The Wandering Earth (2019)

Enjoyable popcorn movie with big budget special effects and questionable science.

This movie reminds me of Armageddon (Earth in danger, group of unlikely people need to save the planet, lots of special effects, family), but this actually succeeds in making the story about the humans and family. There’s a greater focus on the characters even if many don’t get much story and the female characters are just as secondary.

There are some impressive visual effects and sets which helps offset some of the HIGHLY questionable science. Seriously questionable. But this is a popcorn flick and not a documentary so just enjoy the action and the ride.

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disclaimer - i watched this in HD on my phone and not in theater so no fancy surround sound or cool graphic effects.

The only thing I'm not confused about is the main character's family situation and their fight for survival. There isn't a romance. Just a lot of high strung emotions which did fit the story.

The rest of the story/disaster is not well explained. After reading online posts discussing the original book, it seems like they cut out a lot of explanations on why the 'rescue teams' do what they do and why everyone is looting and why it seemed like just this one family is capable of solving this Jupiter sized problem. There were convenient losses of communication. Lots of predictable deaths. Lots of unnecessary discharge of a machine gun to express anger. Overall would have liked some actual 'showing' explanation (like more scenes of conflict origin with dialogue) rather than a voice over telling you the Sun is going to explode. This movie could have definitely been longer.

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The Wandering Earth is less about what is on screen than what it makes you feel.

We are, I think, used to entertainment as Spectacle. With spectacle, the focus is on the screen itself: the explosions, the camera shots, the actors' craft. As a spectacle, The Wandering Earth falls short. The scenes are rushed, the environment is drab and the actors are not Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep. It is as a form of moral exhortation, a celebration of human genius and a reminder of how much we still have left to (and must) achieve that the film shines.

The film is set during a moment in a vast project to guarantee the continuation of human civilisation outside our solar system. The technology and level of organisation deployed, without explanation, at the start of the film are advanced enough to be indistinguishable from magic. But really, stranger, with whom I am communicating across oceans 'telepathically', why would that need explaining, hmm? The point is less the plausibility of the tech than the (human) genius behind it. It is less our technology than our social milieu and the bonds of fellowship shared with family, friends and humanity that pushes us and grants us our ability. Plus Ultra! As Charles V would say.

The underlying philosophy is certainly 'collectivist' (Classical Athenian, if you prefer). Individuals are (deliberately?) forgettable, but their actions are what matters and what will live on. Consider the fact that we have no idea who invented the 'earth engines' that, literally, drive the plot. The point that individual selfishness can threaten civilisation is made both over the course of the movie as the protagonist (on earth) experiences his bildungsroman and when it seems that all hope for humanity is lost. Archibald MacLeish wrote that 'to see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold.' And in the film's climactic moment, it is 'together' that salvation happens. Even if during the course of acting 'together', many individual sacrifices occur. It is sad but worthy.

I suppose this is a film that would appeal more to the sort who joke about being too early to explore the seas and too late to explore the stars. They might feel, as Cecil Rhodes did on his deathbed, that there is 'So little done. So much to do.' But such is life, we stand on the shoulders of giants and it is we who will decide if those who follow us stand on the shoulders of midgets. I am proud to say that from the hour-mark, I was pretty much in tears. From across the screen, you can feel Mr Liu Cixin's pen asking: Are you worthy; Will you be?

It goes without saying that I will be pushing everybody I know to watch this.

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The survival of humanity

For a more than two hours long movie, I never felt bored watching it.

I admit that there is questionable science in it such as planes being able to fly, the impact that the project has to the atmosphere, etc... But the movie was still enjoyeable. Visual effects were what pleased me the most and emerged me to the movie at the same time.

Even if the movie was long, it wasn't long enough to explain well every aspect of the potentiel on Liu Cixun's short story and it shows. We had great characters but poor time to develop them fully. We had some little explanations for some events that happened to the past but they were too little. Not surprising.

Still, neither you're a fan of Sci-Fi genre, Liu Cixun or neither of them, you can still enjoy this movie truthfully.

The last thing that I want to say is that the movie really reminds me of an anime that I particularly enjoyed watching: Gurren Lagann.

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When you buy into the premise, you have an excellent, thrilling movie.

Premise of the movie.

Earth is about to go extinct, because of natural and man-made factors. Earth Scientists have proposed to move the earth to another location in the Solar System. Until then, earthlings will live underground. The water levels of the earth are expect to rise considerably.

Let’s get the Science out of the way first. Some of the science leaves a lot of questions.

NONETHELESS!

Having said this, any movie is based on you buying into the premise. Buying into the premise starts the movie at zero instead of a negative value. Then the movie can began to entertain you.

I want to remind people who scuff at the premise of this movie, do you really think that humanoid shaped persons can fly in the sky unaided mechanically (Superman)? Do you believe that you can transport/teleport someone with their clothes on (Star Trek)? Escapism is all based on accepting the premise and moving on.

Accepting the Premise and moving on.

The movie has cool gadgetry, great action with great CGI, seamless embedded miniaturization shots, and great imaginative mechanical vehicles and machinery. There is an interesting mix of international actors. Given the unbelievable premise, is Wondering Earth entertaining? Oddly enough, yes. An exhausting Yes!! You quickly get invested into the characters and there is lots of entertaining action. It is a go, if you can hold your scientifically lifted nose. This world that is created for the movie ‘Wondering Earth’ looks amazing. Wandering Earth is a great SyFy Action Thriller and there is a part 2.

