Time: 173 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Graphic violence, sex scenes
Cast:
Sofia Boutella as Kora / Arthelais
Djimon Hounsou as Titus
Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble
Michiel Huisman as Gunnar
Doona Bae as Nemesis
Ray Fisher as Darrian Bloodaxe
Anthony Hopkins as the voice of Jimmy
Staz Nair as Tarak
Fra Fee as Regent Balisarius
Elise Duffy as Milius
Director: Zack Snyder

As someone who liked the shorter cuts of Rebel Moon, I was satisfied with the Director’s Cut of Part 1 (Chalice of Blood), with it fixing most of the issues I had with the original version (A Child of Fire). Unsurprisingly, the director’s cut of Part 2 is also superior to the original version.

One benefit of part 2 compared to part 1 (seen in both versions) is that the story is more focussed, with it centering on the main characters preparing for a battle on the farm planet of Veldt, and occasionally cutting to the main villains on their way. The first half is all preparation and the second half is all battle, so it’s a far more simplified movie. That being said, I might slightly prefer part 1 for all the worldbuilding. The first cut of the movie, The Scargiver was 2 hours long, and Curse of Forgiveness is 2 hours and 53 minutes long. So compared to the director’s cut of Part 1 (which was over an hour longer than the previous version), it’s not that big of a jump. Despite that, the small differences really add something to the movie. The first half is focussing on the characters preparing to make their stand and fight, and leading up to the director’s cut, I was hoping that there would be especially more scenes in this section. While some people have complained about the scenes of slow motion farming, this section felt far too brief for what it was going for. Thankfully, I got what I wanted. We get more interactions between the characters, mainly between the recruited warriors with the farmers of Veldt, so the bonds and connections and motivations felt a lot more believable by the time the battle commences. It also doesn’t feel rushed and settles into this location, from the farming to training the farmers how to fight.

Part 2 isn’t planet hopping in the way that Part 1 was, but I still liked the little bit of additional lore that they provided here (especially one particular scene in the third act). Curse of Forgiveness also elaborates a lot more on Kora’s backstory, especially in relation to the overarching villain Balisarius and his plan and motivation to take over the throne from the King. That segment was far too brief in the original cut, and this new version gives far more meaning and context to both characters. While he’s not in the movie a ton, with the added scenes, Balirarius also feels more like an overarching threatening villain than just a background character. As for the battle in the second half, it is very satisfying. Not only do we get some additional and extended action sequences, but the increased level of violence makes them far better. It is satisfying watching these unambiguous villains get blown apart, but we also see some of the farmers get completely mowed down, so you feel far more impact during these scenes. As much as I liked the larger set pieces with people facing off against giant tanks and the like, the final stretch of the film which takes place on a ship was my favourite part of the action. As for issues that persist in this cut, one of the most disappointing aspects of the first version was how they decided to convey the backstories of the main characters. It literally has them seated at a table, and it goes around to each character as they tell their tragic backstories. While I do appreciate that each backstory section is a little longer now, it still feels very clunky and could’ve been handled much better. This is really the only part in which the clunky exposition is a problem in this movie, but it nonetheless was a disappointing choice. There was something that I realised watching these versions of the movies. The Director’s Cuts released on Netflix on the same day, I watched Chapter Two a couple days after watching Chapter One. I watched each of the original cuts on Day One, and their release dates were separated by 4 months. While both films work fine enough as standalone movies, Rebel Moon really is meant to work together as one movie. It’s certainly ambitious to watch them together in one 6 hour long session, but they weren’t intended to be watched months apart. Just an observation that I thought was worth pointing out.

Sofia Boutella is great as usual as protagonist Kora and delivers on both the action scenes and the emotion. The supporting cast in Djimon Hounsou, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Staz Nair, and Elise Duffy are really good too, and this new cut does at least give them a few more moments to shine compared to the original version. Ed Skrein is again excellent as the villainous Admiral Noble, even if he doesn’t get as much here as he did in the first film, the extended and additional scenes (especially with the R rating) does give him more of a chance to shine. The robot character of Jimmy voiced by Anthony Hopkins definitely has some new scenes which add to his character. He is definitely better used here than in The Scargiver, though his role in the action half still keeps him in a deus ex machina role. That said, the increased level of violence with the R rating makes his action scenes stand out far more this time.

I really love Zack Snyder’s direction and style and I liked his work here. I’ve had some criticisms over his cinematography for Rebel Moon, but on the whole it looks good here. In fact I think that the movie does look more consistently good here in Curse of Forgiveness compared to Chalice of Blood. While I maintain that he’d benefit from someone else as cinematographer, his work here was still good and I enjoy how otherworldly it feels. The unique designs, sets and costumes had me intrigued with this world. The action here is also great, definitely a step up from part 1 with far better and larger set pieces, and the R rating adds a lot more. People are split apart by laser swords and annihilated by bullets or tank shells, and so the impact is felt far more here. The CGI blood and gore are over the top, but personally I felt that fitted very well for this movie. Junkie XL’s score is also great and I feel like it also had more of a chance to shine in this version.

As expected, Rebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness is an improvement over the original PG-13 cut, expanding the story further, and with far more satisfying, epic and bloody action sequences. The easy way to determine whether or not you should watch it is to ask yourself if you liked the previous film’s director’s cut on any level. As for me, I am very satisfied with these director’s cuts, fixing most of the issues I had with their original cuts. That said, it is frustrating the way Netflix decided to handle the release, not only mandating a Snyder Cut situation and separating the releases of the different versions, but also doing very little to promote the director’s cuts despite being the reason they chose to have this release strategy in the first place. While Chapter 2 ends on a complete note, it also teases an opening for a new movie and I really do hope we get it, and that Netflix doesn’t pull the same antics again.