Director: Frant Gwo
Notable Cast: Qu
Chuxiao, Li Guangjie, Ng Man-tat, Zhao Jinmai, Wu Jing, Arkady Sharogradsky, Mike
Sui, Qu Jingjing, Zhang Yichi, Yang Haoyu, Li Hongchen, Yang Yi, Jiang Zhigang,
Zhang Huan
Although I spend a large portion of my day either commenting
or writing about various elements of cinema and the various stories that break out,
I really wanted to go into China’s first big science fiction blockbuster, The Wandering Earth, as blind as
possible. There was definitely a lot of talk about the film prior to its Lunar
New Year premiere and the fact that it was even getting a minimal theatrical
roll out in the US was inspiring. Still, I went in without seeing trailers and
only snapping glances at a handful of posters and the cast. This experience was
refreshing. To add to it, the theatrical showing I saw the weekend after the
start of the Lunar New Year was a sold out showing, filled to the brim with an
audience that was electrified to see the film. Perhaps it was the context of
seeing the film in this way, but The
Wandering Earth was, with all puns intended, an otherworldly blast. Pulling
heavily from the Hollywood text book of thrilling big budget sci-fi
blockbusters, The Wandering Earth
might try to jam a bit too much into one film, but the focus on developing fun
characters in a wild adventure plot cannot be understated. Often times the film
is eye-rolling, potentially falling apart in front of the audience’s eyes like
the setting of the film itself, but there is so much heart and entertainment to
be had that it’s easy to forgive it its cinematic sins.