X
- 2023
- Not Rated
- Well Go USA Entertainment
- 2 h 53 m
- 2023
- Not Rated
- Well Go USA Entertainment
- 2 h 53 m
Summary In the near future, after learning that the sun is rapidly burning out and will obliterate Earth in the process, humans build enormous engines to propel the planet to a new solar system, far out of reach of the sun’s fiery flares. However, the journey out into the universe is perilous, and humankind’s last shot at survival will depend ...
Directed By: Frant Gwo
Written By: Yang Zhixue, Gong Geer, Ruchang Ye, Cixin Liu, Hongwei Wang, Frant Gwo
- 2023
- Not Rated
- Well Go USA Entertainment
- 2 h 53 m
- 2023
- Not Rated
- Well Go USA Entertainment
- 2 h 53 m
The Wandering Earth II
56
6.9
Where to Watch
Summary In the near future, after learning that the sun is rapidly burning out and will obliterate Earth in the process, humans build enormous engines to propel the planet to a new solar system, far out of reach of the sun’s fiery flares. However, the journey out into the universe is perilous, and humankind’s last shot at survival will depend ...
Directed By: Frant Gwo
Written By: Yang Zhixue, Gong Geer, Ruchang Ye, Cixin Liu, Hongwei Wang, Frant Gwo
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
56
43% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
43% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
56
43% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
43% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
It is this combination of maximalism, nationalism, fatalism, and two-dimensional characterization that makes this one of the most enjoyable current franchises.
Somehow, The Wandering Earth II never feels tonally unbalanced or narratively convoluted, partly because Gwo and his collaborators keep their movie’s plot focused on feats of action-adventure heroism.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 50 User Ratings
6.9
66% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
6% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
28% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 50 User Ratings
6.9
66% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
6% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
28% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
I thought the first one was good, the 2nd one hit it out of the ball park! Wish Holyoke had made movies like this, well written both in character and story. The back story involving WuJing character in the 1st one was really touching. The acting is fantastic especially WuJing and Andy Lau. The special effects was phenomenal! Really really enjoyed the movie! Wish there could be more like them.
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It is remarkable that his three-hour Wandering Earth prequel is simultaneously stranger and more emotionally grounded than the earlier film. Yet even at this length, even with eye-popping moments and believable characters, some crucial humanity feels missing.
There is certainly much to admire about this ambitious homegrown sci-fi saga, even if it feels rather protracted with the running time clocking in 45 minutes longer than its predecessor.
The Wandering Earth II is even bigger, more sprawling and more daffy in its Big Science. It’s got a few first act jokes before turning somber, dogged and yet never fatalistic. It’s also more cluttered and more pointed in its Chinese messaging. So naturally it’s almost an hour longer than the two hour original.
At nearly three hours long, The Wandering Earth II is packed with expository science talk, which gets more convoluted and tiring as the clock ticks on.
Losing all of the glee of its predecessor, the movie instead offers nearly three hours of convoluted story lines, undercooked themes and a tangle of confused, glaringly state-approved political subtext.
this gives a new meaning to sci-fi. I like how it's not like a big superhero; the other people are nobodies, but everyone plays a part. this movie is like a 3 in 1. the engineers, scientists, and politicians. they could be separate but add them together and ... well it's beautiful. but don't take my word for it. watch it yourself!
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Regardless of its financial accomplishments and the sheer voracity and scale of its purported targets, The Wandering Earth II - which is actually a prequel and not a sequel to the 2019 film - has several of the same problems that plagued its predecessor and that is primarily a lack of focus.
The Wandering Earth II, even with its three extensive and inconveniently long hours, can't make much sense of its mix of plot lines. Basically, they are all tangled and very poorly defined and this evidently takes away from its consistency and above all takes its toll on the entertainment.
In a case of cruel irony, this film proves that its worst flaw is precisely its size, cause it wants to be an immense experience, all about the spectacle, but it taints it with its own foolishness of saturating its plot with so much stuff that feels like filler, including the political touch, in a clear propagandistic push from its country of origin.
Its magnitude and ambition do not allow it to fall on deaf ears.
In terms of its capabilities, The Wandering Earth II manages to ensure that not everything is wasted, but that same scope forces it to be judged with more ferocity and therefore its results are far from being concrete and satisfactory.
