Restart the Earth Review | Road Rash Reviews

3 star ambitious Chinese B movie.

Restart the Earth is a 2023 Chinese sci-fi action thriller directed by Zhenzhao Lin (Snakes).

It is presented here in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles and is available to own on DVD, Bluray and Download-to-Own from 22nd May 2023, courtesy of Dazzler Media.

“No one imagined that one day the plants around us would come to life suddenly and propagate at high speed, beginning to attack animals and swallowing up cities one by one.”

In a future China, scientists have been working on a way to increase plant growth the tackle the problem of desertification. Unfortunately, their experiments have produced sentient (and emotional) plants with hyper growth capabilitites, which quickly spread across the globe. Crossed with the Venus Fly Trap, these plants feed on any organic matter they can find, animals and humans included.

The Earth is all but deserted following an evacuation, but a few people still remain. Two years on, widower Yang (Mickey He – Cold Steel, White Wedding) and his daughter Yuanyuan (Mingcan Zhang – The Tai Chi Master) are managing to survive using UV lights and torches which succesfully repel the plants, as does sunlight. This has been working until one night their power cuts out and Yuanyuan is pulled from their house.

Yang follows and the two quickly become overrun. Luckily for them, they are in the vicinity of Operational Unit C8683 who come to rescue. Lead by Fang Yong (Li Ning – In the Blue) and Li Mo (Mi Luo – Ex-File 4), they are part of a global initiative by the High Command of the Joint Forces. Their mission, to inject a substance known as Agentia into the mass of plants beneath the surface of the Earth and return them to normal. They believe a second Global Green Tide Storm is rapidly approaching that will wipe out mankind. Yang goes along to lend his assistance. Can they save the world?

“Hold on. You just said that your predictions are based on biological signals. That’s what you mean? I read my wife’s research report. Biological signals are unstable elements and cannot be regarded as predictors.”

Restart the Earth is a very entertaining watch, action packed and full of lofty ambitions, although some of the scenes were milked a bit and it probably could have been shorter. The special effects are also fine, a bit 1990s in style but the sentient plants are actually quite scary.

Don’t come into this film expecting anything original, it is basically just a mash-up of lots of different films, games and T.V. series, coupled with the typical Chinese predeliction for self sacrifice and melodrama. It’s hard to miss the irony of a Chinese film which depicts them saving the world, having been solely responsible for the catastrophe in the first place (pandemic anybody?)