text | Linghu Boguang
2023 is about to pass. I have written several annual summary manuscripts before, so let’s continue writing one today.
If you want to say that the most important work of Chinese pop culture in 2022 is undoubtedly "The Wandering Earth 2", this movie is overall great and can be regarded as a Chinese science fiction epic. The field of science fiction is finally no longer monopolized by the West. I hope that more science fiction works with a Chinese core will be presented to the world and tell Chinese stories well.
The "Wandering Earth" series has set a benchmark for domestic films. Guo Fan used two movies to tell everyone that the limit of how much money is made is what kind of movie is made. A little over 200 million is The Wandering Earth 1, and 600-800 million is the limit. The Wandering Earth 2 allows the audience to judge whether a movie is deceiving people with the most intuitive feeling.
Your performance can be worse than this benchmark, but not too much. What is the concept of five hundred million? If you give Guo Fan 500 million, he can make two movies 1, and if you add another 2 to 3 billion, you can make 2. This is why I support Guo Fan and "The Wandering Earth", because he really doesn't fool the audience.
has a higher reputation but lower box office? Which one of "The Wandering Earth" do you prefer
As a science fiction fan and movie fan, I definitely think "Ball 2" is much better than "Ball 1". Andy Lau makes Tu Hengyu look passable and the characters stand out. , and the architecture of the quantum computer and the Digital Life Project, one of the movie's branches, is also well established. At least
3 is good, and compared to other branches, it does not appear to be weak. Also, the concept of the space elevator was transformed very well, and the special effects and scenes shocked me. Although the plot of the story is very rigid and old-fashioned, the touching points are outstanding. Anyway, I cried in the cinema. I cried when I faced the recruitment of pilots before manually detonating the nuclear bomb.
There are even more advantages. Anyway, this is a very thoughtful science fiction epic! The special effects part of the film has received a comprehensive upgrade, and we can also see the growth of our Chinese visual effects team in the past four years. The props and various small details of the film also inherit the spirit of "Ball 1".
When you are in the theater, you will still be shocked by the magnificence and imagination shown. In the script, even if the events and conflicts are so closely combined, you can clearly feel the overall continuity of the film.
From the perspective of the movie itself, the only shortcoming may be that the rhythm is not controlled very well. The priorities can be more clear, otherwise the three hours will make people feel tired and the plot is bloated. Then there is really something lacking in the editing. There are obviously many plots that show a tight time limit, but there is plenty of time for camera work.
For example, in the last picture where Yaya reported the password, the reporting speed was a little faster. Then when a world disaster destroys iconic buildings, why not change the last 10 minutes to 30 seconds and count down to enter the password?
In the end, it is a reuse of routines. Not to mention that there are countless countdowns throughout the movie. Just repairing a computer and then being held down by a cable is really a continuation of the previous movie. There are also all kinds of flags. One moment you are not in love, the next moment you are attracted to someone else. Although you can still find some small problems (for example, the whole world is saluting the Chinese salute, the little girl's father is not good at shaping the girl, and the name is not remembered) On the other hand, I remember Ma Zhao as a very complicated person).
But the sense of technology, grand scenes, and sci-fi epic feel are basically up to standard.
was praised by the whole network, but it just lost at the box office? Should "Ball 2" be blamed on "Man Jiang Hong"?
Personally, I think it is normal for "Ball 2" to lose to "Man Jiang Hong" at the box office, excluding the so-called shady soldiers and other marketing issues. Because although this movie is epic, its flaws are also very obvious. At the time the movie was released, my personal opinions and the low-rating reviews I observed consisted of two parts.
Since some of the low-scoring comments are indeed a bit too funny, I decided to talk about the latter first~
The attack points of low-scoring negative comments currently include the following keywords: three hours, falling asleep, confusing plot, incomprehensible, and "More English than Chinese".The first two keywords are indeed quite funny in my opinion. The end time of the film will be displayed on the ticket purchase platform. If you know a little bit about it, you will check the details of the film to see if there are any actors or film lengths that you are interested in.
My analogy for this phenomenon is "it's funny that the chef can't eat it if he orders a big bowl". The second point "falling asleep" is actually similar to the previous point of attack. Duration and plot are both important influencing factors. But if you want to fall asleep because of the plot, I disagree.
The third and fourth points are really different opinions, but the last fifth point "more English than Chinese" really made me laugh, how unconfident I was. There is even a counter-argument that teaches directors to make movies, "The movie should be titled Prequel, not 2": The Wandering Earth is not the first movie to be a prequel to the story. Examples of movies include "Xiu Chun Knife 2". A sequel to a movie shouldn't just be a postquel.
But it turns out that in addition to embarrassment, these factors also exist to affect more Chinese audiences.
