The Wandering Earth II
Directed by Frant GwoHumans built huge engines on the surface of the earth to find a new home. But the road to the universe is perilous. In order to save earth, young people once again have to step forward to start a race against time for life and death.
The Wandering Earth II Ratings & Reviews
- Chris CApril 5, 2025While numbered as if a sequel, this film actually serves as a prequel to the 2019 film, filling in backstory and events leading up to the main plot of the original. Like the first, the basic premise is ridiculous, but if you can set that aside, it's also a thoroughly enjoyable film. Less "disaster movie" than the first film, this one steers closer to traditional sci-fi in how it plays out and the excellent special effects make it visually stunning. The tendency to portray all non-Chinese political characters as morons is annoying, but that can be overlooked due to how enjoyable the rest of the film is.
- jackmeatDecember 20, 2025My quick rating - 7.4/10. I really enjoyed the first one (REVIEW), so I am looking forward to this sequel (which is a prequel). Another event length flick at 173 minutes, so plan accordingly. Only a half hour in, and I can say the visual effects are top-notch. This attack scene, to start off with, looked absolutely epic. I think I am going to rewatch the first after this one to really get a grasp of how they link, since this is an astonishingly monumental plan they are partaking in again, and would directly impact the first flick. I was right. If you haven't seen them, watch them out of order. The first one completely explains how the Earth engines come about and start this mission that is in progress at the start of the first movie. This is one of those times where the second flick surpasses the first one in almost every aspect. Aside from the initial premise, I cannot see how it doesn't. You are still going to be required to check your rational brain at the door to truly enjoy this one, since we are again going to throw some really insane ideas at you to digest. One of those things is actually something that is very rare in movies, and that is the fact that, instead of relying on a hero or group of heroes to save the world, we have to rely on humankind as a whole. Everyone rallies together to achieve a common goal of survival. I hate saying that it is unbelievable, but we all know it is the truth. Also going on are two separate teams of thought on how to handle the annihilation of the Earth. One is flying out of the solar system, and the other is the "Digital Life" initiative, which is a lot like the show "Upload" but on a global scale of designing the tech to digitize a person to live forever. Granted, without any form of world to reside in, virtual or not, you would be gone, but that is a whole other story and something that you will have to wrestle with during this flick. These two factions, of course, strike at one another, which causes the incredible opening revolt that is astounding. And that is just to get the movie going. Again, the absolute attention to detail is a sight to see in making all the out there ideas seem plausible. The sound sets the tone and gives everything the epic feel it would be if anything, such as imploding the moon to save the Earth, could be a choice. The casting is in tune with the atmosphere of the whole flick, and each delivers a good performance to bring out the emotions of the situation quite well. Highly recommend both of these movies be added to your watchlist, especially if you are into epic science fiction that really teeters on the unbelievable portion of the "science" in their "fiction". Bonus during the credits is a scene that directly mentions the dire conflict of the first one and potentially what/who is at fault.
- Dan FoxOctober 15, 2025It's really tough to articulate just how terrible this movie series is. Sure, there's flashy CGI, but it's covering for absolutely atrocious writing and terrible acting. At least the movie can say it was a teeny tiny bit less terrible than the first.
- RichardOctober 7, 2025Even bigger and more ambitious than the first, but this one’s a prequel, filling in how humanity got desperate enough to strap engines to the planet. It leans harder into sci-fi than disaster movie, with more tech, more politics and way more moving parts. Some of it drags and the pacing’s all over the place, but the scale is insane. The visuals are top tier, and the emotional beats, especially around sacrifice and legacy actually land. You’re not here for subtlety, you’re here for spectacle and it delivers. Just wish it had trimmed a bit and let some moments breathe. Still, if you liked the first, this one deepens the world and earns its place.
- jorge.slbSeptember 28, 2025A movie about love, honor and altruism. It made a grown man cry...
- northern791August 12, 2025I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this movie! It's amazing to think of the possibilities of the Futures engineering capabilities.
The Wandering Earth II Trivia
The Wandering Earth II was released on January 20, 2023.
The Wandering Earth II was directed by Frant Gwo.
The Wandering Earth II has a runtime of 2h 53m.
The Wandering Earth II was produced by Gong Geer, Li Jie, Liu Kailuo, Wu Xian.
Humans built huge engines on the surface of the earth to find a new home. But the road to the universe is perilous. In order to save earth, young people once again have to step forward to start a race against time for life and death.
The key characters in The Wandering Earth II are Liu Peiqiang (Wu Jing), Tu Hengyu (Andy Lau), Zhou Zhezhi (Li Xuejian).
The Wandering Earth II is rated Not Rated.
The Wandering Earth II is an Action, Adventure, Drama film.
The Wandering Earth II has an audience rating of 9.7 out of 10.
The Wandering Earth II had a budget of $73.8M.
The Wandering Earth II has made $665M at the box office.