By jasper 
With a box office revenue of 474 million yuan on the first day of Lunar New Year, “The Wandering Earth 2” has taken the top spot among this year’s seven Spring Festival films! As the first movie to be scheduled for this year’s Spring Festival season, “The Wandering Earth 2” has been highly anticipated from the start. Its impressive runtime of 173 minutes sets a new record for length during this festive period.
Achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success, “The Wandering Earth 2” rightfully earns its place as a landmark in Chinese science fiction cinema. The significance of “The Wandering Earth” series can be likened to the ambitious earth-wandering plan depicted in the films—they both began with an act of courage.“`
The Undisputed Leader in Chinese Sci-Fi Cinema
For many films, boasting about special effects often comes off as a desperate move—a clever excuse when there’s little else to show off. Typically, what’s touted as top-notch special effects ends up being just slightly above average at best.
However, when it comes to “The Wandering Earth 2,” praising its special effects is unavoidable.
Compared to its predecessor, this sequel has made remarkable strides forward.
Director Frant Gwo revealed in an interview that large-scale explosions and earthquakes fall into the second tier of difficulty when it comes to special effects. The most challenging super S-level visual effect is actually making humans look realistic.
While makeup can effectively age someone up, achieving an ideal youthful appearance is much harder.
Due to the film’s narrative structure, several characters need to span decades in time and thus appear significantly different at various points. Because people are highly familiar with their own appearance, any discrepancies are easily noticeable. Therefore, creating realistic visual effects for human characters that can deceive the human eye without looking off becomes incredibly challenging.
To achieve more realistic and natural results in this area, “The Wandering Earth 2” used computers for comprehensive scans of actors’ bones, muscles, blood vessels—down through each layer of skin. Algorithms then helped simulate natural human aging accurately.
Moreover,” The Wandering Earth 2″ features numerous underwater scenes. In pursuit of better visuals under water conditions ,director Frant Gwo opted for using bulky Arri 65 cameras underwater—a decision with landmark significance .
This sets an exemplary case study for domestic films tackling water-based special effects challenges.
Since the first “The Wandering Earth,” planetary and lunar engines have become iconic props . To deliver such breathtaking visuals ,it was essential they conveyed immense volume & weight .
Director Frant Gwo admitted achieving this convincingly was tough ,mainly relying on familiar reference objects .
For instance ,planetary engines were contrasted against clouds emphasizing height ,while lunar engines used shadows showcasing grandeur .These seemingly simple techniques stem from meticulous attention-to-detail by creative team leading naturally awe-inspiring final output .
Speaking about details ,angles on these engines aren’t just decorative—they’re based on real mechanical analysis .With genuine physical considerations backing them up ,these shots more readily gain viewer trust generating authentic visual impact .
To bring this iconic sci-fi concept to life convincingly, the director’s team invested substantial effort and resources—both human and financial—along with a considerable amount of time. They even went so far as to create extensive real-life sets for more authentic effects.
The design inspiration for the ice shield during the space elevator’s descent draws from Isaac Asimov’s novels while paying homage to Gabriel García Márquez’s sentiment: “Ice is our world’s greatest invention.”
Such scientifically plausible yet artistically enriched details are prevalent throughout the film, showcasing the creative team’s dedication and precision.
It’s anticipated that scenes featuring the space elevator in “The Wandering Earth 2” will become iconic moments in Chinese sci-fi cinema history.
Moreover, director Guo Fan has shown commendable humility by promptly addressing errors pointed out by military enthusiasts online. This willingness to correct mistakes is something many filmmakers could learn from.
For instance, after being informed about an error with an aircraft’s pitot tube, it was promptly corrected in subsequent versions.
Another noteworthy aspect is that Guo Fan and his creative team essentially built an entire world from scratch. They meticulously classified elements using library classification systems—from social sciences to natural sciences—resulting in numerous intriguing and well-thought-out details within the film.
For example, scientific consultants calculated that current global nuclear arsenals would need to be amplified by a billion times to destroy the moon. Hence, both the quantity of nuclear weapons and their detonation methods were optimized for plot coherence.
Additionally intriguing is how they mention creating mosquito cakes using 500,000 mosquitoes at the movie’s start.
Importantly, all these special effects technologies will lay down an industrial foundation for future Chinese sci-fi films. This pioneering work paves a path for subsequent creators aiming for excellence.
This underscores why “The Wandering Earth 2” holds significant importance as a trailblazer in Chinese sci-fi cinema.
