'3 Body Problem' review: Business unusual at the end of the world

'I will now prove that the TV apple doesn't fall far from the tree... body problem. See what I did there?' Photos: Handout

Funky headsets that transport the wearer into a "hyper-virtual" reality almost indistinguishable from reality. Sinister countdowns superimposed on unfortunate individuals' retinas. Grim repercussions for humanity echoing down through the decades from one person's fateful decision. Human bonds tested, broken and reforged. Swarms of cicadas... and a puking baby chimpanzee.

Welcome to the multilayered, mind-bending, heartstring-tugging science fiction drama 3 Body Problem (henceforth, 3BP), from the brilliant and even more multilayered (etc, etc) Remembrance Of Earth's Past saga by author Liu Cixin – comprising, in order, the novels The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest and Death's End.