RESCUE THE EARTH (2022)

RESCUE THE EARTH (2022)

Tagline: None.

(Sci-Fi, Aliens, Surfing in The Atmosphere) [PG-13]

NOTE: This movie was released originally under the name ALIEN TROOPERS in 2021. The US streaming release came under the name RESCUE THE EARTH in 2022. Advertising also features other names for the film. This film was not given an MPA rating, but it very likely would have been a PG-13. 

In this one, aliens invade the earth and mankind is forced underground. As time passes, to survive they build massive cities beneath the earth. Trips to the surface are dangerous and rare. A military force is formed to protect the citizens. Black Falcon Squad, a highly trained group of soldiers, a “flymen”, and his friends are sent on a mission to the surface. The objective of the mission is to start a magnetic node station that is part of a larger weapons system designed to destroy the mother alien. Can they survive the surface and rescue the Earth?

Gotta hand it to some of these Chinese sci-fi flicks, the first thing that stands out in this film is the effects. Not all of it is mind-blowing, but the design work is impeccable. I think I like the designs of these aliens better than the ones in WARRIORS OF THE FUTURE. The story is slightly convoluted and the explanations for why they were using a magnet-based weapon are pretty interesting, but it doesn’t detract from the film enough to affect my score. 

Character-wise we get Lai Zhu who is a dude with a metal arm that is essentially Mo Fei’s boss. Mo Fei is the unlikely protagonist. He’s a “flymen” and in the first half of the film, he’s super annoying. “Flymen” are carriers that transport things around the “dungeons” (which is what the underground buildings are called) in flying vehicles. Shasha is a friend of Mo Fei’s. She seems to be there just for to have more than one female in the cast. She is literally given nothing to do but fret over Mo Fei and tell him that he owes her money. 

There is an INDEPENDENCE DAY vibe to this thing given the subject matter and Mo Fei’s speech near the end of the movie. They do a good job of using flashbacks and transitions in the score to bring emotion to the film. Not all of it works, but the parts that do are pretty solid. 

I am not super familiar with Chinese culture, but it seems like some of the entertainment takes vague shots at the country's government control. As an example there is a speech the Chief gives where he’s saying that they fight for China and the world. The “and the world” comes across to my uneducated ears like they are saying that this is what China “should be”. I don’t know that it is often that Chinese leadership would say they are fighting for the entire world. There is also a scene where a female soldier tells her counterpart that she won’t “get behind him” because basically she’s got a gun also. Apparently, in China, females make up about 4.5% of the military and are treated as equal to men, but I notice in Chinese sci-fi women are often presented as leaders in just about every movie they put out. I am not sure the same can be said in real life? Then again all of this could be conjecture on my part. 

I do think they could have done a better job with the pacing. The first half is pretty good, but the last 45 minutes or so, kind of drags because most of that is all in one room with them trying to figure out what to do. I don’t think the ending sucked, but it definitely has at least one cringe moment.

Overall I liked the characters better in this film than in some of the others I’ve seen. Just for the production effort alone, I give this thing a 5 out of 7, but we also got a pretty cool story to go with it. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF EMPIRE PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.