The Sun expands at a faster rate, threatening the existence of all life on Earth. An ambitious project however might save us all as we traverse the cosmos, finding a new sun.
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The Wandering Earth
- Photo from IMDb |
China's answer to the once popular world ending survival genre is half breathtaking, half tedious. For some, this 2-hour spectacle is what represents a cinematic experience that doesn't just grapple your attention with vivid and striking visuals but also pull your heartstrings by its delectable and sentimental message about humanity.
Based on the 2000's novella of the same name by Liu Cixin, The Wandering Earth presents a version of our beloved homeworld in the brink of decimation by the looming expansion of the Sun, providing a cataclysmic threat and surefire end of our existence.
What sets it apart from the other films operating on the same cloth is that instead of getting people aboard a spaceship and transporting them to another Earth, the Earth itself was used as a ship by installing large combustion engines around it to propel our orbit away from the Sun.
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Earth's Ice-Covered Surface - The Wandering Earth
- Photo from RadiiChina |
Cool right? While on paper and honestly on execution, it looks and it sounds cool, for you to actually get behind with the idea, you have to shut off your science-101 knowledge and play along with the movie's rather ridiculous concept.
Once you did, the movie now works and boy it was chock-full of action-packed adventure of cosmic proportions.
Director Frant Gwo had a lot of things to accomplish for this ambitious and bold project to materialize, especially when you think about how large and taxing this film was in both narrative context and production. Perhaps some might label him as the Michael Bay or Christopher Nolan of China, but I digress. Gwo in his own is a fantastic director and I applaud him for being aggressive in delivering what needs to be delivered.
The worldbuilding is great as it lets you feel the danger in traversing the cosmos outside the solar system and the movie effectively presents what the Earth would look like if it furthers away from the Sun. Talk about intricacies and details.
When it comes to the characters, there were a lot of them but I can recall a few that really made an emotional impact to the film.
Personally, Ng Man-Tat as Han Zi'ang provided the most moving and emotional elements to the story. A retired space pilot, Han Zi'ang now fosters two teenager, Liu Qi (Chuxao Qu) and Han Duoduo (Jin Mai Ja Ho). He is also a friend to Liu Qi's father, Liu Peiqiang (Jing Wu), a member of the space pilots hired to go on a mission in finding the next habitable solar system.
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Chuxao Qu as Liu Qi - The Wandering Earth
- Photo from TheDailyBeast |
Aside from Ng, I thought the other characters, both the main ones and the supporting ones, were just average at best. For one, Jin Mai's Duoduo was literally a useless one-note character until the movie decided to give her a redemption u-turn at the third act of the film. Chuxao Qu's Liu Qi started off as an arrogant and reckless teenager works but only if you get passed his unlikeable beginning. He represents the selfish man who now learns how to do what's necessary and to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
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Jing Wu as Liu Peiqiang - The Wandering Earth
- Photo from SlashFilm |
As for the CGI, just amazing. There were a lot of eye-popping moments in the film that perfectly encapsulates the wonder and yet dangerous beauty of the outer space. The special effects were not perfect, some looking like a video game cut scene, but what it rendered great is truly just an imaginative visual eyeporn.
The third act was just over-the-top nonsense that one might expect from a Chinese big-budget film. The run time itself is probably too much though as some sequences drag on for too long and is a perfect moment for a quick bathroom break, but overall, the film was just pure fun.
Let's Be Reel
With the vast complexities and glaring plotholes that the movie possesses, this 2019 Chinese blockbuster effectively delivered what most Hollywood spectacles are lacking: heart.
While the movie is far from perfect, I thought that The Wandering Earth is perfectly capable of competing in the pool of western film giants with its own unique flavor and entertaining merits.
If you're a fan of science fiction and space adventure mayhem, then this film is for you.
8/10
Reel Points
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