The review embargo for Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver didn't lift until the movie started streaming on Netflix late last night. As we're sure you're aware, that's typically a pretty solid indication that a studio is protecting spoilers or that their latest release is bad.
Now, the latter appears to have been confirmed by the sequel's Rotten Tomatoes score via SFFGazette.com. While it's still early days (especially with the majority of critics seemingly not receiving screeners in advance), Zack Snyder's latest movie has hit the review aggregator with a Rotten 14% score.
"Snyder’s sci-fi epic stumbles towards the finish line with an underwhelming Part Two that feels more like a Part One-And-A-Half," reads Total Film's review. Empire Online, meanwhile, concludes with, "Marginally better than Part One, but still a weird, messy and humourless sci-fi that gives you little reason to cheer the potential continuation of this Snyderverse."
It turns out the trades were similarly unimpressed, with The Hollywood Reporter mocking "a sequence in which the characters harvest wheat for what seems longer than a Swedish art film." The Wrap goes so far as to describe The Scargiver (and its predecessor, A Child of Fire) as "both shallow and generic space operas."
Needless to say, we'd imagine you get the idea!
Talking of that first instalment, it has a 21% score, so at 14%...well, this isn't a good start for the second instalment of a series Snyder imagines could run for six movies.
The filmmaker has hyped up director's cuts of A Child of Fire and The Scargiver, both of which are likely to clock in at three hours each. Will those be considerably better movies or more of the same? We'll find out this summer.
Despite a tepid response from fans and critics, the first Rebel Moon movie was supposedly a ratings hit for Netflix. Should enough people turn up for this sequel, then Snyder may get his wish and be able to continue telling stories in this sci-fi realm.
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver continues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle, the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver starts streaming on Netflix on April 19.