Hollywood really can't get over itself enough to produce anything that doesn't resemble flag-waiving American propaganda when it comes to the conflict of terror, especially when it concerns Middle Easterners. Which is why I was hopeful that Rebel would offer something different.
Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, they previously had the hard task of making Bad Boys relevant again (and succeeding). And yet, here their talent is even more obvious when it's free from the framework of a Hollywood blockbuster. The tone is deadly serious, it's gritty and harrowing, the cinematography will have you believe you're watching a big budget movie. Yet there are at least three musical and dance numbers seamless integrated within the story, which do not even seem out of place. I am not sure how they did that either, but it worked for me.
Furthermore, there are many languages spoken in the movie, English being in the minority. This may admittedly jar a lot of moviegoers, yet I found it authentic.
Overall, Rebel is epic from start to finish. Very few movies have recently moved me like this one. This is one of the strongest movies to be released in 2022.
