Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae and Anthony Hopkins are among the stars of this follow-up to the director’s space saga.

Wheat. So much wheat.

Such musings are unavoidable when confronted with this would-be epic, which continues the story of a rag-tag group of farmers living on the moon of Veldt being threatened with extinction by the imperialistic Motherworld. Their military forces, the Imperium, are led by Darth Vader, sorry, Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein), who wakes up understandably cranky after his near-death experience in the previous film.

If you thought the previous installment was all build-up, you may be distressed to learn that the follow-up is…a lot more build-up. Although this time it’s a little faster-paced and leads to an extended battle sequence comprising roughly the film’s second half. It’s hard to tell, however, since Snyder employs so much of his trademark slow-motion that you get the feeling the movie would be a short if delivered at normal speed.

That extended build-up includes, get this, a lengthy ceremony in which many of the heroic characters are presented with awards. (It’s hard to blame Snyder and his co-screenwriters Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten for this, because it’s highly unlikely the film itself is likely to receive any.) There’s also an extended scene in which Titus orders his fellow warriors to deliver their backstories, presented in the form of flashbacks that feel like the cinematic equivalent of speed dating.

The first film was roundly criticized for its lack of memorable dialogue, plot elements or characters, and this one doesn’t do much to improve those aspects unless you consider Titus singing a mournful lament prior to going into battle to be a plus (Hounsou does have a surprisingly nice voice). None of the actors can really be faulted, since they exhibit an impressive commitment to their physically strenuous roles, many of them displaying the sort of toned, muscular physiques that the mere mortals among us can only dream of. Boutella and Skrein are particularly notable in this regard, especially as demonstrated in a kick-ass hand-to-hand fight sequence, taking place on an out-of-control spaceship, that seems to go on for hours (I’m not sure that it actually doesn’t).