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Asian cinema: Chinese films
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Review | The Wandering Earth II movie review: Wu Jing, Andy Lau in Frant Gwo’s sci-fi blockbuster prequel

  • From an opening terror attack to a climactic suicide mission in space, Frant Gwo and Liu Cixin present a dazzling New Year firework display
  • The film draws parallels with our attitudes to Covid-19, and engages with intriguing themes such as our over-reliance on technology and its surveillance of us

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Wu Jing (above, left) reprises his leading role in The Wandering Earth II, Frant Gwo’s prequel to his mega-hit sci-fi film co-starring Andy Lau. The action scenes are dazzling, but the new film also engages confidently with some intriguing themes.
James Marsh

3/5 stars

The Wandering Earth II is a star-studded blockbuster prequel to Frant Gwo’s 2019 science fiction hit, the fifth biggest box office hit of all time in China.

The new film is set in the decades leading up to the launch of a daring 2,500-year mission that aims to move Earth out of its current orbit and away from the destructive reach of an expanding Sun.

Returning star Wu Jing is joined by Andy Lau Tak-wah, Li Xuejian, and Wang Zhi. Gwo is also back as writer-director, with award-winning author Liu Cixin, upon whose short story the first film was based, serving as executive producer and story consultant.

The Wandering Earth II opened in mainland China on January 22 to mark the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday. It is dedicated to the memory of Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat, who appeared in the first film and died in February 2021.

Apart from serving as a colossal, planet-sized allegory for climate change, the film also draws undeniable parallels between initial complacency towards – and even denial of – the coronavirus pandemic and the discovery that our dying sun will consume the planet.

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