Starring: Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Fra Fee, Ed Skrein, Anthony Hopkins, Stuart Martin, Corey Stoll, Cary Elwes, Alfonso Herrera, Rhian Rees, Ray Porter
OUR RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Story: Netflix sci-fi fantasy action directed and co-written by Zack Snyder. Rebel Moon (2023), or Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023) Movie Quotes, centers on a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy that finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force. Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors, outsiders, insurgents, peasants, and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.
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'There is a difference between justice and revenge.' - Nemesis (Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire) Share on X
Jimmy: On the Motherworld, one thousand kings ruled unchallenged in succession. But in the royal bloodline’s lust for power, they consumed everything upon their planet. The Realm marched its armies into the vastness of space, conquering everything in its path.
Hagen: [referring to Den] He was asking for you.
Kora: I heard. And, yes, it’s quite impressive.
Hagen: Which one? The animal? Or the hunter?
Kora: You know, the two seasons I’ve spent here have given me happiness that I don’t deserve. But understand, I am a child of war. To truly love and be loved, I don’t know if I’m capable of either. The very idea of love, of family was beaten out of me. I was taught that love is weakness. And I don’t know how that will ever change.
Sindri: [as they see a warship approaching] What do you think they want?
Kora: Everything.
'The biggest fear we face is the fear of ourselves.' - Tarak (Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire) Share on X
Sindri: I don’t care what the potential upside might be, a warship hanging over our land cannot be good.
Gunnar: That’s your problem. Your first reaction is always fear.
Kora: That ship does not represent prosperity. Its purpose is to destroy, to subjugate, to enslave. Partnership is not in its vocabulary. Give them what they ask for. But volunteer nothing about how fertile this land is. And hope they leave before digging too deep into who Gunnar sold last year’s grain to.
Atticus Noble: I find people can lose sight of the stakes and sometimes need a gentle reminder of just how those with power deal with those without.
Gunnar: [after Noble kills Sindri] I don’t understand what you want.
Atticus Noble: Well, it’s simple. I want everything.
Jimmy: [referring to Princess Issa] She was more than magic. On the day of her coronation, she, along with our honored King and Queen, were assassinated in cold blood by those they trusted most. I fear we lost some measure of our honor since that betrayal. I’m afraid our compassion, our kindness, our very joy, died with that young girl.
Sam: I think it lives in you.
Kora: You heard them. They’re delusional. They think those soldiers will show mercy even after what they did to Sindri, right in front of them.
Hagen: You’ve become a part of us. And yet, now you leave when we need you most. When your people need you.
Kora: I can’t.
Hagen: You mean, you won’t.
Kora: If I find warriors to fight for Veldt, I give the village hope. If I give them hope, they fight and surely lose. I won’t have that blood on my hands. Nor will I throw my life away the same as the rest of you.
Kora: We’re going to have to fight.
Hagen: [as he gives Kora her weapon] Our culture is not for such weapons. I feared it could be dangerous.
Kora: You were right.
'Kindness is a virtue worth dying for.' - Kora (Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire) Share on X
Hagen: A general and an army? We might stand a chance.
Gunnar: We’re just farmers, we’re not a threat. How can you know they will destroy us?
Kora: When they first came to my world, I was nine years-old. They never asked for anything. There were no terms. Only the lust for destruction.
Kora: Balisarius killed my entire family and took me with him. I don’t know why he spared me. Why, of the hundreds of thousands that died at his hands, he chose me to live. Saw something in me, I suppose. Someone to share in his pain.
Kora: [referring to Balisarius] I was his child. I was his protégé. I was his student. I was one of them. Daughter of a decorated commander. Friend to the King and the royal family. Living a life of privilege.
'Guilt. It's a powerful thing.' - Kora (Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire) Share on X
Kora: I fought for the King on distant worlds under the banner of a people who murdered my entire family and destroyed my world. They had trained me, broken me, and rebuilt me in their image. I’m only telling you this so you know who I am. You asked how I know that they’ll destroy you. That’s what I would do.
Kora: I don’t like bounty hunters.
Kai: I didn’t ask. And to be clear, I don’t like bounty hunters either.
Kora: So you’re a gun for hire?
Kai: No. That’s not my thing. I’m more of an opportunist, you might say.
Kora: A real hero, huh?
Kora: What got that chain on your leg?
Tarak: A long road of mistakes. But if you’re here to accuse me of crimes against the Motherworld, I’m guilty as charged.
Tarak: I’m no friend of the Realm. That’s well-known. And I’d gladly fight with you, but I have a debt on my name, and I honor my debts.
