Restart The Earth (2021)

Restart The Earth (2021) is a science fiction film from China.

To combat the global desertification caused by global warming, humans have developed a serum that promotes the reproduction of plant cells. Unfortunately, the serum is getting out of control, and the plants, which are now outnumbered, have developed intelligence and are attacking the human race.

This film isn’t exceptional… but it’s a good laugh! Of course, I appreciate the ecological message: plants also have a conscience and may one day take their revenge! It may even have already started. They say that when you cut yourself with paper, it’s probably the only way plants can seem to strike back.

Partly inspired by War of the Worlds, and even copied in certain scenes, there is also a certain originality that will escape all those who are only focused on what has already been seen.

In this film, the military shoots these plants that have become aggressive! This gives a concrete image of what we’re about to discover. It’ll teach humans to play with plants! Using an assault rifle instead of a chainsaw to cut down a tree doesn’t seem very sensible, but if the tree fights back, it’s not easy to get close to it.

These plants look like giant snakes and carnivorous plants. The CGI makes us smile! I don’t think the actors are completely lost on their green screen. Let’s not forget that Asians have a different culture. It’s normal for them to have reactions that seem excessive, exaggerated, or overdone, as is the case with the Japanese.

China also has the right to produce dreck and make bad, funny films. The special effects are uneven. Sometimes very well done, sometimes embarrassing. There’s a lot of exaggeration and it feels more like a surreal cartoon than a real film. That said, as someone who gets dizzy, there was one scene in particular that gave me an unpleasant feeling. I was totally immersed with the characters in the danger and the situation. And yet I was watching it on the small screen!

This Chinese science fiction film that starts from a good feeling, directed by Lín Zhēn-Zhāo, quite moved me. It’s not great cinema, but it is great entertainment, which doesn’t seem to benefit from a big budget, with some very fine values. Of course, there are those who will call these values propaganda! And to think that all the propaganda boxes are ticked: sacrifice, cohesion, fraternity, self-sacrifice, courage, determination…
It’s up to each of us to see this from our own point of view and level of awareness.

The sets are excellent. The music is very good. Some of it is really beautiful.

I’m going to end with a big conclusion:

My opinion will try to be fair and objective. I’ve just discovered this film and I’m in awe of it. And when I see so many comments that don’t respect the work, I have to react to this injustice.

Let me explain: I’m a connoisseur of adrenalin-fuelled disaster films. This film is quite simply a technical feat of great visual artistry. Yes, you’re not dreaming: I did write that!

Yes, I’m impressed by this film, exceptional in its message, which brings joy, sadness and hope. There’s some predictability, some political correctness, but also proof that promises can’t be kept (like parents telling their children they’re not going to die).

I don’t understand how some people dare blame and completely dismiss a work like this, which admittedly has its moments of boredom and imperfections. The Chinese production is apparently of the highest quality! I never thought I’d enjoy it so much. It’s true that the French productions are totally catastrophic by comparison!
No, really: the actors (especially the kid), as well as the plot and the idea, are simply good!

Frankly, it’s hard for me to understand this modern world that no longer knows how to appreciate what’s worthwhile and that worships rubbish like most of the stupid things that come out. Chinese cinema is perhaps far superior, but I can’t be sure, because I don’t know it yet. But I think it has a great future ahead of it!