The Wandering Earth Review: How Much We Will Sacrifice For Our Home
And what a home means to all of us
Rating: 5 out of 5
First Sci-Fi Blockbuster
The Wandering Earth is the first Chinese sci-fi blockbuster movie that everyone in China is currently talking about. Even major foreign media like the New York Times has published a 1000 word article about the movie, and that doesn’t happen very often.
This film is based on a short story (written in 2000) with the same name by Cixin Liu, who wrote the award-winning The Three-Body Problem novel in 2007. The box office for this movie in China this week has grossed over 3 billion in Chinese Yuan — which is about 450 million in US Dollars — and the number is still growing at this moment.
You may wonder what is so unique about this film when compared with all the other sci-fi movies in Hollywood. Let me give you a hint: It is not about stunning computer animations or high-profile movie stars.
Goodbye Solar System
The main story of the movie can be summarized in simply two sentences: The Sun is endangering all the planets in our current Solar System. To prevent humankind from extinction, we have to move Earth to another Solar System in a distant galaxy.
Of all the previous sci-fi films about when Earth is becoming uninhabitable, the options that we usually have are either, live in space stations or, move to another planet such as the Moon or Mars (like The Martian). The idea of leaving our Solar System while carrying Earth on our back is unprecedented.
So the story itself gives the movie a very good point to start with. But what really carries the movie along is the exceptional screenplay.
The Distant Journey
The film tells you what has gone wrong on Earth and what needs to be done right in the first five minutes — so you don’t have to waste any time trying to learn what the movie is about and where the journey is going.
And during each challenge along the way, you get a real sense of what is at stake and why the sacrifice is necessary. Plus a clear role of each character and the relationship between them, you can easily understand why they acted the way they did.
Another aspect I like about this film is, there is no single hero or heroine in this movie. Everybody is working as a team and making his or her contributions. Unlike others in Hollywood, the term “Everybody” in this film means people from all around the globe, not just those from English speaking nations.
Combing all these elements together in a screenplay, the movie really takes you onto a great ride of excitement and human warmth — no matter which country you are from.
And talking about excitement, I can tell you this film doesn't disappoint in terms of skillful visual or sound effects.
The Outstanding Balance
This movie may not win any technical achievement awards, yet the video and audio effects are used in a way that perfectly fits the theme.
There are no flashy or stunning new technologies in this film — the language translation headset used by astronauts, and the exoskeleton suit used by soldiers are already available in some forms nowadays.
But all these devices serve a purpose in the movie — rather than just some “cool” gadgets we saw in others.
And the superior sound effects help to switch between different scenes in the film flawlessly.
Going from a trembling soundtrack when driving a truck with huge rocks falling behind, to the sudden absolute silence when astronauts walking outside the space station — it makes the rhythm of the whole movie so well-balanced like a piece of music.
Rolling The Credits
The Wandering Earth is a fantastic sci-fi movie, regardless of where it is produced.
It doesn’t require you to have a science degree to understand the film. And it certainly doesn’t expect you to solve complex character relationships to fully enjoy all the excitements.
After watching the film, I was thinking to myself: Perhaps I should try to read The Three-Body Problem by the same author of the movie, or The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking.
And that’s what a great sci-fi movie can make you feel: Be inspired.
