Four years ago, a counterattack "The Wandering Earth" opened the first year of Chinese science fiction films.
Let everyone see the new hope of domestic science fiction films, more mature special effects and industrialization, unique Chinese taste of science fiction, are amazing.
Now, director Guo Fan has summoned the original cast and added Andy Lau, a heavyweight actor, in addition to Wu Jing, so that "The Wandering Earth 2" presents a 1+1 > effect.
"The Wandering Earth 2" continues the routine of the previous work in terms of setting.
The reason why it has been comprehensively upgraded compared to the first part is because it has reshaped a new world.
The solar helium flash crisis is coming, human beings are facing the choice of life and death, and the digital life school and the mountain-moving faction each have their own set of survival rules.
From this, the multi-linear narrative of the total score of the film unfolds.
Moving mountains + month-by-month Wandering Earth plan is the main line, leading to the three sub-lines of digital life school, Liu Peiqiang and Tu Hengyu.
The three lines intersected each other, and finally the Liu Peiqiang line and the Tuhengyu line converged into a line, the wandering earth line, which was linked with the first part and formed a complementary continuation.
If there is only a concept, without technical support, it is also a castle in the air.
"The Wandering Earth 2" can support these big scenes, small details, because its film techniques are also perfect, the pace of the movie is slow and fast, the audience's emotions rise and fall, and the sublimation is completed at the last minute.
The space elevator in the first act of the opening, the camera moves from top to bottom at the beginning, the shock of the space elevator is at a glance, and the magnificent momentum is fully displayed in front of you.
Then with the help of different changes in the scene, first the close-up and then the panorama, and then pull a long-range view, the space elevator from near the ground to space, the picture from white to black, in just a few minutes, you can see the skillful scheduling of the scene.
Coupled with the various angles of the lens, not a single good-looking picture is missed.
There are also silky and smooth fast editing, several short shots spliced into one picture, so that the audience is overwhelmed, adrenaline has been in a state of soaring, can not stop at all.
But "The Wandering Earth 2" has more than that.
The art design in the film is almost the pinnacle of domestic sci-fi films so far.
The design of sets, props, costumes, etc., visualizes and visualizes the future world conceived through online aesthetic concepts and Bixing expression techniques.
The set of "The Wandering Earth 2" looks extremely realistic, making the audience feel that there is nothing awkward or unnatural, and like that, the quality of the film is improved.
Sometimes a good movie does not necessarily have a good story, can make a concept land, let the world in the movie stand, is also another kind of worth the ticket price, "The Wandering Earth 2" made an excellent demonstration.
In terms of special effects, "The Wandering Earth 2" has elevated domestic sci-fi blockbusters to unprecedented heights.
Most of the CG special effects in the film focus on the space elevator crisis and the moonfall crisis, the former is better than skill, the latter makes people see the magnificent visual spectacle.
The elevator crisis is to attract the audience at first glance, and the endless elevator itself is a big attraction.
The elevator that travels at high speed in the atmosphere creates dazzling flames from the friction with the ropes, and the tense music sounds, and the sense of suspense comes to the face.
Then the bad guys of the digital life school hijack the elevator, attack the base, detonate the sky, the sky is like fireworks, romanticism and despair suffocation strike together.
In the end, the Ark space station crashed to the ground, and the audience's mood also fell to the bottom, and the changes in emotions were all handled by the special effects scenes, which also brought the audience a different visual experience.
Detonating the moon is an aesthetic improvement, and every picture is full of oil painting texture.
The earth lit up by the planetary engine in the vast universe, although there are many crises, but the stars emerging from the blue can still make people see the vibrant hope, and the coldness brought by blue is swept away by these yellows.
The moon opposite the earth, every lone brave on it has become the most beautiful embellishment, a beautiful picture, a clear structural theme, suitable layout, diverse and unified, distinct and concise, the most beautiful painting in the world is this.
"The Wandering Earth 2" can do all this in special effects, thanks to the gradual improvement of the industrialization of domestic films.
In 2019, "The Wandering Earth" was released, Wu Jing was interviewed, and was asked why he supported the sci-fi film "The Wandering Earth" directed by Guo Fan, and was not worried that the filming would be bad and ruin his reputation?
Wu Jing said bluntly: "Even if the shooting is bad, it is better than no one filming." In fact, we have succeeded, because 7,000 people participated in the production of this film, and in the future, these 7,000 people will be the seeds of Chinese science fiction movies."
