7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Humans built huge engines on the surface of the earth to find a new home. But the road to the universe is perilous. In order to save earth, young people once again have to step forward to start a race against time for life and death.
Starring: Andy Lau, Jing Wu, Xuejian Li, Yi Sha, Zhi WangForeign | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1, 2.75:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.75:1
Mandarin: Dolby Atmos
Mandarin: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional)
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Some wags coming to this frequently visually dazzling but almost as frequently largely incomprehensible sequel (actually prequel) may join certain curmudgeons (ahem) in thinking that maybe it might have helped had Well Go USA released The Wandering Earth first, giving potential viewers some point of entry other than the film's "previously. . .on. . ." montage that starts things out, even if considering the fact that this is a prequel, that opening might have been better classified as a "subsequently. . .on. . .", so to speak. As it stands (and/or falls, as the case may be), according to our typically reliable database, it looks like the only Blu-ray release of The Wandering Earth hails from China, which means potential consumers may need to do a little earth wandering themselves to track it down. What's kind of interesting about all of this is that the first The Wandering Earth was an absolute blockbuster at the box office, which makes its absence from, well, global markets a little perplexing, though (horror of horrors for lovers of physical media), it has evidently been available to stream for quite some time. While I personally haven't done that yet, it might be advisable for anyone considering spending close to three hours with this opus trying to figure out exactly what's going on.
The Wandering Earth II is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1 and 2.74:1. Captured with Arri Alexas and kind of surprisingly finished at 2K despite source captures of over 6K (all of this according to the IMDb), this is, as mentioned above, frequently dazzling, with some excellent fine detail throughout in both practical and CGI laden moments. A lot of cool grading has been employed, especially as things get more and more Apocalyptic on poor little Earth, but generally speaking these sometimes aggressive tactics really don't lead to any major downturns in detail levels. There is occasional minor softness in some of the CGI, notably some of the wider framings where there's a lot of destructive mayhem on screen. For an "outer space" epic, there's kind of comically some underwater moments where detail levels can understandably not be at the same level as the bulk of the presentation.
The Wandering Earth II features a Mandarin Dolby Atmos track and an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option as its surround choices. Unless you're averse to reading subtitles, I'd certainly recommend sticking with the Atmos track, which is consistently immersive and which provides both "traditional" surround engagement along with some clear verticality courtesy of any number of scenes which feature things like blastoffs or debris falling from the sky. The "high tech" scenes are typically littered with background effects that clearly engage the side and rear channels, and even some of the earthbound material has well rendered ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Mandarin subtitles are available.
I will say I'm curious enough about this nascent "franchise" that I may in fact track down the first film to see if it can shed any light on this film. At nearly three hours, even without the more than occasional head scratching moment, it's probably arguable that this narrative could have been judiciously trimmed and streamlined. Technical merits are first rate for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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