Film Review - The Wandering Earth 2 4K UHD

The definition of surprise is “an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, etc.”. So, to say that The Wandering Earth 2 was a surprise might be an understatement. China’s entry for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards has recently been released on 4K via a collector’s edition steel book. The Wandering Earth 2 is a true sci-fi blockbuster film that is simply epic in scope and scale. The film takes place in the future where the sun is expanding and threatens to destroy Earth, due to this humanity decides to work on the wandering Earth project with the aim of saving humanity from extinction. I feel I should address the film’s biggest issue which I feel that story-wise, it bites off more than it can chew. Not to say everything covered wasn’t enjoyable, but it covers so much it can feel a bit much at times. But in all honesty that simply is my only issue with this film. I truly loved everything else about The Wandering Earth 2. The acting is simply incredible. Wu Jing and Andy Lau are two of the very best actors working today and seeing them both on screen is a joy to watch. The action is nothing short of a spectacle. Blending chaos with clarity, every massive set piece feels grand and mesmerising.

To be honest the whole of The Wandering Earth 2 could be described as mesmerising, I’ve never seen a film like this before in my entire life. It’s a truly special film that is a must-watch for everyone, so I’m glad that this incredible title has had a great release on physical media.

The 4K steel book has truly stunning artwork on it, featuring and showcasing an Earth Engine as its key Imagine. While not complex, it uses the imagery of the film to create a simple yet stunning package. This sentiment of stunning continues to the 4K disc itself. The film is gorgeous to look at. Watching this on my PS5 on a Sky Glass TV produced incredible picture quality. There are moments of inky blacks and bright beams of light, but no detail is lost. The film also sounded great. While the disc only contains a 5.1 DTS-HD mix the dialogue is clear and nothing felt as though it was too loud. I do wish there was more impact in certain scenes especially when explosions happen but It never took me out of the experience. I while say if there was 1 negative, I had with this release it would be the bonus features. Contains 4 making-of featurette’s that are roughly 3-5 minutes in length and 3 trailers. I do wish there was more behind-the-scenes footage as what little we do see is truly magical and feels like we are truly seeing behind the curtain.

I love The Wandering Earth 2. While it is not perfect this release by Cine Asia is a must-own for film fans.