And for ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ fans, yes, there is a HAL 9000.


Troubling Science

The earth is in the Goldilocks Zone, just perfect for the right temperatures for earth. If moved away from the sun, there will be a deep freeze. How do you compensate for climate changes long term if the earth is moved?

Outside forces like the sun act on the earth to keep the earth in its orbit. How do you get around these forces holding the earth in its place? How do you break the force of the sun on the earth?

There is a lot of cosmic debris in Space in our solar system which could alter the travel route of such a plan to move the earth toward Jupiter.

What is the possible impact on your new neighborhood near Jupiter, as a result of moving the earth into its space?

What in tarnation is big enough or powerful enough to move the earth?

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Special Effect Space Extravaganza!

This was a bit long (it's only just over 2 hours but feels much longer), long-winded & too technical for me in parts (it's the science part of sci-fi I'm not a huge fan of lol). However, I felt there was a lot to like about this film, the story whilst being mildly preposterous was intriguing thanks to the human element. I thought Jin Mai Jaho did an excellent job as Han Duoduo, becoming the emotional heart of this movie. My favourite part was when she delivered a heartbreaking speech to the world & everyone decided there was still hope & they would help to save the world!
I had an unprecedented 45-minute intermission which didn't help with the length issue so a rewatch is in order for me to develop a complete opinion on whether I really liked it or not.

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an enjoyable sci-fi doomsday film that is energetic, not original, and a bit long

this film is entertaining and worth watching if you haven't watch it already, but be prepared for a 2-hour long experience. some of the enjoyable aspects of this film include, the pace, the CGIs, sound effects, background sound/music, dialogues, various visual treats, and the presence of multiple languages/races. if you are a critical or analytical person, this film also offers various venues for you to critically analyze the logic and facts. this film feels similar to a big budget Hollywood film., but the storyline and plot feel more like an amalgamation of several doomsday sci-fi predecessors.

if you have to rely on the subtitle/caption to understand a Chinese language shows, be forewarned that it might be a bit too fast to read. this can be a bit of juggle and a distraction, in-between watching the film, enjoying the visual presentation, observing, and reading the captions.

also, this film kind of reminds me how Japan's car industry borrow heavily from U.S./Europe, and how Korean's pop culture industry borrow heavily from Japan/U.S., etc. i want to see more of this in the near future, but most of all, i want to see a growing trend of borrowing that either dissipates or turns more into unique/original/fresh creations.

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An ambitious firework without a foundation.

To save Earth from colliding with Jupiter, a group of young people must work together to save humanity. Despite an enormous ambition and budget, the film is let down by one-sided characters and sometimes excruciating dialogue.

The Wandering Earth is by far the biggest science fiction film made in China. Based on the book of the same name, with a production budget of $45,000,000, this is a major milestone in China's film industry.

In the near future, the Sun has begun to expand, and within a few years all life on Earth will cease to exist. Humanity then hatches the idea to build 10,000 giant mountain-like engines that will cover half the earth's surface, and turn the earth into a giant spaceship that will then fly away from the sun in search of a new source of energy. I'm not making this up.

During the flight from the sun, the surface of the earth is frozen and all the people have been moved to underground cities, but one day two young people want to sneak up to the surface and experience it for the first time since the expansion of the sun started. Suddenly, they are drawn into a rescue mission, when Earth's engines stop working and must be repaired before our planet ends up on a collision course with Jupiter.

This film is ambitious. Incredibly ambitious. We get to see everything from gigantic, detailed space stations, to frozen cities, to pictures of planets that could just as easily be beautiful paintings. It's noticeable that a lot of time and money has been spent on the production value, and it makes the whole film feel bigger than many other disaster films we've seen in Western films in recent years.

There are exceptions when it comes to special effects though. Unfortunately, the characters spend a lot of time driving around in cars, and the car chases look like they're from any playstation game from 2004. It's immediately apparent that it's 100% made in a computer, and it's eye-popping when you see it.

As ambitious as the film is, it is action-packed. It feels like they have moved away from the classic structure with three acts, and instead went straight to the third act. You start the film with a disaster, and from the fast start the film doesn't want to slow down. It is certainly something that is common in disaster films, but it would have been nice to have a couple of scenes where you can catch your breath. However, the film gets better in the second half, when the main characters come together and are given a mission that is easier to follow.

What brings this movie down is unfortunately the characters. One character is supposed to be a typical humor sidekick, but just comes across as a screaming, annoying form of Jar Jar Binks. Another should be the restrained protagonist who only sees darkness and negativity. It is hard to care about them when they are so one-sided and exaggerated in their behavior. Then add that the supporting characters spend a lot of time in their spacesuits, which makes it difficult to keep track of who is who.

Something else you could have put more love into is the dialogues. At times you might think that a beginner has written them. When our main antagonist tells his sister about the 10,000 engines and why they exist, it's clearly a conversation that exists for us as the audience to get that information. The sister of course already knows this, as it's the reason they've been living underground for 10+ years.

Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time getting into The Wandering Earth. After a bad start with subpar special effects and hard-to-love characters, I can't appreciate the huge spectacle that the second half of the film offers. It's ambitious, lavish and brave, but when I don't get a sensible human entry point, it stops at superficial fireworks instead of something deeper.

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