Words like “subtlety,” “restraint,” and “understated” have never been a part of Zack Snyder’s filmmaking lexicon, but even at that, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is going for broke in terms of pushing PG-13 to its very limits.
Of course, you can’t make a blockbuster intergalactic epic without action, violence, and perhaps even a smattering of sensuality, but the director is pushing the boat out regardless. Even though both parts of the former Star Wars spin-off indebted to Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai have already been confirmed for R-rated extended editions further down the line, that doesn’t mean A Child of Fire is holding back.
If anything, it makes you question the need for gnarlier cuts to even exist beyond Netflix making a blatant play to acquire even more viewership data for a film that’s already a shoo-in to become one of its most-watched original features ever, especially when you consider the laundry list of terms to have been listed in regards to the opening chapter’s reasons for securing a PG-13.
There’s going to be “sequences of strong violence, sexual assault, bloody images, language, sexual material, and partial nudity,” which seems an awful lot for a production that can technically be viewed by audiences of all ages, even if almost all of it covers the sort of content we’ve become accustomed to expect from Snyder over the years.
If that’s what made it past the censors for A Child of Fire‘s “family-friendly” edition, then we can only wonder what’s going to be in store when Rebel Moon re-releases with the shackles taken off.