Hmm. Although it doesn’t match up to the first for me there’s still a lot to love in this prequel, the returning scale and space atmosphere created by the fantastic vfx and score is still a delight and the narrative had a few high spots I’ll get to. Sadly though I do struggle to find positives outside of that which, when considering how much I loved the first one, how much I tried to love this, the top reviews for this being glaringly positive, and how much love I have for these types of stories is truly one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had in my movie journey in a long time. It didn’t help that my expectations took an immediate blow by learning this was a sequel, I think the fact they were able to fit this story into a 6 minute exposition in the first film should be telling that this story didn’t really need a movie, let alone one that’s just short of 3 hours long. The runtime is definitely one of my biggest gripes which I really wasn’t expecting, I absolutely love sitting down and watching 2 1/2+ hour movies almost daily but I really felt the length here and I think that was due to the mostly unconvincing narrative. Like I said in the opening sentence though the narrative did have some bright spots, I liked how the original 6 minute exposition was expanded on conceptually with this moon storyline and I also liked the philosophy created by the digital life stuff. As far as the actual narrative goes I was even more disappointed to see it’s no more than a carbon copy of the first, it’s got pretty much the exact same structure of the story in terms of how suspense was created and how the story progressed (which is mainly just a collection of sci-fi cliches) and even though that worked on me the first time around the combination of seeing it again combined with knowing the outcome of this story ended up with a very minimal effect on me. With the technical stuff the vfx and music was again a highlight like I said but I did have an issue in that department as well and that was with the way this was edited. Compared to the first it felt a lot rougher and filled with more cuts to compensate for what I imagine was a pretty un-solidified vision from Gwo and company, the fact that they were able to make it as enjoyable as it was is an accomplishment in itself but it still did take me out of the nice sci-fi/space atmosphere which obviously hurt the experience. I don’t feel the need to harp on it anymore so I’ll end this here, I totally see why it’s cherished by some as it’s an effective sci-fi blockbuster with emotional themes about hope and the goodness of humanity, sadly I just struggled to connect with the story over this massive runtime and a few of the creative choices lost me a bit. My limited enjoyment here won’t hinder my excitement for 2027’s The Wandering Earth III though (it’s actually a sequel!) as I still see a world where the finale of this trilogy can reach the heights of the first.

Hmm. Although it doesn’t match up to the first for me there’s still a lot to love in this prequel, the returning scale and space atmosphere created by the fantastic vfx and score is still a delight and the narrative had a few high spots I’ll get to. Sadly though I do struggle to find positives outside of that which, when considering how much I loved the first one, how much I tried to love this, the top reviews for this being glaringly positive, and how much love I have for these types of stories is truly one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had in my movie journey in a long time. It didn’t help that my expectations took an immediate blow by learning this was a sequel, I think the fact they were able to fit this story into a 6 minute exposition in the first film should be telling that this story didn’t really need a movie, let alone one that’s just short of 3 hours long. The runtime is definitely one of my biggest gripes which I really wasn’t expecting, I absolutely love sitting down and watching 2 1/2+ hour movies almost daily but I really felt the length here and I think that was due to the mostly unconvincing narrative. Like I said in the opening sentence though the narrative did have some bright spots, I liked how the original 6 minute exposition was expanded on conceptually with this moon storyline and I also liked the philosophy created by the digital life stuff. As far as the actual narrative goes I was even more disappointed to see it’s no more than a carbon copy of the first, it’s got pretty much the exact same structure of the story in terms of how suspense was created and how the story progressed (which is mainly just a collection of sci-fi cliches) and even though that worked on me the first time around the combination of seeing it again combined with knowing the outcome of this story ended up with a very minimal effect on me. With the technical stuff the vfx and music was again a highlight like I said but I did have an issue in that department as well and that was with the way this was edited. Compared to the first it felt a lot rougher and filled with more cuts to compensate for what I imagine was a pretty un-solidified vision from Gwo and company, the fact that they were able to make it as enjoyable as it was is an accomplishment in itself but it still did take me out of the nice sci-fi/space atmosphere which obviously hurt the experience. I don’t feel the need to harp on it anymore so I’ll end this here, I totally see why it’s cherished by some as it’s an effective sci-fi blockbuster with emotional themes about hope and the goodness of humanity, sadly I just struggled to connect with the story over this massive runtime and a few of the creative choices lost me a bit. My limited enjoyment here won’t hinder my excitement for 2027’s The Wandering Earth III though (it’s actually a sequel!) as I still see a world where the finale of this trilogy can reach the heights of the first.

kinda sucked maybe i should have watched the first one first

kinda sucked maybe i should have watched the first one first

i'll be honest, i mentally checked out halfway through because my sleepy brain could only handle so many giant cgi explosions per quarter-hour. but it's better than the first one

i'll be honest, i mentally checked out halfway through because my sleepy brain could only handle so many giant cgi explosions per quarter-hour. but it's better than the first one

Glad I could watch with no subtitles.

Glad I could watch with no subtitles.

Humanism on the macro scale. A globalist sci-fi mega-myth tailored made to me. Gwo really truly does have the sauce, he handles giant maximalist cg set pieces with an eye for scale I’ve pretty much never seen before. And the thematic conceit of humanity abandoning its nationalistic infighting to work as one united people at the end of the world really hit me hard, and I’m really glad it’s the American man who almost fucks it all up with his xenophobia, chefs kiss. It’s just great to see the recognition of the communal sameness of all humans be displayed on the largest canvas possible, even if the notion feels like a long gone ideal. In the end there’s no hero, no singular great power that’s gonna save us, we will only move forward by all working together.

Humanism on the macro scale. A globalist sci-fi mega-myth tailored made to me. Gwo really truly does have the sauce, he handles giant maximalist cg set pieces with an eye for scale I’ve pretty much never seen before. And the thematic conceit of humanity abandoning its nationalistic infighting to work as one united people at the end of the world really hit me hard, and I’m really glad it’s the American man who almost fucks it all up with his xenophobia, chefs kiss. It’s just great to see the recognition of the communal sameness of all humans be displayed on the largest canvas possible, even if the notion feels like a long gone ideal. In the end there’s no hero, no singular great power that’s gonna save us, we will only move forward by all working together.