The Wandering Earth II - Movie Reviews (2024)

The film’s dogmatic rejection of going bigger and shinier than its precursor in favor of character development and old-fashioned project management is a directorial decision that crucially meets its own ethical demands of putting humans first.

Full Review | Jul 9, 2024

it serves a more civil, nonviolent counter image to defeating the West, who usually acts as the world’s hope in disaster movies, without kicking their ass in such wonderful films as “RRR” (2022), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022)

Full Review | Jun 2, 2024

... doesn’t work as an engaging prequel because it jumps between extended bouts of exposition to establish concepts, action sequences, and character moments that only folks who have seen the first film will really appreciate.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 19, 2023

I did find the second half far more enjoyable than the first...I just wish director Frant Gwo and his team of screenwriters had spent as much time developing characters as they did in creating the look of the film.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Dec 2, 2023

More nationalistic types will probably embrace the movie as a way to reinvigorate patriotic sentiments. But don’t be surprised if...

Full Review | Jul 11, 2023

It's an over-the-top sci-fi spectacle that doesn't lose sight of the human stories in this saga about trying to avert an outer-space disaster. In other words, the movie delivers exactly what viewers can expect from 'The Wandering Earth' franchise.

Full Review | Mar 3, 2023

At nearly three hours, director Frant Gwo is leaning on a lot for us to care about the variety of characters involved, yet I was into it. The increased quality in the CG visual effects helped for sure, better making good on the world assembled here.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Feb 2, 2023

The movie comes off as China's answer to the blockbuster sci-fi epic, and, just like many of these types of movies made in the United States, there's a heavy-handed jingoistic nationalism at work here that gets tiresome.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 1, 2023

In sci-fi terms, The Wandering Earth II feels less obviously derivative of Hollywood forerunners than its predecessor, raising a number of intriguing themes and engaging with them intellectually.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 1, 2023

Continuing the elaborate ticking timebomb set-up, the movie feels brisk even at nearly three hours. And it's packed with impressively enormous effects and even bigger melodrama.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 30, 2023

Follows the “rules” of the Hollywood blockbuster. It doesn’t stand up to any kind of scrutiny, logic is thrown out of the window, but it is almost constant fun to watch and a film that will definitely satisfy all fans of sci-fi action.

Full Review | Original Score: 7 | Jan 29, 2023

Even at its best, though, one still has to contend with an avalanche of bad English-language dialogue... and the non-sentient, CCP-engineered biological lifeform that is 48-year-old actor Wu Jing.

Full Review | Jan 28, 2023

There is so much to visually enjoy when these [actio] scenes come to life that it reminds audiences why The Wandering Earth was a genre-defining sci-fi blockbuster – a trend that Gwo looks set to continue with this prequel.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 25, 2023

A sturdy prequel.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 25, 2023

Director Frant Gwo stages showpiece after showpiece with remarkable confidence. The filmmaking style is fluid, involving, with visual effects on a level with Hollywood efforts.

Full Review | Jan 23, 2023

If you’re a fan of the first movie, this one is a must-see as it continues to deliver high-octane thrills while still maintaining a palpable emotional connection with our characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 23, 2023

Losing all of the glee of its predecessor, the movie... offers nearly three hours of convoluted story lines, undercooked themes and a tangle of confused, glaringly state-approved political subtext.

Full Review | Jan 23, 2023

One of the most exhilarating, thrilling and crowd-pleasing action adventures since RRR!

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

There is certainly much to admire about this ambitious homegrown sci-fi saga, even if it feels rather protracted with the running time clocking in 45 minutes longer than its predecessor.

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

A visually spectacular, though melodramatic sci-fi disaster-action drama

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 21, 2023