China Takes to the Skies
a review of The Wandering Earth NO SPOILERS AHEAD Recently, Netflix released the Chinese blockbuster sci-fi epic The Wandering Earth (May 6, ’19). Having made over $700 million worldwide, the film made good bank on what has been called “China’s first full-scale interstellar spectacular”.1 As you would expect, it is a mixed bag, with moderate highs and usually unintentional lows. Science-wise the file is problematic, but epic in scale, heroic in scope. One of the main problems is when the Earth — which is Wandering (duh) — is approaching Jupiter. There is a sudden, unexpected burst of gravity from Jupiter, called...