The Wandering Earth (3/5) – Netflix Movie Review

The Wandering Earth is a new Netflix sci-fi movie. The movie is from China and was a huge success there. However, the message is very global and the storyline is fascinating and engaging. Read more in our review and watch the epic movie on Netflix!

The Wandering Earth is a new sci-fi movie on Netflix. The movie is from China but both the story and production quality is straight out of the Hollywood blockbuster playbook.

This new Netflix sci-fi movie is very impressive to watch from a visual standpoint. So, if you enjoy those huge epic stories about survival and working together across borders, then you should like The Wandering Earth.

Read more about why the storyline works so well in this review and watch The Wandering Earth on Netflix.

We are the world

In The Wandering Earth, the story begins by explaining the situation on Earth. In a word, it’s dire! We have drought and famine and the weather is crazy. In other words, things have become very bad, very fast.

The explanation for all these problems is the fact that the sun is moving towards us. Within one hundred years, the sun will engulf Earth and that will be the end. Especially since our galaxy will also be gone within a few more centuries.

Instead of leaving our blue planet to find a new home, The Wandering Earth tries for a different solution.

The solution is actually in the title of the movie; We will move the Earth itself and make it wander to a new and safer location. The migration will take 2,500 years and as such, it’s a global effort that will span 100 generations.

This is a brilliant and innovative take on a solution for an impending apocalypse. Also, in order to succeed, the entire world has to work together. In The Wandering Earth, we have a new government called United Earth Government and they are in charge. The enemy is circumstance and not another nation.

This makes the new Netflix sci-fi movie a very positive story despite the very serious topic. 

The story makes The Wandering Earth work

The weakness of The Wandering Earth is the characters. They are way too light and one-dimensional in many ways. However, it is a very positive element that a love story is never part of the game. Instead, it’s all about family and humanity. Sometimes to a silly and cheesy point, but I can live with that.

The strength of The Wandering Earth is the story. Not the script or plot twists (you’ll guess most of it in advance), but the actual story.

This focus on trying to save the entire planet, and showing it from a new point of view, just works! The characters are Chinese instead of American, but this just shows how universal humanity really is. And the story does get pretty brutal along the way.

After all, we are dealing with the apocalypse and impending doom for the entire planet.

Watch The Wandering Earth on Netflix now!

While the characters are a bit too flat and the script isn’t always strong enough, the production and basic premise are fascinating. This is a truly gorgeous sci-fi movie and an epic story about working together for our planet rather than our nations.

The message is impressive and continues throughout the movie. When The Wandering Earth ended, I found myself hoping for a sequel to show us all what happened next. Based on the crazy success of the movie in theaters in China, the chances of getting a sequel does seem very possible.

If you enjoy sci-fi movies about the impending apocalypse, then you should enjoy The Wandering Earth. Just be warned, that it is exactly as cheesy as any movie from Hollywood. No more, no less. And it is so damn gorgeous to watch!

The Wandering Earth is out on Netflix in the US from May 5, 2019. In many other countries, it was released on Netflix from April 30, 2019.

Details

Director: Frant Gwo
Stars: Jing Wu, Chuxiao Qu, Guangjie Li, Man-Tat Ng, Jin Mai Jaho

Plot

A looming collision with Jupiter threatens Earth as humans search for a new star. The planet’s fate now lies in the hands of a few unexpected heroes.