THE WANDERING EARTH

Name: THE WANDERING EARTH
Item: THE WANDERING EARTH
Author: Aaron Minguez

"Apocalyptic Science Fiction Story"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Summary
Audio

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What You Need To Know:

THE WANDERING EARTH is a live action science fiction movie from China. It takes place in a world where all humans have moved their homes to be underground and only authorized people are permitted to go outside. The sun has been dying out for hundreds of years now, and humans have built giant thrusters to force the Earth into a different solar system. The hope is that they can move their planet into an orbit of a different sun that will warm the Earth again. However, when Jupiter captured the Earth’s atmosphere, the timer begins counting down until the two planets collide and mankind is wiped out forever.

THE WANDERING EARTH is a perfect tale for sci-fi fans everywhere, staying entertaining while also believable throughout the entire movie. Sadly, the graphics are not quite up to par with what is industry standard now, with a few scenes feeling like a video game. The movie has a strong moral worldview, but the violence has a moderate amount of blood and many deaths. Because of this, MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong caution for younger viewers.

Content:

(BB, C, FR, L, VVV, N, A, D, MM):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview overall with major themes of redemptive self-sacrifice and a love for humankind as a whole, many people make life sacrifices for the good of others, plus a minor false religion element where a character prays and says, “Gang Zi will protect us”;

Foul Language:

Six curse words as well as a few expressions like “screw you,” two examples of someone vomiting because of extreme motion;

Violence:

Consistent amount of violence, death and blood throughout the movie, many examples of explosions large and small, man shakes another man’s hand through bars in a jail cell and although it is not shown the viewer can hear cracking and screaming from one man, people are shown being crushed by falling rocks, there are a few examples of people that have died by being without oxygen in space that can look rather disturbing, man is hit and crushed by a falling elevator, one scene where a man shoots himself, miscellaneous violence throughout;

Sex:

No sexual content;

Nudity:

No explicit nudity, but girls are shown in a pool hall wearing shorts and tops that show midriff, man takes off his shirt to help a wounded person;

Alcohol Use:

Russian man drinks vodka from a tube inside of his space suit, man takes a drink from a flask, a man mentions that alcohol was banned before and uses it as an explosive;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

One example of smoking a cigarette; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Moderate amount of miscellaneous content, examples of stealing and lying to elders, characters go against the laws, minor examples of disrespect for a grandfather, scene towards the end where everyone is stealing and fighting each other in a chaotic manner, a few scenes where there are people dead or dying that could be disturbing.

More Detail:

THE WANDERING EARTH is a live action Chinese science fiction movie that’s had wild success in China. The movie takes place on an Earth that’s been moving toward a different solar system for hundreds of years. The sun has been unable to warm the Earth’s surface, as it’s been slowly dying out. People all over the world have retreated underground, moving entire cities and civilizations in order to survive.

From above, Beijing looks practically abandoned, with only authorized people being allowed to go outside, and only in special space suits that keep them alive above ground. For years now, countries across the globe have built giant thrusters that, when blown in unison, are able to throw the Earth out of its normal orbit around the sun. They’ve been slowly moving it across the solar system, attempting to move it into another, one with a sun that will warmth the Earth again.

Han Duoduo sits in her usual class and solely desires to be outside. Her teachers tell her that this isn’t possible, but she’s determined. Her and her brother have devised a plan. They steal space suits that are authorized to leave, and Duoduo sneaks the ID badge of her grandfather, who drives a truck for the government. They make it outside and into their grandfather’s truck, but have hardly gone anywhere before they are thrown in jail for unlawful driving. Their grandfather soon finds them in jail and reminds them that their father, who has been on a mission in space, will be returning soon because his mission has ended.

However, an unexpected disaster takes everyone by surprise. Suddenly, the entire Earth is trembling with earthquakes, causing giant buildings to fall, as well as rocks and structures, crushing anyone underneath. They soon learn that as they have been trying to pass Jupiter, Earth has been captured by Jupiter’s gravitational pull, and is being quickly thrown into a fatal path. Now they have to figure out a way to thrust Earth out of the grasp of Jupiter, or suffer this deathly fate and say goodbye to the existence of the human race.

Spoken in Mandarin with English subtitles, some of the dialogue and humor doesn’t seem to completely translate, but still can be enjoyable in both languages. This sci-fi story has been very well done, a fascinating “end of the world” tale. Some of the graphics could have been done better, as a few scenes can make viewers feel as if they’re inside of a video game. However, the story is well told, with actors who give their all on screen.

THE WANDERING EARTH follows a moral worldview that centers around major themes of self-sacrifice and a love for mankind as a whole. There is a small element of false religion when a character prays to themselves and comments that “Gang Zi” will protect them. There is also violence consistent throughout the movie with a moderate amount of blood and many deaths. Because of the violence, as well as some images that could be disturbing for younger viewers, MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong caution.

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Quality:

- Content: -2