Summary

• Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon is receiving complaints about its blurry visuals, stemming from the director's distinct aesthetic choices and use of custom camera lenses.
• The film's epic scope and opulent set-pieces are hindered by the heavy use of background-flattening CGI and Snyder's bizarre distortion and dull color palette.
• This is not the first time Snyder's films have faced criticism for their visuals, as Army of the Dead also had issues with "dead pixels," potentially due to the use of customized lenses.

Zack Snyder's two-part space opera, Rebel Moon, has viewers complaining about the director's signature flair, namely because Netflix's Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire looks so blurry. Co-written by Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten, the sci-fi epic is based on an original story that Snyder first conceived of back in 1997. Initially, the Justice League director pitched the project as a film set in the Star Wars universe. Ten years later, Rebel Moon has found a home on Netflix, and serves as a franchise-launching first entry in what Snyder hopes will be the next big genre hit.

The first film centers on Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former Imperium soldier who turns against the galaxy's ruling body — the Motherworld. In Rebel Moon boasts an immersive world and an all-star cast, including Djimon Hounsou, Michiel Huisman, Jena Malone, and Anthony Hopkins. Despite its impressive ensemble and Snyder's ambition, Rebel Moon has been panned as a derivative mess. In fact, even the director's signature visuals disappoint, due in part to the blurriness.

Zack Snyder has confirmed that Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon take place in a shared universe.

Some Rebel Moon Scenes Look Blurry Due To How It Was Filmed

Shortly after Rebel Moon's release on Netflix, viewers took to social media sites, including Reddit, to bemoan the fact that Zack Snyder's latest outing looks blurry. Given the film's epic scope, it's shocking that an expensive, would-be blockbuster doesn't boast crystal-clear visuals. However, Rebel Moon's blurry appearance on Netflix isn't a mistake. In fact, it stems from Snyder's visual choices. It's no secret that the Batman v Superman director doubles down on his distinct aesthetic choices, from his gritty, blue palette to his love of slow-motion set-pieces. While Snyder's visuals may have been touted as eye-candy in projects like 300, that's no longer the case.

As expected, Rebel Moon is packed with slo-mo action sequences, but it's the incredibly distracting, out-of-focus scenes, which render today's top-of-the-line 4K resolution pointless, that are particularly frustrating. To augment the film's "distorted retro" look, Snyder oversaw the creation of new camera lenses. By combining the anamorphic element of Japanese Cineovision lenses from the '60s with Summilux and Noctilux lenses, Snyder's team was able to achieve what he considers a "cool aberration effect," particularly during super-wide angle shots (via TechRadar). That said, the heavy use of background-flattening CGI combined with Snyder's bizarre distortion and dull palette create a genuine mess.

Are Other Zack Snyder Movies Blurry?

There's no doubt that Rebel Moon suffers from an over-reliance on lifeless CGI and Zack Snyder's chimeric camera lenses. In combination, those elements undercut the film's epic scope and opulent set-pieces. However, this isn't the first instance of a Snyder film receiving backlash for its looks: 2021's Army of the Dead boasted consistent "dead pixels" (via YMCinema). Memorably, the film was shot on Canon Rangefinder vintage full-frame lenses (stitched for the RED Monstro) that were rehoused specifically for Snyder's use. If anything, Zack Snyder is developing a habit of customizing lenses; in the case of Rebel Moon, it makes the visuals as messy as the plot.

Sources: TechRadar, YMCinema