The Great Wall

Starring: Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Tian Jing, Andy Lau, Hanyu Zhang, Han Lu, Kenny Lin, Eddie Peng
Directed by: Yimou Zhang
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two warriors (Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal) find themselves caught in a battle on the Great Wall of China against a monstrous enemy.

Review:

Tim: The Great Wall was the most expensive movie ever made in China. And for all that money, they got an okay movie as a result. The film barely made a dent in North America, grossing $45 million. The film isn't terrible, but it's not very good, either. It's a visual spectacle that is short on real human emotion. It's a movie that focuses more on the style and less on the substance. It's okay, but that's a damning statement for a film like this.

The film offers an interesting fantasy premise- what was the Great Wall trying to keep out? Historians obviously know the answer, but this movie asks- What if they were trying to keep out deadly monsters? That's a ridiculous premise, but okay, I'll go there. Unfortunately, the movie itself never really inspires much in us. The monsters aren't especially scary. The battle scenes are fine, but not truly memorable. The movie looks impressive, but that's about it. We don't really love the characters. Fortunately, the movie isn't overly long, but there's just not enough here.

It does feel a little wrong to have a Chinese movie set in China and starring Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal. The film does a good job of explaining how this makes sense in the context of the story, but it just didn't feel right. It was problematic in 2003 in The Last Samurai, but it feels even worse in 2017. Still, most of the cast is Chinese, so that's at least a step in the right direction.

Speaking of Damon and Pascal, I suppose they do a decent job. They both appeared a little uncomfortable and out of their element here. I doubt either will point to this as one of their better performances. There's some fun banter between the two, but you never really got the feeling that they were actually close friends. I didn't love either of their characters. You got to know them a little bit, but they were both pretty bland. Willem Dafoe is always good for a small supporting role, but his character felt out of place. Tian Jing actually did a really good job in her role. She has some real star power and I hope to see more of her. And, as undeveloped as Damon, Pascal, and Dafoe were, the Chinese characters are even less so. Outside of Jing, they felt like background. Sure, there were a few characters that emerged as mildly important, but not nearly enough so.

The battle scenes were fine. It was kind of fun to see this monster horde attacking the Great Wall. Some of the scenes were exciting, albeit ridiculous. I'm not sure how realistic the spear fighters on the bungee cords were, but they came across as completely absurd in this film. It made for a cool visual, but I never believed the physics or the military advantage of those warriors. Maybe it makes more sense than it appeared to, but I doubt it. Still, one of the great strengths of this film is the sheer scope of the battles. This movie does feel big and epic (perhaps too much so, unfortunately- strengths can also become weaknesses).

This is a pretty harmless movie in the end. It offers average entertainment value, a bit of a mindless departure from the real world. It's not terrible, but it's a long way from good as well. The movie certainly attracts extra attention for being the biggest, most expensive Chinese movie ever made. Unfortunately, the final product is a far cry from the intended result. This is a movie that simply falls short of the bar.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero