【0】Small thoughts
I started reading science fiction stories in high school. At that time, I still had a reverence for Einstein and Bohr, and wanted to grow up to be a scientist. Not very professional, just curious about fresh perspectives and grand story setting background. It directly leads to the lack of emotional fluctuations in any "blockbuster" you watch in the future, because compared with the grand era setting of sci-fi stories, the imagination of ordinary "blockbusters" is dwarfed, such as "Jurassic Park" ", "Terminator", "Die Hard" or something.
After I went to college, I paid very little attention to science fiction. My impression of China's science fiction world has always stopped at the level of "Science Fiction World" in high school, which is a level that is difficult to compete with the West. It wasn't until many years later that I heard about Liu Cixin's "Three-Body Problem", and it was years after I read it. The first time I read "Three-Body Problem", I was deeply shocked. The background setting and narration of this science fiction novel are also subversive to me, an amateur science fiction fan. It is epic and deeply shocked. I believe it will also give me a deep shock. readers left the same feeling. In comparison, "Interstellar" is just an old stalk in the sci-fi world without too many new ideas, mainly focusing on special effects. Therefore, when I heard that "The Wandering Earth" was going to be put on the big screen, I was very looking forward to it, and I heard that the reputation of the screening was very good, and I was even more looking forward to it. I booked the tickets early, and I had to find an IMAX theater with good picture quality and good sound effects to watch. Speaking of which, I have to complain. As one of the few 3D blockbusters in the Spring Festival, there are not many theaters for IMAX screening halls. However, I believe that the word of mouth will improve in the later period, and there will be more IMAX films. So today I drove 20 kilometers to the cinema in one of the best IMAX theaters in Beijing to finish watching the film.
【1】Plot overview
The following contains minor spoilers, so proceed with caution.
The plot setting of "The Wandering Earth" is generally closer to that of "Interstellar". It is also that the earth is in crisis, and human beings must escape, but they encounter difficulties in escape, and finally solve it. Even the arrangements are very close, there is an A plan first, and a B plan behind it. The result of plan A is that most human beings can be rescued collectively, and plan B is to focus on supporting a few people to escape and sow the seeds of human civilization. Also from the very beginning, plan A was a pretense, plan B was the real purpose, and it was also the "only" purpose that was analyzed at that time. With the progress of the plot, due to the play of family affection, the lead field responded, and the original deduction conclusion was that the impossible plan A was abruptly turned into a feasible plan.
[2] A wonderful "hard" science fiction story, a qualified story
In general, the story is very old-fashioned, just a new shell. I can't understand the scientific logic of the "tall" set in the story. Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't understand it. The important thing is to use these settings. It contains a setting that is completely in line with science and a setting that is imagined for the sake of storytelling, to present a novel story, take readers into a novel world, and start a novel adventure that makes people's heart beat. In essence, it is very similar to an adventure story, a tomb looting story.
Therefore, it is not surprising that this story is the first of Da Liu's many works to be put on the screen, because the core of the story is very traditional and the business prospects are also very stable. If it was said that some people dared not invest before, then it is probably not easy to understand for the old men in the literary and art circles? As mentioned earlier, "Interstellar" is also the same routine.
"Interstellar" is already a relatively hard-core sci-fi, so the story of "The Wandering Earth" is also a relatively "hard" sci-fi. In the minds of sci-fi fans, "hard" sci-fi always has a much higher status than "soft" sci-fi. A story like "Avatar" is a "softer" science fiction story. "Soft" means less "science" and more "fantasy" (Sci-fi stripped away, "Avatar" is an old-fashioned story of indigenous rebellion against colonialism, similar to Indians fighting American colonists story).
Da Liu once again (why do I say it again) has shown amazing imagination and amazing scientific knowledge, and these two points may be the weak link of Chinese science fiction writers before (this is the The impression I formed in high school is not necessarily objective, because after all, the amount of reading is limited). But this is where Da Liu's recognized reputation lies, showing the level of science fiction that is not lost to the West. It gave me, a former amateur sci-fi fan, another trip that surprised me with imagination and enjoyed the shocking audio-visual experience.
[3] The fundamental purpose of "science fiction"
——It is for storytelling, not for popular science, nor for portraying the relationship between characters
As mentioned above, this is a "hard" sci-fi work. Under this setting, all the characters are for the purpose of telling this sci-fi story. Therefore, some plot settings may not be human enough, may not be delicate enough, and the flaws do not hide the good. It's important, it's all about advancing the plot, and what ends up being this exciting "scientific" adventure story.
Some people also say that this is a scientifically unreliable plan. I want to say here that the purpose of "science fiction" is not for scientific development, not to demonstrate a scientific plan, but to tell a good story, so "science" is for Storytelling service, otherwise everyone will read popular science books, why should you read science fiction stories?
[4] Science fiction was originally a niche thing
"Sci-fi" was originally a niche thing. Hard-core sci-fi fans always like to chase "hard" sci-fi. Behind them are a group of nerd people who are interested in science. At the same time, they are separated from reality and imaginative. Indulge in exploring your talents.
Science fiction has never been popularized. It is said that the storyline in "The Wandering Earth" is much more nerd (the reason why I say it is because I have not read the original book), I am afraid that copying it will scare away and scare off more audiences .
Da Liu has always had obvious shortcomings, that is, it is shorter than the character depiction is not full, the character setting and the relationship between the characters are not natural, this is not a big problem in the eyes of hardcore sci-fi fans, it seems that some consumption Those who complained that the first-generation iPhone did not have Nokia's crash, good signal, sufficient power, etc., but in the eyes of consumers who are chasing fashion and entertainment, it is not a problem. Compared with these shortcomings, the exciting imagination presented to us by Da Liu is extremely attractive and worthy of the pursuit of many readers/audiences. However, once it is put on the big screen, it will be criticized by more people. It should be admitted that this defect has been complained by many people. After all, not everyone will ignore the detailed description of human nature for the sake of amazing imagination, and they have different preferences. In the final analysis, it is the above sentence, telling a good story is the core of science fiction.
