Actually I don't think the scene where the elderly sacrifice themselves is cringy. It is actually quite meaningful. The problem is the odd decisions by certain protagonists, sabotaging the mission because they got too emotional. The biggest problem I have with Wandering Earth is the concept of moving the entire planet itself to escape the Sun. If this was a Star Wars fictional universe, then fine, do it. But this was supposed to be a universe in our near future, with an actual PRC in it. The Chinese writers wanted to do a hard sci-fi movie, but using Star Wars fictional science. This for me, is difficult to take seriously. It does not respect hard science and the laws of the universe. Hence this movie for me, becomes another CGI spectacle like Guardians of the Galaxy. There is so much potential in Chinese sci-fi films, but the current crop of writers and directors are just not there yet.
Moon Man was also similar. They wanted to do a hard sci-fi film, but they had to include a cartoon kangaroo character in it. I get it, that there should be some creative freedom with sci-fi, but the Chinese way of doing it is quite cringy. There is still too much hangover from the Steven Chow style of movies. Some might argue that Avatar had many cartoonish creatures in it too. But they were quite maturely designed, portrayed, and explained. That is the one big factor lacking in Chinese sci-fi movies: Maturity.