Tarak: [to the creature, in Samandrait] I’m not going to hurt you. You’re far from home and so am I. You and I, we are alike. We’ve been hurt. Betrayed. Our trust has been broken. We both know fear. Yet, the biggest fear we both face is the fear of ourselves. Let’s show them we’re not afraid. Let’s show them we’re more than the shackles that bind us.
Kai: We represent a village on a small moon called Veldt. This village faces the threat of annihilation by the armies of the Motherworld. We are looking for warriors to join the fight to protect them. With your reputation, we thought it might be something you’d be interested in.
Nemesis: There is a difference between justice and revenge.
Harmada: Is there? I’m not so sure.
Kora: [referring to Princess Issa] I believed in her. In her kindness. I believed in her ability to save us.
Titus: My men are dead because of my surrender. I’m tired of reliving that nightmare every day. Now, please, leave me and let me die in peace.
Kora: I don’t think you’re meant to die here, General.
Titus: Stop calling me that. I have no rank, no privilege.
Kora: I’m here to make you an offer. To give you a chance at redemption.
Titus: I am beyond redemption.
Kora: I have no time for pity! What about all the dead men you once commanded? What about them? If not redemption, what about revenge?
Bloodaxe: Do not confuse your business of commerce with our business of revolution.
Devra: My forces against the King’s Gaze? That’s suicide. That ship cannot be destroyed by a few dozen fighters. That ship and the men aboard it are world destroyers. I’m sorry, it’s impossible.
Bloodaxe: These people, they’ve come to us with nowhere else to turn. They come, seeking our help, to stand against a Dreadnought of the Motherworld. Is that not what we stand for? Are they not who we once were? If we will not stand with these defiant farmers to protect their home, then the revolution is meaningless. Under free will, who among you is willing to die for what we believe rather than hide behind it?
Tarak: [after Bloodaxe and some of his crew joins them] Maybe this isn’t suicide after all.
Kora: Guilt. It’s a powerful thing.
Kai: Aye, guilt. The underbelly of honor. I think I might’ve had that once. Honor. Would you believe that? It’s true.
Kora: You’re willing to fight with us?
Kai: Since you’re begging.
Kora: Kai, we’re not.
Kai: Well, since you’re asking, then. If you’ll allow me.
Kora: I’ll set the course and let them know we’re on our way. Oh, s**t. Does that make me one of the good guys?
Atticus Noble: Honor I understand. Charity, I do not.
Kai: [after it’s revealed he works for Noble] Now is not the time to be a hero.
Kai: Never set foot on the wrong side of history.
Kora: Is that what you think we’re doing?
Kai: No. You’ve chosen the side that doesn’t even make it to the history books.
Kora: What happened to honor?
Kai: What did happen to it?
Kora: Piece of s**t.
Atticus Noble: [to Kora] When I lay your bodies at the foot of the Regent, I’ll be a hero of the Realm. They’ll write songs of my feats of courage.
Kai: It’s not like I didn’t do all the work.
Kai: You play your cards right, you at least might make it out of this alive.
Gunnar: You’re sick.
Kai: And you’re a coward.
Kai: [referring to killing Kora] All you have to do is pull the trigger.
Gunnar: I won’t do it.
Kai: Yes, you will. You can do it. Just pull the trigger.
Gunnar: I know you’re in love with her.
[he then uses the weapon to kill Kai instead]
Tarak: I know a thing or two about the guilt of carrying on when those you’ve sworn to fight with are gone. Honor them. With everything that you can from now. Carry them.
Titus: This was a blow to the Motherworld, what we did this day. Criminals, nobodies, standing against a machine of war. This small act of defiance gives voice to the voiceless. This is more than just a fallen p**ck officer and some of his men. It’s the beginning of something.
Titus: I’ve been wondering. Is what that dead bounty hunter said true? That you’re Arthelais?
Kora: Kai was a liar and a thief who nearly sold you all for a profit. Anything more you want, General?
Titus: Don’t call me General.
Kora: Home. I never had a place to put to the word.
Tarak: It’s almost a shame you killed that son-of-a-b**ch Noble and we don’t have to fight. This would’ve been a beautiful place to die.
Kora: Yes, it would.
Atticus Noble: I have found her. I have found Arthelais. The Scargiver.
Balisarius: [to Noble] You will capture my daughter alive, and bring back my precious child to me. So that I may crucify her in the shadow of the Senate. If you cannot bring her to me, then the one whose public execution will send shivers down the spines of the senators, and whose screams will echo down its marbled halls will be yours.