3/5 stars An interstellar hit at the Chinese box office (4 billion yuan [US$600 million] and counting), Frant Gwo’s science-fiction epic The Wandering Earth finally touches down in Hong Kong, days after Netflix announced it had acquired the film for worldwide streaming. ‘A new era for Chinese science fiction’: The Wandering Earth hits US Adapted from a novella by Hugo Award-winning author Liu Cixin’, the film sees superstar Wu Jing ( Wolf Warrior 2 ) lead a deep space mission to save the planet. The sun is expanding, and in 100 years will have engulfed the Earth. The United Earth Government launches The Wandering Earth project, shifting the Earth out of our solar system into a more hospitable location. This 2,500-year mission forces the entire population into subterranean cities, while thousands of giant engines propel the planet through outer space. Progress is monitored by Lieutenant Colonel Liu Peiqiang (Wu) aboard the International Space Station, who cancels his long overdue trip home after Jupiter’s gravity sends Earth off course. Meanwhile, on the surface, Liu’s estranged family is recruited into a daring mission to restart a series of failing reactors, and safely reroute the planet’s trajectory. Despite its lauded source material and eight credited writers, there’s a nagging sense of familiarity throughout; indeed, if one were to name-check every film that The Wandering Earth lifts from, you would have an exhaustive list of sci-fi’s greatest hits. On Earth, Qi (Qu Chuxiao) and Doudou (Zhao Jinmai) become embroiled in an Armageddon -style disaster movie, while Wu’s protagonist floats around in his own personal remake of Gravity ... or Interstellar ... or is it Silent Running ? He even clashes with a HAL-like computer with its own conflicting protocols. Connecting these narratives is a classic Chinese New Year story of a family hoping to reunite for the holidays. What does make the film unique is its use of Earth itself as the vessel for its narrative – it literally takes us all along for the ride. Gwo has an unerring desire to entertain his audience, which often overshadows the paper-thin characterisation, preposterous science, and visual effects that come closer to video-game cut scenes than typical Hollywood razzle-dazzle. The Wandering Earth is China’s most accomplished space epic yet, but that’s something of a Pyrrhic victory. The Chinese film industry has persistently shied away from the genre, despite the enduring popularity of Hollywood sci-fi fare. This film’s success, no doubt buoyed by national pride in the wake of January’s Chinese landing on the far side of the moon, may finally have opened the pod bay doors for more Chinese science-fiction films. That can only be a good thing. But, while it certainly takes one sizeable step in the right direction, The Wandering Earth remains a giant leap behind the genre’s best. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook