Let’s be clear, I’m looking forward to catching Zach Snyder’s Rebel Moon and am jazzed to learn that it’s premiering a day earlier – the 21st instead of the 22nd – though I’m not expecting much because it’s based on an idea created by Snyder himself.

Though let’s back up for a moment.

What was to become Rebel Moon started life as Snyder’s bid to direct a Star Wars film for Lucasfilm, though they passed.

He then took that idea and re-tooled it with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad and brought it to Netflix.

The problem is that adding more writers doesn’t change that Zach Snyder was never a good writer himself, so while I am curious, my expectations are fairly low.

And having seen the trailers, my pessimism seems justified because while it looks visually interesting – say what you will about Snyder’s mediocre writing, he has a visual style that’s at least interesting – it also looks like nothing we haven’t seen elsewhere done better.

So, when you combine not being a very good writer with a preoccupation with sex and violence (things I don’t mind in movies if they’re done well. For instance, you’ll never hear me whining about violence in a Paul Verhoeven movie) though let’s be clear, Zach Snyder will never be as brilliant, as accomplished, as subversive as a Paul Verhoeven.