Four years ago, "The Wandering Earth" went from an unpromising "small broken ball" to a "benchmark for Chinese science fiction movies", becoming a gift that exceeded the audience's expectations.
Four years later, with the audience's expectations, the Chinese film market finally ushered in "The Wandering Earth 2".
Four years ago, the earth began its wandering journey to a new home in the midst of a crisis, and Wu Jing played Liu Pei as the match that lit Jupiter, escorting the earth and mankind with his life.
Four years later, the story begins a prequel, Liu Peiqiang returns to the age of twenty, in the early days of the solar crisis, in the conflict and disagreement, he has persistence, confusion, strength and vulnerability.
Four years ago, Wu Jing was a "special actor" in "The Wandering Earth", with few scenes, and was finally written by the screenwriter as "sacrificed".
Four years later, Wu Jing not only had a scene, but also a tough guy with tenderness. Family and emotions have become anchors that Chinese science fiction movies cannot shake.
Visual Zhi exclusively talked to Wu Jing, talked about the movie, and also talked about the story behind the movie.
Wu Jing said he was surprised that Chinese science fiction films had made such great progress in four years.
Friends who have walked into the theater to see the film can feel that "The Wandering Earth 2" is more than a little better than the previous one:
The special effects that can be seen with the naked eye are upgraded, the texture of the blockbuster is rushing, and many grand scenes are shocking.
Speak with a set of data:
At that time, "The Wandering Earth" had more than 2,000 special effects shots, which was regarded as a great challenge and surprise.
In "The Wandering Earth 2", there are more than 6,000 visual effects lenses. 102 main scenes of science fiction, 17 studios with a setting area of 58,000 square meters; 5,310 concept designs, 9,989 split-shot drawings, and more than 22,000 domestic and foreign group performers...
The length of the production cycle, the amount of work, and the difficulty of the film are all self-evident.
As a result, the big screen presents a picture of doom.
There is an amazing "space elevator", a giant tower supported by a few cables, and the sense of technology is full.
There are runaway drones flying into the sky, bombing space elevators. The scene of the ark falling is addictive.
There are also various natural disasters and big scenes of space crises, and every scene is heart-pounding.
Special effects, pictures, textures have been upgraded in an all-round way, and thousands of special effects shots have completed this visual feast.
But the movie can't only have the empty shell of special effects, the plot is the core of the film. Fortunately, "The Wandering Earth 2" also does well.
Wu Jing sighed: "Science fiction movies still have to be directed by people like Guo Fan, his macro perspective is so big, I really admire him." ”
The story of "The Wandering Earth 2" is set in the near future.
"At first, no one cared about this disaster, a wildfire, the extinction of a species, until this disaster was related to everyone..."
The opening remarks reveal the picture of the future, and mankind is suffering from unprecedented disasters -
The sun continues to expand, and in 30 years the sun will engulf the Earth, and in 100 years the solar system will cease to exist.
In order to save the fate of mankind, different factions have spawned on the earth.
For example, the "Digital Life Project" allows humans to achieve "mechanical ascension" through the growing artificial intelligence technology.
And Chinese proposed the "Mountain Moving Plan" (the predecessor of the "Wandering Earth Project").
Since the earth has encountered a crisis, it is better to directly "escape with the ball", protect the home we rely on to survive, and leave a decent future for future generations.
The film slowly kicks off in verifying the feasibility of various plans.
Director Guo Fan's control of the plot and the tight imaginary details unconsciously make the audience feel that the future is close at hand.
The excellent performances of the actors are also a plus.
For Wu Jing, the whole scene is no less difficult than several scenes in space:
"How to mimic fighting in space, how to show weightlessness, is conceptual subversion."
Wu Jing, who has produced three martial arts champions in his ancestors, never plays fiction, and every scene is a real fight.
In a fight scene with actor Wang Zhi, Wu Jing seriously told her: "You must really fight." Wang Zhi listened to the suggestion and filmed many times, only to learn that Wu Jing was injured and his thigh was kicked blue for many days.
The success of "The Wandering Earth 2" is the result of the joint efforts of all the cast and crew.
It has received a good score of 8.2 points on Douban, and many film critics have also become tap water:
"The breakthrough of the industrialization of Chinese films was not expected to be realized by director Guo Fan."
As early as after the "The Wandering Earth" craze faded, the audience calmed down, and the production team investigated the audience's expectations for the sequel -
"I hope to see the progress of Chinese science fiction films."
A few simple words are a huge challenge for the "The Wandering Earth" series.
This time, "The Wandering Earth 2" returns to the big screen with various pressures and challenges, once again showing the charm and progress of Chinese science fiction.
I have to say, the little broken ball did it again.
In "The Wandering Earth", Wu Jing's Liu Peiqiang did not have many scenes, and the shot of him crashing into Jupiter with the space station became a classic.
As a prequel to "The Wandering Earth", "The Wandering Earth 2" unfolds the experience of the characters, allowing Liu Peiqiang to become an ordinary man of flesh and blood from a lone hero who is not afraid of heaven and earth.
Speaking of roles, Wu Jing told us: "Liu Peiqiang has an additional growth process in this play. ”
"He had rebellion, he was young, he was decadent, he had love, he had a master, he had a family, he became a husband, he became a son-in-law, and he had children of his own."
In the film, the audience follows Liu Peiqiang's perspective and experiences the flavors of life under the advent of the apocalyptic era.
At the beginning of the film, the young version of Liu Peiqiang follows his master walking in the ruins of the city that is almost destroyed, he has dark skin, wears sunglasses, and has an enviable youthful atmosphere.
Later, he met Han Duoduo (played by Wang Zhi), a female soldier who did not let his eyebrows go, Liu Peiqiang fell in love, even if the world was gray, he still held red roses to express romance.
When the villain occupied the space elevator and Liu Peiqiang broke into the secret room alone to have fewer enemies, he said: "Even if I am left alone, I will swear to protect the space elevator to the death." A wonderful fight scene then began.
In the later part of the film, Liu Peiqiang, who grew a beard and became a lieutenant colonel, stayed in space day and night, touching the photos of his family in his hands, and his eyes were full of firmness and sadness when he raised his eyes to look at the vast universe outside the space capsule.
As Wu Jing said: "Liu Peiqiang may endure a lot of grievances and powerlessness, and even grief, but for the sake of his family, he will continue to work hard." ”
"The Wandering Earth 2" gave Wu Jing full space to play and began the first half of Liu Peiqiang's wonderful or bumpy life.
When we asked Wu Jing which one was the most enjoyable among so many wonderful scenes, he chose the quietest farewell scene.
Liu Peiqiang participated in the selection of astronauts, just to fight for a glimmer of life for his family and let his family survive.
Liu Peiqiang, who is about to go to space, looks at his terminally ill wife lying on the hospital bed and his 4-year-old son, his eyes full of reluctance.
He took his wife's hand and said softly, "I miss you", and her wife tried to open her mouth to respond to him: "I have always been".
There are no presets or dialogues in this scene, and it is all up to the actors' free play. Wu Jing performed a man's most simple love for his family and relatives.
After filming this scene, Wu Jing's heart could not be calm for a long time. The toughest tough guy at that moment also had a soft underbelly.
Many audience members were moved to tears by this scene, Wu Jing said: "This is a recognition of my performance, even more than any fight, there is a sense of achievement." ”
"The Wandering Earth 2" continues Chinese's home and country feelings.
Wu Jing and Andy Lau had a rivalry scene, during the filming, the two were separated by a thick glass plate, no sound could be heard, and Andy Lau could not be seen in the room where Wu Jing was located. But with the details of their expressions alone, they performed the mood of the two who are equally worried about their families despite their different identities.
The pattern of "The Wandering Earth 2" is not limited to this.
Later in the film, 300 living people are planned to detonate the bomb, and in this mission with no return, members of the Chinese Space Force over 50 take the initiative to act as fuses to ignite the bomb, and Russia and other countries have followed.
This belief and courage of human beings in the face of disasters made people cry instantly.