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Watched it in Chinese theatres. It is a visually stunning movie and the audio is great. I like the overarching theme of humanity coming together and doing whatever it takes to survive. Everyone is a hero and willing to make sacrifices to ensure humanity's survival. I find the criticism of some that this is Chinese propaganda unwarranted, it's not just China saving the world, it's people from all nationalities and backgrounds putting aside their differences for once and saving the world together. All of that is great. As is fact that the story resolves over several decades throughout several big megaprojects.
I have several gripes with the movie however which result in a low score.
First, the film's pacing is hyperactive, making it very difficult to follow the rather complex story. I love a complicated plot, but the movie felt like one long Youtube trailer played at 150% speed jumping from one action scene to the next, without much in the way of a long term overarching plot that slowly stacks up the pieces and accumulates into a satisfying delayed payoff. It feels very much tailored to the Tik-tok generation that has no attention span and needs constant gratification by leading them through a series of hard to follow shaky-cam action scenes and explosions. There is no meaningful dialogue or character building whatsoever.
Second, it's a science fiction movie and it seems to try to get the science part right, but then has lots of implausible things going on such as the moon suddenly heading for a collision with Earth, after they have spent months or even years pushing it away from Earth. It'd need the same amount of force as they have been pumping into it over all this time to decelerate it, and then some more, to make it crash down somehow. There are several other cases besides this such as automated drone missiles needing a manual detonation, that were really throwing me off.
I couldn't put my finger on the third negative point I'm about to raise for a while, but after thinking through it again over the night I realized that my biggest problem with this movie is that it is rather dystopian and I end up hating humanity rather than cheering for their triumph. There is a global government that supposedly does what it needs to do in order for humanity to survive, but at the same time oppressing the people of Earth and forcing the same people into a life not worth living.
We are told early on that there is tech available to upload or at least preserve people in digital form and the government is withholding it from the people. While at the same time, the people are rendered unemployed due to AI and automation, half are left to die from radiation sickness and other calamities, and the heroic ones are constantly sent to their deaths on strings of dangerous and end-of-life missions.
The Earth itself is seen as being destroyed due to the megaprojects, climate change, the Earth being moved around and problems with the sun and most natural life is mentioned to be extinct at some point.
If the people are left to die and suffer on such massive scale and Earth is so thoroughly ruined, then what's the point of carrying it all to Proxima Centauri?
Just upload everyone and put them on the oversized USB-sticks, get the DNA of all people and plants and animals, launch all of humanity to Proxima at a fraction of the cost, and let the AI build a paradise for us. Recreating physical bodies from DNA should be a non-issue at the rest of the tech level that is being displayed throughout the movie.
We are told that the government is afraid of the upload tech because they fear that people will just want to live digitally and not do anything in the physical world, well if it is such a big motivator why not use it as a reward for all the people that do the actual heavy lifting, like you know, risking their lives and dying by the hundreds to save the rest of humanity? It'd be perfect for ensuring the people's loyalty to the state as well so it'd be in the state's own self-interest to push this tech forward and roll it out to the masses.
Digital Life or lie flat! Will not work for a self-destructive regime that withholds immortality, torments humanity and just gives its heroes a stupid medal and two bags of fruit!
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Propaganda film that wasn't particularly well made, characters were dull, concepts weren't interesting or well executed. sound, dialog editing and general editing and pacing were atrocious. Acting is on and off, too many characters, few memorable at all.
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After hearing great reviews by friends from China, I watched this movie to its entirety even though it was so bad. Ignoring the expected propaganda and nationalistic overtones, the plot is disparate and illogical at best. The best part of this movie is the well-produced special effects and occasional good acting. Even the star power of Andy Lau could not save this movie from how bad it is. Giving a very generous 2 stars for the special effects.
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Production Company
China Film Co., Ltd.,
G!Film Studio,
Beijing Dengfeng International Culture Communications Company,
CFC Pictures,
Rollin Studios
Release Date Jan 20, 2023
Duration 2 h 53 m
Rating Not Rated
Awards
Shanghai International Film Festival
• 6 Wins & 10 Nominations
Changchun Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 7 Nominations
Weibo Awards Ceremony
• 6 Wins & 6 Nominations
