star Wars. Is it good or bad? Let’s talk about all that, including the ending of Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire and the way it sets up its inevitable sequel.
Please be aware that this article will be full of spoilers, so proceed at your own risk.
Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Set in a fictional world where the Motherworld – an empire run by its many military endeavors that involve war; has been on a rampage of invading different worlds and conquering them. Kings who got greedy for more power took up the mental and raged on until one of the assains of the realm stood up and burned the monarchy to the ground, bringing an end to all the mayhem.
However, since there were planets that were still under the reign of the monarchy, violence did not end there. Now these smaller planets wanted their own freedom from the imperial rule and fought bravely for their independence. But within the rubbles emerged a powerful senator named Balisarius who self appointed himself as the ruler of the Realm – someone that everyone should bow down to. While the last of the kings – and his gifted daughter Princess Issa symbolized healing, resurrection, and the need for peace, Balisarius and his ruthless conquest went on. He wanted to bring more planets under his reign, and this kept invading them.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire opens on the planet of Veldt – a farming village that has been operating independently by being self-sufficient. Their hard work and the beautiful and fertile land of Veldt have allowed them to slowly harvest their own grain and feed the people of the planet as best as possible.
Kora is a young woman who has been living in Valdt with his adoptive father, but it is soon established that she doesn’t belong to Veldt. She was found at a crash site a few years ago and has since become a part of Veldt, working and living with the humble villagers of the planet. Father Sindri is the leader of the village and makes sure everything is going right for the people of the planet.
What does Admiral Noble want?
Their peace is, however, disturbed when Admiral Atticus Noble lands on the planet, followed by his troops. He is on a mission to track down the notorious siblings Darrain and Debra, who have been leading a powerful rebel force called Clan Bloodaxe against the Motherworld’s now-violent overtaking of peaceful planets. He insists that Sindri makes a deal with him by giving them their leftover grain on every harvest for a sum of money because they have been tracking the criminals.
When Sindri refuses and Gunnar – the main harvester of Veldt, who has been looking to bring more money to the planet, lets them know that they have extra rations, Noble kills Sandri in cold blood in front of the entire village. He then takes over the village and leaves his soldiers there to make sure the villagers do their bit of providing them grain on time. Along with the soldiers, we are also introduced to Jimmy – an old robot sanctioned to help the soldiers with everything on Veldt.
Seeing that this complete overtake doesn’t sit right with her own idea of freedom, Kora decides to flee from the planet. However, before she can do it, she hears the soldiers harassing a young girl from the village. She steps in and annihilates the entire group of soldiers that Noble had stationed there.
Realizing that her actions would have consequences, Kora decides to round up warriors who can help protect Veldt. Kora reveals that she was, in fact, a member of the Imperium and has fought many battles with the Motherworold’s best soldiers. She tells the villagers that she wishes to protect Veldt because this is the only place that gives her a sense of home. So, along with Gunnar, who has had recent contacts with the Bloodaxe, Kora starts her quest to round up warriors.
Who are the warriors that Kora recruits for her fight?
Their first stop is a nearby port town called Providence, and their first recruit is Kai – a smuggler and a criminal whose only stake in the group would be helping them navigate using his ship. Kora and Gunnar are looking to hitch a ride to the planet of Pollux, where the rebels were last active, so Kai decides to take them there.
When Kora tells Kai about her plans, he offers his help and takes a detour to the planet of Neu-wodi. There, they recruit Tarak – a tamer of beasts. Next, they go to the Cobolt mining planet of Daggus and recruit a talented cyborg swordswoman named Nemesis. On the moon of Pollux, the group is able to trace General Titus – a once brave and illustrious man who was well known for his bravery but left the King’s side when Balisarius took over.
The entire team then reaches the planet of Sharaan, where they meet the Bloodaxe rebel group. While Devra, one of the leaders of the group, is not interested in joining Kora for her fight, Darrain, along with his best soldiers – which also includes his most trusted fighter, Millus, decides to join her cause.
Who betrays the group?
The group is now ready to return to Veldt, but Kai insists that he has to take one last detour and leave his criminal life for good after delivering some goods. At the trading post of the planet, Kora finally senses something wrong as she spots the same alien she had a fight with in Providence. However, before she can take any action, Admiral Noble and his men onboard their ship The King’s Gaze cuff Kora and the team. This is where Kai’s plan is revealed, which involves selling out all the warriors, including Kora, who is most wanted by the Regime. Kai had never wished to help with Kora’s fight and merely manipulated her for his own profit.
It feels like all is lost, but Gunnar, who is the only one not cuffed, steps in and saves Kora while also stabbing Kai to death. A fight breaks out as Kora and Gunnar free up the warriors. An intense battle ensues, and the group loses Darrian, who is able to bring down the King’s Gaze but dies in action. All the other Bloodaxe members except Millius are also killed.
Millius decides to join Kora and the others after she successfully fights off Admiral Noble, dropping to his death. The group returns to Veldt, where their plan is to train themselves for a bigger fight while also defending the place that they can call home.
Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending Explained:
Is Admiral Noble dead or alive?
The fight that took place at the port showed us that Kora, after much deliberation, was able to kill Admiral Noble, with his lifeless body falling down from great height straight into the wreckage of The King’s gaze.
However, towards the end of Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, we see his body being carried away to the Imperium starship. The technologically advanced starship sees the technicians attaching Noble’s body with some cables. We had already seen Noble being healed by these cables before, but the act shows us that he has a robotic body beyond his flesh, and when the cables are inserted into his body, a process is engineered on him. The very next moment, we see some kind of astral projection throw him into a different reality where his soul meets Balisarius.
This is where Balisarius orders him to find Kora alive because he still considers her to be his daughter. While not many details about this distinct reality are revealed, we can understand that Balisarius’ power has gone beyond his military command, and he is operating in a completely otherworldly and seemingly powerful digital space.
Anyway, the ending of Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire reveals that Admiral Noble is relieved from this astral plane and is brought back to life using the tech that has been developed. His pursuit of Kora and the warriors will continue and will be much darker this time.
Now, here are some more burning questions that you might have related to Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire:
Who was Kora before she came to Veldt?
An important part of Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire is giving us hints about Kora’s life before she became a citizen of Veldt. She reveals that after her entire family was killed, Balisarius took her in as his child and trained her to become a ruthless warrior.
In one of the stories that she narrates to Gunnar, she tells him that she was once a sworn soldier in the Imperium army when the king was still the ruler. Balisarius raised her by the name Arthelais, and due to her dedication, she led the army, winning many battles. She was so good on the battlefield that she was given the nickname ‘The Scargiver.’
Later, she was promoted as the bodyguard to the king’s daughter, Princess Issa, and the time she spent with her made her realize the beauty that lies beyond all the killing. Issa was a kind of mythical figure who could heal the dead and bring them back to life just by the mere kindness and purity of her heart. This ignited a sense of hope for peace in Kora, too, but she was unable to do anything when there was a turnover in power due to Balisarius’ greed. Issa and her parents were killed while Balisarius took control of the Realm. This change in strategy from Balisarius’ army did not sit right with Kora, and she decided to find refuge in Veldt.
Is Rebel Moon inspired by Star Wars?
The first reaction you might have when you start watching Rebel Moon is the similarities it has with Star Wars. Kora could be replaced by Luke Skywalker, while Admiral Noble feels like a stand-in for Darth Vader. Kai felt like a complete reworking of Han Solo, but his turning against Kora towards the end of the film took away some of its inspiration.
However, from where I see it, the inspiration for Rebel Moon lies directly in Akira Kurosawa’s work – more specifically with Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress, which have often been cited as inspiration for Star Wars itself.
Is Rebel Moon based on a book?
Zack Snyder has been known for adapting things into movies. His Dawn of the Dead was a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name, while 300 (2007), Watchmen (2009), and his quest with the DCEU have all been based on some kind of source material. However, Rebel Moon is not based on a book.
As hard as it can be to believe, the world of Rebel Moon was an original creation of Zack Snyder that he was helped to conceive by writers Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hasten.
What’s next for the series of movies planned under Rebel Moon?
Rebel Moon, even before its release, was announced as a series of movies that Netflix will produce. The epic conjecture that the first film ends leaves us with many questions regarding what is going to happen. Since a lot of things were left unresolved in Part One, the inevitable sequel titled Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver should give us some respite. The sequel will land on Netflix on April 19th, 2024, but before that, we will be able to see a more extended look into the world of Part One, which will be released in January/Feb 2024.
Now, there are many plot threads that the sequel can take up, but the most interesting would be to see the reason behind Kora being such a highly valued fugitive. From what I could guess, it’s possible that she was able to kill Balisarius before fleeing to Veldt, which is why he now lives in the digital space that we saw in the movie’s climax. It’s also possible that we will see more of Princess Issa and her powers that might have found their way to Jimmy – the robot, who has taken up arms again after leaving them.
Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Review:
Part Star Wars’ mythmaking, part Dune’s political stance, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire is a mishmash of so many other movies that it forgets to have an identity of its own. Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai’s shadow looms over this sorry, meandering mess of a film that is not able to decide what stance to take.
While Zack Snyder has always maintained a stance of presenting his extremely violent movies with his own political and social standing of peace and prosperity, this is the most tired his subtext has felt to date. To add to that, there’s no way one can look beyond the shoddy camerawork, the rushed CGI fest, and the inability to create even a single memorable character out of so many.
The acting, especially from Sofia Boutella, who has to be the key ingredient here, is only serviceable. Even the slow-mo and action sequences that have been a trademark of Snyder’s personality feel labored and distant, not allowing the viewers to engage with either its emotional stakes or its grander themes of loss and a need for stability in life.
To conclude, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire is bland from the word go, and in spite of the grand operatic scale it takes place in, it feels pretty darn small.
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