Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver Parent Guide

Secure in the knowledge that she has killed Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein), Kora (Sofia Boutella) returns to Veldt with her fellow fighters to share the good news. But Kora is unaware that cutting-edge medical care has saved Noble’s life. Consumed with a desire to find Kora, the bloodthirsty Admiral is on his way to Veldt to seize the villagers’ grain and wreak his revenge against the woman he knows as Arthelais or the Scargiver.

As the villagers’ sense of security gives way to an urgent need to prepare for battle, Kora’s past and that of her fellow warriors take center stage. The villagers and battle-hardened veterans must trust each other if they hope to defeat the Imperium’s crack troops. They know that preparation will not save them all, but hopefully it will limit the number of their dead…

Netflix subscribers who watched the first movie won’t find anything unexpected here. This sequel colors within the lines drawn by Rebel Moon - Part One, wrapping up one story arc while laying the foundation for subsequent films. Director Zack Snyder is apparently planning a five or six part franchise but Netflix has decided that future films will depend on viewing numbers for this installment. Audiences are now in the driver’s seat, effectively voting with their clicks.

I find it impossible to summon up any strong feelings about this movie. Yes, it’s derivative and often predictable (I nailed the concluding plot twist while watching episode one). Zack Snyder also continues to massively overuse slow-motion shots in every possible scene, which is just as annoying as it was last year. However, the movie tells a coherent story, provides some character development, and looks reasonably good.

If you’re considering watching this movie with teens, you’ll be relieved to know that violence is a bit less brutal than it was the first time around, and there are no attempted sexual assaults. That doesn’t mean the film is family-friendly: it’s chock full of scenes of physical combat and weapons violence, including fights with bladed weapons and sci-fi energy weapons. Major characters die, which could be distressing to some viewers. You should be aware that other violent scenes involve attempted strangulations of a child and later a woman as well as a scene where a woman commits suicide by jumping off a balcony (her dead body is not seen). Profanity is infrequent, but there is a single sexual expletive towards the end of the script.

As with most films of its ilk, The Scargiver delivers messages of courage, self-sacrifice, loyalty, teamwork, and justice. It also dips a toe into darker waters when a flashback sees Kora described by the man who betrays her as “a cancer of ethnic impurities”. This scene provides yet another look at the ugliness of the Imperium, and some of the ideology that undergirds its totalitarianism. It’s a cautionary tale about blind obedience to evil, and the courage it takes to resist. That the film is less revolutionary than its tale is disappointing, but not surprising.