In addition, science fiction is generally a single author, and the author himself has his own limitations. When science fiction is brought to the big screen, it often has to be transformed to cater to the tastes of the public. As we all know, the screenwriter behind a good movie is often a team, working together to contribute to a result, so it is relatively complete. Personally, I speculate in private that with the imagination and scientific background of domestic professional screenwriters, I am afraid that I am unable to help Da Liu to fill the original shortcomings.
Therefore, this is also where "Interstellar" is better than "Wandering Earth", in that the character relationships and character emotional settings are fuller and more natural. So if "Interstellar" is given five stars, "Wandering Earth" is indeed not worthy of five stars, and four stars or four and a half stars is a combined score.
【5】Moving point
The first point of touch is the wonderful story itself.
As mentioned above, an exciting fantasy adventure. In this short 120 minutes, I have been deeply attracted by the tension of the storyline. I don't care to ponder over the flaws and so on. I feel that time is fleeting, and even after the film ends, I wonder if the length of the film is only more than an hour One point, a great experience.
The second moving point is the solid special effects.
Some people have listed how many special effects the film has produced in the film review, so I will not cite it. As a domestic film, I had to be moved by making such special effects. It belongs to the excellent work in the domestic film, and it is also a qualified work if it is put into a Hollywood blockbuster. Of course, it can't compare with the top Hollywood blockbusters. The details are very rough, especially the super rough terrain, which feels like the level of computer games (but when it comes to computer games, it is the top special effects). The indoor environment setting is very good, and many details in the small room are also very rich, and even the small details and small ornaments of the astronaut's living cabin are very intimate. As for the splendid special effects between celestial bodies, they are too beautiful (of course, this piece may also be easier to do). To sum up, it reflects that the director is making products in a down-to-earth manner and earnestly studying the industrialization of Hollywood, which is enough to make us gratified and moved.
The third moving point is the cordial Chinese element.
First and foremost are Chinese-style family relationships. Seeing the teenagers on earth, what I feel is the rebelliousness of the friendly Chinese-style teenagers, not the Western-style family relationship. Other Chinese elements, such as the Spring Festival, Chinese-style classrooms, old-fashioned clotheslines, mahjong, hot pot, etc., all make me very friendly, although it may be a bit inconsistent and not enough "sci-fi".
The fourth moving point is the way of narration.
There isn't much to be picky about the narrative pacing. The way of expression is not too forceful, unlike some when it is very embarrassing to use force when it is sensational, "embarrassing", in short, it is qualified. I'm not a big director, and I haven't heard the name before, but I'm very pleased that I didn't screw up the story and the picture.
To sum up, what Hollywood can do, we can do it, how can we not be happy. Chinese directors are actually qualified! China's special effects are actually qualified! It seems that the national football team can squeeze into the knockout stage of the World Cup by its own strength, which is surprising, and what kind of championship is it demanding. ——But don’t count on the bad guys like the national football team, you can do Chinese movies! ! !
[6] Expectations after being moved
As we all know, Da Liu's most famous work is "Three-Body Problem". This is also the only work of Da Liu that I have seen, so I can say a few words. The reason why "Three-Body Problem" is full of praise is that it surpasses the imagination of many other sci-fi works and builds a larger world and game rules. Of course, this is also more difficult to express. If "The Wandering Earth" is a film with a traditional narrative, then "The Three-Body Problem" should be a more philosophical epic trilogy like "The Matrix". It is the common wish of all fans of Da Liu to put "Three-Body Problem" on the big screen. Now the special effects level of "The Wandering Earth" is gratifying enough, and I feel that it is enough to control the special effects of "Three-Body Problem" (what an exciting thing). I just hope that the writing team can change the script well.
[7] Response to the sprayer
A. Some people say that Da Liu's settings are too cruel, strangling or something
Well, the author's settings do represent personal habits. But it doesn't make any sense to spray like this. To put it bluntly, the human group has survived to the top of the biological chain, not because it can pursue beauty and enjoyment better than other biological groups, but because it can overcome natural limitations better; enjoyment It is the goal of human beings, but the groups that enjoy it too much have been killed because they cannot adapt to the changes in nature, just like those rich and luxurious empires in history. Survival is the first law of nature. In the world today, it is rare to enjoy decades of good times. In the past few thousand years, when there was no war and savagery, the current overall peace and civilization is actually a very special existence, and it is also an extremely fragile existence. Summer bugs can't speak ice.
B. Some people commented that Da Liu had a dark heart, collectivism, anti-humanity, etc. (I don't know if some words were made up)
When it comes to exposing the darkness of human nature, the science fiction works written by many Western writers in the 1990s were all about eliminating inferior human genes, and the rich monopolize high-tech to enjoy the poor and oppress the poor. The things behind the reflection of the barbaric colonial nature of the West are not dark. already? Not anti-human? The big Liu family is to reflect on human nature under extremely bad circumstances, and it has not yet reached the despicable and dark level of one group of people squeezing and enslaving another group of people in the peaceful and prosperous era for their own selfish desires.
C. Some people criticize the plot, or attack Da Liu because of the above two problems of AB, so they deliberately give one star?
The story is told well, even if there are various flaws in the character setting, it will not be one star, right? So, in "Star Wars", a group of high-tech creatures are still holding light bulbs in a duel with cold weapons, don't they also get one star? Do the various Western science fiction works that reflect "cannibalism" also deserve one star?
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