THE WANDERING EARTH: Space opera with a hard sci-fi backbone

Rating: ☄️☄️☄️☄️☄️☄️☄️☄️☄️☄️
[TRAILER]

If you’ve ever talked with me about books, or about science fiction, or storytelling in general, or just long enough at any point when I’m a little buzzed and giddy, I’ve probably told you that my favorite books of all time are those that make up “The Three Body Trilogy.” Cixin Liu is otherworldly in his ability to wield all of time and space as a precision storytelling tool. In terms of sheer scope of inhabited universe, I dunno if there’s really anything out there that measures up; this series has, well, I won’t spoil it. Trust me that every new moment, every galactic scaling-up, will blow your mind right open and then stitch it back together with its careful bringing-you-along-for-the-ride pacing.

The Wandering Earth, while also being a hell of a ride on its own, seems primarily positioned to test a global audience for galactic scale, hard sci-fi space opera. The conceit of the story is that the sun is going to explode, and the only way for earth to survive is for all of humanity to band together and build thousands of Earth engines that will propel the Earth out of the sun’s gravitational field and out into the universe to … Wander. In the short story this is based on (in Liu’s excellent collection of stories also entitled “Wandering Earth”), there is some thought that they are on their way to Alpha Centauri over the next few centuries. Turns out that idea was a little scientifically verbose/thematically unwieldy for the movie version. Thus, they will succeed if they can get out past Jupiter! Hooray! But, JHC, take a look at those story bones!! Remember when we thought Danny Boyle was cool for sending a bucket of astronauts towards the sun with a bomb to restart it? 

Throughout, we get Grade A space opera motifs: Real Gnarly Family Drama, a Band of Misfits saving the day, absolutely BRILLIANT set piece after set piece (the sequence of dozens of trucks/tractors/sci-fi vehicles whipping around in the snow to infiltrate a malfunctioning, mountainous Earth engine is especially prime), hysterics galore, costuming and details to die for. Boy, if it’s not clear by now, space shit is my FAVORITE SHIT. Fingers crossed that this high-concept, high-octane film earns a green light somewhere out there for a seasons 4-7-ish Game of Thrones-level adaptation of 3 Body! Let us pray.