@Lord Celebi

Spoiler:

I like the read, rusty.

My initial analysis of the movie did actually state that the first hour or so was a critique of the fanbase, i.e. an illusion written for the fanbase specifically for Urobuchi to write down upon. It's his statement of the fanbase being wrong. It's interesting that this particular review also has the same interpretation as I do, as the majority of critics and reviewers consider it as simple fanbase pandering and fan service. Still, his insistence that the entirety of the movie is essentially "indulgence" does annoy me, if you consider that the final half hour of the movie was nowhere near what fans would call indulgent, and it alienated many fans.

There were many, many examples of people stating Homura went completely out of character in the final part of the movie. That's preposterous, because Homura is internally consistent throughout the entirety of the movie. The only things that changed about her as a character was her methods and her understanding of the world. Rebellion is a character piece, an exploration of Homura as a character, tossed in with fluff and fan pandering that ultimately gets shattered. This is why Rebellion is a departure from the original series, because it's not about magical girls and their struggles. It's about Homura and only Homura.

However, the urgency of Homura's decision was one she had to make. Kyubey continued to mock her throughout the witch portion of the movie. His tacit confirmation (by not revealing anything, as usual) of what he, as part of the universe, would do to Madoka enforces the fact that Homura cannot possibly protect Madoka in her current state as a witch, much less in the state where she would become (non-existence). She had to destroy/separate the law of cycle herself to protect Madoka.

I must admit, much of what I like about Homura is due to how reflective of me she is. I'm, ironically not much different from her in her past and current form. What I ended up seeing at the end was not strictly an act of violence, but rather an act of selfishness and selflessness. To her, and to me as I was watching it, there was the option of inaction and failure to protect Madoka, or action to actively do so. In that sense, her decision was logical. Why not do something in the grey area to get what we want?