To sum up, judging from the major platforms, there may be more negative reviews in the future, but the more epic, complex, lengthy, and the more immersive it is, the more it will affect the acceptance of the Chinese public. To give a simple example, the Chinese box office rankings so far are "Changjin Lake", "Li Huanying", "Wolf Warrior 2", "Ball 1", "Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes into the World", etc.
In the end, you will find one thing. The above-mentioned movies are not too complicated, because they all provide the temperament that can make more Chinese people happy, get, and entertain. "Changjin Lake" is a war blockbuster about resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, and "Li Huanying" is a comedy and the emotional regrets of the parents of the previous generation. There is no need to mention "Wolf Warrior 2".
The biggest advantage of "The Wandering Earth 2" is its complexity and epic feel, but the shortcomings that affect the audience are also here. Of course, I believe that this movie will still rely on its own quality to eventually break some people's doubts about it. I believe that I will see the blue sky and flowers hanging on the branches again like in Chinese science fiction movies.
It has shortcomings, but they are not important. "The Wandering Earth 2" is the best of the year
There are many people who counterattacked this movie, saying that it is too main theme, too popular, etc. I don't think that is the case. Maybe the director chose to make a prequel. In order to further enrich the setting and background story of "The Wandering Earth", and inject more excellent things into this IP.
Just like when the movie was released, the "50-year-old" movie caused a lot of controversy and was said to be moral kidnapping. If it is true as they say that China values its predecessors and the West values the future, then the plot should be that Westerners sacrifice themselves for the survival of their children, while China respects the sacrifices of the elderly and young people... These two logics obviously do not make sense. Their logic is confusing. The reason is essentially that Chinese culture is more advanced than Western culture in the time dimension.
Because we have a long history, we think about what our ancestors did dozens, hundreds, and thousands of years ago, and we also think about what kind of future we will create in a few, dozens, and hundreds of years (right , I personally think that even from our perspective, we can only look at things a hundred years from now, because a thousand years is still too far away)
As for the West, if you tell them to look at things a hundred years from now, they will feel that a hundred years is too long. Because if you look back hundreds of years ago, there were no Western countries. Therefore, they can only see things within a few years or more than ten years from their perspective.
Similarly, if there are really civilizations with tens of thousands of years of history in the world, then in their eyes we will be just like the West in our eyes, with too short a horizon.
There is an anchoring effect in psychology. The psychology of Westerners is anchored in focusing only on the future but not on the past, because most of their countries have short histories and nothing to look back on. Therefore, when they encounter a civilization that both values the past and looks forward to the future, they will feel that this civilization pays too much attention to the past and ignores that this civilization has "future generations will grieve without taking note of it, and will also make future generations grieve again." The civilizational wisdom of human beings.
They think narrowly that we focus too much on the past, and looking to the future is a trendy idea for us. What is ridiculous is that the lifespan of this "Afang Palace Ode" is longer than the lifespan of their country.
Finally, the second part is a prequel, and some people criticized it for not being able to make the original work, and not being able to make dark metaphors or something like that. There is no need for everyone to rush to watch the rebels and ice sculptures. It is better to enjoy more excellent stories in the science fiction background of "The Wandering Earth". Besides, the third part has not even come out yet, and it is already being criticized. Not too anxious.
There are always many people who are happy to watch scenes that show the weaknesses of human nature and challenge universal values. It seems that when such a scene is put on the screen, it is a victory. It seems that it has won the review and won the politics. But why bother? Why bother? Are you anxious to put an end to the wandering earth?
Those who really like this work should actually look forward to this work going further.
5 years, 10 years or 30 years? The influence of "The Wandering Earth" has just begun.
Finally, many people actually don't understand why "The Wandering Earth" is an epoch-making work of Chinese science fiction. In addition to science fiction breakthroughs, the film and television industry, the establishment of cultural industry chains, etc. In terms of cultural core, "The Wandering Earth" is uniquely a Chinese romantic science fiction work that integrates China's unique local culture and ideas.
Today’s Chinese people are really because of history. They have stood up but have not stood up completely. They are arrogant and inferior. This is especially true when it comes to culture. The spread of vulgar popular culture is worried that foreigners will look down upon it because it is too vulgar. When we spread the Chinese theme culture, we are worried that it will be too blunt and will offend others. When we spread the movie culture like "The Wandering Earth 2", we are also worried that people will not understand it and that our thoughts and culture are not in line with others.
Friendship countries are really surprised. The desire to please and inferiority are integrated into the bones. Why do you care about those who have something or not. If the third part can be made better than the second one, and the box office can be higher, it doesn’t matter what foreigners do. Hollywood blockbusters and deforestation are exhausting. Do minorities, women and transgender people care about you, the Chinese?
Finally, the comprehensive breakthrough of "The Wandering Earth 2" is like an expectation and sustenance for the new field of Chinese science fiction movies, and a kind of inheritance. They may grow old, but their spirit lives on forever. I hope that the new Chinese science fiction will get better and better, and Chinese pop culture will get better and better.
