Liu Ye plays a young scientist whose rising star must confront the dark forces of politics, ego, and cultural insensitivity.

[2] Liu Xing is a humble but brilliant Chinese student who arrives at Valley State University and makes a bumpy transition into American life with the help of Joanna Silver.

Xing joins a select cosmology group under the direction of his hero, the famous cosmologist Professor Jacob Reiser.

Xing's enormous talent leads him quickly to become Reiser's protégé, and it seems that only hard work stands between him and a bright future in science.

Xing is obsessed with the study of dark matter, an unseen substance that he believes shapes the universe, and a theory that conflicts with the Reiser model.

At a graduation party for the Chinese students it is announced that Laurence Feng has won the university's Gell-Mann honorary doctorate prize for that year.

The site's critical consensus reads: "The creaky plotting, inscrutable characters, and unconvincing ending make it difficult for audiences to connect with Dark Matter".