The future, our sun is on the verge of dying and with that it will expand extinguishing all life on Earth. How will we preserve the future of Humanity? By building 10,000 Earth engines that will propel the planet on a 2,500 year journey through the universe to a new home. A space station will be built that will travel in front of the Earth providing communications, navigation and a plan B should The Wandering Earth project fail. Bringing everyone in the world together to build these giant engines and beneath underground cities that will shield people from the extreme surface temperature as the Earth wanders through the solar system.
The plan to save Earth seems to be a success until the planet is scheduled to pass Jupiter. Off course the Earth is dangerously close to Jupiter’s gravitational pull, it has caused massive seismic activity on the Earth’s surface causing many engines to fail. Can the Earth escape from Jupiter’s grasp and continue wandering toward its new home. Below the planet surface are two young adults, a boy and girl the children of an astronaut flying ahead of the Earth on the space station. Wanting to see the view from the surface they have donned counterfeit thermal suits and stolen their uncles work ID to venture topside where they use their grandfathers ID to take a transport vehicle for a spin. These are large vehicles that haul excavated Earth to the engines where it is burned for fuel. While on the surface they are caught for stealing a transporter and their grandfather who tries to get them out of trouble is also arrested for not securing his ID. While in jail the earthquakes begin forcing them to the surface where they become part of a rescue team who have an ignitor cube that is needed to restart one of the failed engines. It’s a race to save all humanity of the surface of the planet while a HAL like computer on the space station forces their astronaut father to stop the computer from executing Plan B and abandoning the Earth.
If it sounds absolutely bonkers it is, the concept it pretty incredible, I would have liked a little less action, action, action and a little more in the beginning of how all this was built and the whole project of the Wandering Earth. This was the first major science fiction movie produced out of China and for a first it’s a little epic with a bit Armageddon and a little bit Europa Report in Mandarin. Science Fiction fans will enjoy the look and feel of this, it lacks interesting characters and chunks of plot. Its a large step into foreign science fiction though and for a first time sci-fi director it’s not half.C.
