The Wandering Earth II - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Wandering Earth II



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
I’m still sad that 2019’s blockbuster Roland Emmerich style disaster movie The Wandering Earth isn’t available on Blu-ray. It was a fantastic epic sweeping movie that was China’s largest blockbuster ever (if memory serves me correctly) and a TON of fun to watch. It basically was the plot of every disaster movie ever, but with a unique sci-fi twist in that humanity saw doom coming and did something ABOUT IT actually. Using gigantic thrusters they set out on a mission to move the earth with tens of thousands of “earth engines” and movie it 4.5 light years away outside of our solar system. It was simple, fun, and an enormous $700 million blockbuster for China. In a decade where we have nothing but Super Hero films and low budget indie flicks coming out of Hollywood, I absolutely loved that we got some good old disaster epics to revel in.

When I saw this release from Well Go USA labeled The Wandering Earth II, I immediately thought we were getting a sequel, but upon closer inspection it’s actually a PREQUEL to the 2019 film and the events that lead up to the creation of the “Earth Engines” and the displacement of Earth. Just with a much more bloated budget and runtime (going from 2 hours and 5 minutes to a few minutes under 3 hours this time). Yeah, it’s not going to be as fun as the original simply because we already know the end game and the end result. Gwo crafts a story starting just before the big solar event that forces humanity to start looking elsewhere. The result is a story that feels a bit anticlimactic, but also kind of cool as it explores all of the events that lead up to the earth engines and their creation.

The story is told in a rather heavy handed way with narrative cue cards as Gwo shifts us from the solar crisis, to a terrorist attack, to the creation of the earth engines by the world council as they try and figure out how to deal with everything. At times it’s rather exciting, with a massive CGI budget to push forward a myriad of drones, high tech super engines, and good old classic Kung Fu (Wu Jing is in it, so of course we’re going to see him round house kick people). But at times it also drags with just TOOO much exposition and plot devices. The movie clocks in at just under 3 hours including credits, and it drags in the center act when Andy Lau comes on board. The third act kicks things up a good bit though, and by the end I really started to want to watch the first (or really the 2nd film chronologically) a second time.

The film does have some ups and downs though. The first 30 minutes are absolutely amazing in setting up a labyrinth of characters and personalities that unfold throughout the 174 minute runtime, but there is a bit too much slapstick humor for the seriounsess of the movie, and some of the translations of dialog made things a bit topsy turvy in terms of tone and mood. But overall this is a solid (if not overly long) epic sci fi adventure with some good acting and some GREAT special effects by Chinese standards (there are a few times where the CGI looks a bit obvious).




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Once again there’s not a WHOLE lot of information out there on the film, but I’m guessing a natural 4K master judging by the budget and the digital effects on screen. Things look amazing, with a bright color palette that can shift to a more blue tinge when people are on the moon, or inside. Fine details are just incredible. Check out the facial details scene on the space elevator near the beginning. You can see literally every pore and fiber on Wu Jing’s face, as well as individual fibers and weaves on the white uniforms. Blacks are generally good, though I do see some banding here and there, and the CGI can be a bit TOO revealing from all of the clarity if you know what I mean. I was also a bit taken back by the 2.75:1 framing for the movie, as it took scope to a new level (the subtitles were actually below on the black bars for those with an anamorphic lens setup with a projector), but after a while the super stretched out mode started to grow on me. Felt a lot more epic and spread out when taking huge shots of the moon and the engine blast, or the rise of the space elevator.









Audio:

Well Go USA presents us with a Dolby Atmos track in the original Mandarin (which is actually a blend of Mandarin and English depending on who’s talking) and an English Dub in 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Personally the dub on this is HORRENDOUS (as was the dub on The Wandering Earth on Netflix) so I’d skip it completely and go straight to the Atmos track. End of story without wasting too much time, this is a KILLER Atmos track, full of life from beginning to end. The entire sound stage pulsates with the sounds of the space elevators roaring up and to the bottom, the fighter jets scrambling to take down the attack drones, and the sheer ferocity of the earth engines shakes you straight to the core. The bass is deep and low, and wonderfully balanced with the rest of the mix too. Surrounds are almost always active with the above mentioned hubbub, and the overheads are awesome as well. Tons of discrete information ranging from the screaming of the decelerating elevator, the roar of a missile screaming to the top of the room, and the the entire thing is just one gigantic disaster bit of sonic heaven.












Extras:

• Trailer

Final Score:
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The Wandering Earth II isn’t AS good as 2019’s The Wandering Earth, but it’s a solid sci-fi prequel to an already great film with more of the same disaster movie tropes taken from the last 30 years of Rolan Emmerich movies (seriously, Gwo has obviously taken homage and inspiration from Roland’s career). The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing as is, but sadly has the typical Well Go USA anemic extras. Definitely a fun popcorn film watch for those who want something big, bold, bad and just plain goofy fun while seeing things from another cultural perspective. Thumbs up.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Andy Lau, Jing Wu (Jacky Wu), Xuejian Li, Yi Sha, Zhi Wang, Liya Tong
Directed by: Frank Gwo
Written by: Frank Gwo, Gong Geer
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin, English DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional)
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 174 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: December 19th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Watch