Note: For Mandarin-speaking viewers or those with a Chinese cultural background, this review does NOT pertain to you. From what I've seen, this movie will probably rank between 8 and 10 for you. You should see it.
Below is my review for other audiences ... maybe I missed things because of subtitling / translation issues, be forewarned ... it's rough.
I saw this movie in IMAX 3D; I was surprised to see it playing in that format given that it's a Chinese movie with subtitles. But as a sci-fi fan, I had to check it out!
The effects and overall story were pretty good. But what ends up on the screen is a bit of a mess. There's almost no character development and the characters didn't seem that likable. The storyline was poorly delivered as well. Most of the time, I was able to figure out what was happening only after it had happened. Maybe this was bad subtitling ... but even if it is, this is what to expect if you don't speak Mandarin.
The crazy thing is that the overall explanation of what's going on (the premise) is presented at the end ... which also made no sense. It would have made the film a lot more believable and interesting if they put it at the beginning. It's just another crazy thing about this movie.
And when I say "believable", I'm ignoring the gaping error in the story that the sun is inexplicably about to turn into a red giant. This won't happen for another 5 billion years.
I've seen asian-made sci-fi movies that are great. Despite the "big-budget" feel, this isn't one of them. But - I didn't dislike it either -- it's just "good", so maybe worth a watch if you're a sci-fi fan.
Other than that, it's nice to see that the Chinese film industry is ramping up on big-budget sci-fi. The special effects were really good. I hope it's a trend that will continue.
Below is my review for other audiences ... maybe I missed things because of subtitling / translation issues, be forewarned ... it's rough.
I saw this movie in IMAX 3D; I was surprised to see it playing in that format given that it's a Chinese movie with subtitles. But as a sci-fi fan, I had to check it out!
The effects and overall story were pretty good. But what ends up on the screen is a bit of a mess. There's almost no character development and the characters didn't seem that likable. The storyline was poorly delivered as well. Most of the time, I was able to figure out what was happening only after it had happened. Maybe this was bad subtitling ... but even if it is, this is what to expect if you don't speak Mandarin.
The crazy thing is that the overall explanation of what's going on (the premise) is presented at the end ... which also made no sense. It would have made the film a lot more believable and interesting if they put it at the beginning. It's just another crazy thing about this movie.
And when I say "believable", I'm ignoring the gaping error in the story that the sun is inexplicably about to turn into a red giant. This won't happen for another 5 billion years.
I've seen asian-made sci-fi movies that are great. Despite the "big-budget" feel, this isn't one of them. But - I didn't dislike it either -- it's just "good", so maybe worth a watch if you're a sci-fi fan.
Other than that, it's nice to see that the Chinese film industry is ramping up on big-budget sci-fi. The special effects were really good. I hope it's a trend that will continue.