The film expands its vision to the destiny of all mankind and becomes a truly globalist film-
This is not a corny tale of individual heroic adventures, but a grand epic for all mankind.
Under such a magnificent narrative, Chinese science fiction movies use unique romance to make the insignificance and brilliance of human beings deeply hit people's hearts again and again.
"The Wandering Earth 2" is both a continuation and a pioneer of the previous work, constantly moving forward on the road of creating Chinese hardcore science fiction.
This also makes people believe that in the most difficult time, there are always people who keep walking, and Chinese science fiction movies have not been delayed.
With the popularity of the movie, more and more details of the film were "picked up" by netizens.
In such a post-apocalyptic science fiction work, the production team "played terrier" without delaying at all.
There used to be the famous delicacy "aged earthworm dry" in "The Wandering Earth", and now there are 500,000 mosquitoes to make a piece of "mosquito cake", which at first glance looks exaggerated, but it is also reasonable, suggesting a shortage of resources in the future.
There are also the patterns worn by the little girl characters, in the real world, the rabbit pattern is a smiley face, while in the digital world, the rabbit pattern is a crying face, which makes people's scalp numb instantly.
There are also many tributes hidden in the movie.
Some netizens think that the appearance of the original data of the digital life plan pays tribute to the black stone tablet in "2001: A Space Odyssey", both of which have the mysterious meaning of the unknown world.
The film also pays tribute to Wu Mengda through AI and CG compositing technology. Time has passed, and people have never forgotten Uncle Da.
From the front of the stage to the backstage, this film has left a lot of surprises for the audience, but Wu Jing said:
"Actually, the story on the movie screen is very moving, and the story behind it is even more moving."
Wu Jing told us a lot of behind-the-scenes stories, including the efforts of the cast and crew that were not noticed by the audience.
The most representative is director Guo Fan, who strictly implemented the "5+4" life routine during the filming of "The Wandering Earth 2", that is, 5 cups of coffee a day, 4 hours of sleep, and pursued every detail.
After "The Wandering Earth", many viewers were curious about how the earth started, and Guo Fan made a chronicle of nearly 200,000 words without saying a word, connecting the beginning of the solar crisis, the setting of the earth, and the crisis of Jupiter, so that the audience can understand the civilizations and conflicts in the film.
Until the release of the trailer of "The Wandering Earth 2", Guo Fan still did not breathe a sigh of relief. Someone on the Internet pointed out the design problem of the aircraft, and Guo Fan replied directly: "Thank you and thank you, we quickly change it." ”
The same goes for actors.
Teacher Li Xuejian, who plays the representative of China, had an illness before, his hearing was not good, and every time the crew worried about his body, Li Xuejian always said: "You don't have to worry about me." ”
It was in the deep winter, Li Xuejian filmed a rain scene, the water rushed over, Li Xuejian said: "It's okay, come again." ”
Wu Jing said frankly: "If you don't go to the scene, you won't feel the dedication of the older generation of actors." ”
Andy Lau, now 61 years old, not only has an understanding of the play, but also shoots various scenes with ease and hands-on.
Andy Lau's final scene was filmed in water almost the entire time, and he choked on water to drink it really just to make the details more real.
As Wu Jing said: "I know how hard it is to make a movie, and he needs everyone to give their best efforts and the greatest enthusiasm for the film to complete their ideals." ”
In the Spring Festival file of 2023, the box office of "The Wandering Earth 2" only 8 days after its release, cracked 2.5 billion box office, allowing people to see the future and hope of Chinese science fiction movies.
From this film, we not only see the sincerity of the cast and crew, but also see the ambition of Chinese filmmakers to go global.
Just as Wu Jing and many filmmakers insisted, only then did the emergence of "The Wandering Earth" and the "The Wandering Earth" series of universes.
The audience's feelings are free, maybe it does not meet everyone's expectations, but as the sentence with 30,000 likes on Douban:
"You don't have to compare anything, as a milestone it is already invincible."
In any case, Chinese science fiction needs more "small broken balls".