Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan became close friends after Snyder was hired to direct Nolan’s story for Man of Steel in 2010. Nolan had previously argued that Snyder’s divisive film Watchmen was a superhero team-up movie ahead of its time. Amid the release of the critically panned Rebel Moon, Nolan went on to state that Zack Snyder has influenced all modern superhero and sci-fi films.
Snyder’s most recent film, Rebel Moon: Part One: A Child of Fire, is generating conversations among film lovers. While critics have mostly given negative reviews for the movie, it tops the Netflix charts.
Christopher Nolan Praises Zack Snyder’s Influence On Superhero Movies
In a profile dedicated to Zack Snyder in The Atlantic, Christopher Nolan explained that Snyder’s storytelling has influenced several modern comic-book and science-fiction movies. He added that Snyder’s film showcased his love for the sheer possibilities offered by the medium of cinema. As Nolan put it, Snyder strives not only to make the film fantastical and heightened in reality but also to move and excite the audience. Nolan told The Atlantic:
“There’s no superhero science-fiction film coming out these days where I don’t see some influence of Zack. When you watch a Zack Snyder film, you see and feel his love for the potential of cinema. The potential of it to be fantastical, to be heightened in its reality, but to move you and to excite you.”
Snyder fans couldn’t be any happier after one of the greatest filmmakers hailed the Sucker Punch director’s influence. One fan compared Nolan’s praise for Snyder to that of one King recognizing another King. A comment stated that only the Tenet director understood Snyder’s superhero blueprint. However, some critical comments noted that the Interstellar director was merely supporting his friend after the poor reviews for Rebel Moon. Some fan reactions read:
King recognises King pic.twitter.com/5fSnP2m6Ot
— SuperTuberEddie 🪓❄️ (@SuperTuberEddie) December 26, 2023
Nolan understands Zack is the superhero blueprint
— Scribe Phoenix🏳️🌈 (@Crackerphoenix) December 26, 2023
Goats who understand much more about movies than dumb critics/haters.
Nolan a real one— Tony (@Rebel_V_) December 27, 2023
Facts this coming from one of THE BEST film directors ever!
— arichson (@arichson8409) December 26, 2023
Truer words were never spoken pic.twitter.com/pM3F7okuxH
— Edward Newgate (@EdwardN42185803) December 27, 2023
Man of steel was truly great and had influence. But now, after the failure of Rebel Moon, he is simply supporting his friend
— Mr. Miracul (@MMiracul) December 26, 2023
While the audience is divided on their opinion about the first Rebel Moon movie, Netflix has announced the upcoming release of an R-rated director’s cut for the film. Snyder confirmed that this version would include one hour’s worth of extra content.
Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon Was Critically Panned
On Rotten Tomatoes, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire received a rotten rating of 24% from 137 reviews. It is one of the lowest scores for a Zack Snyder movie on the platform. The audience score of the film is 64%, but it is heavily distorted, with both Snyder fans and haters writing biased reviews.
Critical consensus on the website agreed that Snyder’s “visual flair” remains throughout the film but criticized the storytelling, which was made up of various sci-fi and fantasy tropes. Owen Gleiberman of Variety called the film a “Star Wars’ knockoff”, while David Fear of Rolling Stone pointed out that the storytelling got lost amidst all the “mix-and-match world-building.”
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire was watched by 23.9 million viewers in its opening three days on Netflix. Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is scheduled for release on April 19, 2024.
