Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Rotten Tomatoes Scores Are Way Better Than PG-13 Original Movies (But They’re Still Rotten)

The Rebel Moon – Chapter One: Chalice of Blood cut does improve Zack Snyder’s much-maligned Netflix movies, but it still remains a negative for reviewers. The original Rebel Moon movies were released on Netflix on December 22, 2023, and April 19, 2024, while the director’s cuts, Chalice of Blood and Curse of Forgiveness, were released on August 2. Each director’s cut adds approximately an hour of footage and represents Snyder’s R-rated vision for the franchise.

Unfortunately for Snyder, the Rotten Tomatoes reviews are not overwhelmingly positive. While both director’s cuts do see some positive changes, they don’t bring the franchise much acclaim. The original movies had Tomatometer scores of 22% and 17%, and the director’s cuts have seen a shift to 29% and 40%. That represents a strong movement, but it is still far from enough to bring the franchise a Certified Fresh designation. Check out the chart below, which showcases the shift:

The Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Rotten Tomatoes Scores, Explained

There Was Not Much Of A Change

The Rotten Tomatoes scores for the director’s cuts have certainly increased, but not by enough. To receive a Fresh rating, 60% of verified critics need to offer a positive review. Unfortunately, only 29% of reviewers offered an approving take on the first director’s cut, while 40% viewed the second movie positively. With such low scores, it is unlikely that either movie will ever earn a Fresh designation. Instead, they retain the green splat status that indicates Rotten movies. After all, Rebel Moon introduced new titles, but few overwhelming changes, outside padding its run-time and adding in new character backstories.

Many reviewers cite a lack of overall improvement, heavy reliance on slow motion, and an overly long run-time. Even the positive reviews reflect that the movies represent a lower point in Snyder’s career and are often interrupted by concerns about a lack of substantial changes. The original movies were 2 hours and 16 minutes long and 2 hours and 3 minutes long respectively, while the director’s cuts were 3 hours and 24 minutes and 2 hours and 53 minutes each. The length is immense for such a low-rated movie, especially considering its slow-motion complaints.

The audience score has improved, though the variance is not significant enough for Chapter One. Chalice of Blood saw a score improvement of just 5%, though Curse of Forgiveness did see a massive movement of 19%. Both Chalice and Curse are enough to move the audience scores to a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes scores, which represents a positive shift. Rebel Moon may not have escaped Rotten critical scores, but the audiences have been more favorable, maintaining some hope for a potential third movie.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Rebel Moon

Rebel Moon is a multi-media franchise created by Zack Snyder that begins with the first film, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, released in 2023. The franchise follows a woman named Kora, who once worked for an authoritarian regime that now dominates the universe. To atone for the crimes she was complicit in, Kora heads across the galaxy to gather a team to fight back and free their worlds.

CastSofia Boutella , Charlie Hunnam , Michiel Huisman , Djimon Hounsou , Doona Bae , Ray Fisher , Cleopatra Coleman , Jena Malone , Ed Skrein , Fra Fee , Anthony Hopkins

Character(s)Kora (Rebel Moon) , General Titus , Kai (Rebel Moon) , Tarak , Darrian Bloodaxe , Devra Bloodaxe , Nemesis (Rebel Moon)