Four years later, "The Wandering Earth 2" was released, and it is of great significance to look back and taste what Wu Jing said.
These 7,000 people have begun to "take root", domestic science fiction movies have indeed achieved a qualitative leap in special effects, and the future of industrialization may not be far away.
With a technical guarantee, it is necessary to make the values of the film live.
"The Wandering Earth 2" does not blindly praise or criticize, but appropriately brings in the Chinese values in the film, the look and feel is not stiff and embarrassing, and the story is not cut and jumped.
You will slowly see the good side of China, so as to use the power of film to reverse the misperception of some countries and many people in the world, change their prejudices, and enhance the positive image of Chinese overseas, which is more effective than any propaganda film.
A subtle movie like "The Wandering Earth 2" is the best way to go out.
The film conveys the perspective of Chinese looking at the problem, that is, the sense of worry, the ultimate goal of doing something, that is, the homeland is inseparable, and the spiritual sustenance for which to persist, that is, licking deep feelings.
The director did not particularly highlight a certain Chinese, but had a big feeling for the universe.
The reason why human beings can continue civilization depends on perseverance and courage that has never lacked, and this inclusiveness makes "The Wandering Earth 2" not only suitable for us to watch, but also to go out.
But while being vain, "The Wandering Earth 2" has not forgotten the localization of domestic science fiction.
Li Bai's sentence in "Ask the Wine to the Moon and the Late Man Jia Chunling Asks", "Today's people do not see the ancient moon, this moon used to be like the ancients", was quoted by "The Wandering Earth 2", there is a pun.
In the same way, today's people have not seen Li Bai, but like the ancients, they have read Li Bai's poems, thus expressing the two concepts of change and immutability.
It is people who have changed, and throughout the ages, the number of ancient people and modern people is not limited to the mud and sand in the river.
However, the bright moon they saw was eternal, their feelings of "looking up at the bright moon and looking down at their hometown" never faded, and their longing for "ten years of life and death, not thinking, and never forgetting" has never diminished.
This is unchanged, this unchanged is the complex of Chinese homeland that is inseparable, and it is also the bond that Chinese cannot let go of the departure of their relatives, and it is also the root of the localization of "The Wandering Earth 2".
Hollywood science fiction movies are generally two routines.
One is the ultimate proposition of human beings, such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Interstellar", and the other is that superheroes save the world, such as all Marvel movies.
All the stories in these two directions have basically been filmed by Hollywood, Marvel has saved the world and the universe for more than ten years, and the audience has long seen it, so wanting to overtake on a curve on this road is no different from a fantasy.
Therefore, "The Wandering Earth 2" must be innovative to win recognition, so that domestic sci-fi films have a third possibility.
In the 20s, the reason why movies changed from Western films to Chinese films was because Zheng Zhengqiu and Zhang Shichuan gave films social and spiritual value, and the attributes of realism made China have movies.
The significance of "The Wandering Earth 2" lies in this, doing realism + homeland plot science fiction can not only distinguish it from Hollywood science fiction films, but also make localized domestic science fiction films return again.
As for how to make these Chinese elements reasonably integrated into the story? Compared with the previous work, "The Wandering Earth 2" has been added.
The Chinese elements of the first part are the bond between architecture and fallen leaves everywhere, but in the sequel, in addition to superficial work, there is also enough work on the core, which belongs to both internal and external cultivation.
For example, highlighting the idea that unity is strength, praising the collectivist spirit of the small family for everyone, and the theme of thinking of danger in peacetime and living after death in Easter eggs.
These values are not intuitively placed in front of them, and the audience will not be disgusted, but will follow the development of the story, gradually and heartily accept this concept transmitted in the film.
There is no need to "don't look up", see the inferior nature of human beings, full of pessimism and compassion, you can raise your head with your head held high, because there is hope as far as the eye can see.
This hope comes from solidarity, from giving up the small for the big, from the spirit of collectivism.
Only when the previous generation has finished all the battles that should be fought, can the next generation live and work in peace and contentment, and can future generations enjoy the happiness of the predecessors.
So they chose to give up, but they left the young, left the spark of human civilization continuation, and did it to give civilization to the years, not to the civilization.
This is a great tragedy and a thousand red caves, and it is also a great pattern of "sacrificing a lot of ambition and daring to teach the sun and the moon to change the sky".
If domestic sci-fi films want not to become imported products and achieve localization, they should work hard in this regard, rather than like Handan toddlers, seemingly working hard, learning this and that, in fact, it is useless.