#THE GREAT WALL MOVIE STORYLINE HOW TO#
Each crowd shot in this film is remarkable, but not because director Zhang Yimou ("Hero," " House of Flying Daggers") and his assistant directors know how to direct extras. They launch themselves at their enemies using pulleys, bungee cords, hot-air balloons, boulder-spewing catapults, and many, many arrows. But eventually, William and Tovar's agendas drift apart after William becomes seduced by the formal control and selfless zeal that defines the Nameless Order.Īnd who wouldn't be impressed? The Nameless Order marches around in colorful suits of armor that come in hues of indigo, crimson and cerulean. William and Tovar are initially unmoved by the Nameless Order's considerable plight they want to make their fortunes by stealing gunpowder from their hosts, and selling it to European traders.
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The monster, they are told, is a "Tei Tao," one of a horde of creatures that attacks the now-famous Great Wall of China once every 60 years. Rating: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy action violence.Damon and Pascal play William and Tovar, respectively, wandering European mercenaries who are captured by the Chinese army of the Nameless Order shortly after they slay a mysterious green monster. ‘The Great Wall,’ 2 starsĬast: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Willem Dafoe.
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Its real accomplishment is that, with so much money behind it and a true visionary at the helm, it manages to feel so dated. It’s fun, but it’s not enough to save “The Great Wall” from the weight of its tired conventions. MORE AZCENTRAL ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest The Weaponized wall, too, is welcome spectacle, surprising with hidden chambers, concealed blades and oodles of deadly toys to unleash on hordes of Tao Tei. The Nameless Order is divided into color-coded warriors in jewel-toned armor – archers in blazing red and acrobatic women in sapphire blue, bungee jumping from the wall with spears in hand. Then he goes and says things like, “They need us here.” He happens to have a magnet on his person that proves nonsensically useful in fighting the monsters and he’s aces with a bow and arrow, but otherwise there’s nothing special, or especially memorable, about his character.īecause Zhang is directing, there are visual pleasures, despite the film’s overall heavily filtered, murky appearance. At one point William single-handedly saves everyone when monsters breach the wall, then gets a standing ovation when he enters the meal hall. “The Great Wall” doesn’t go all-in on the “white savior” convention, but there are elements of it at play. William and his scheming companion Tovar (Pedro Pascal) survive the scrap, killing the dinosaur-like creature and cutting off its claw for proof.ĭamon is a studio calculation, to be sure, an international star to anchor a blockbuster film to get it on as many screens as possible around the world, and the movie never convinces you otherwise. William (Matt Damon) and his merry band of mercenaries stumble across one of them on their trek through China in search of “black powder,” with which they hope to make their riches. Here, the wall has not been built to keep out human invaders, but monsters. Set in the Song dynasty, “The Great Wall” eschews history for half-baked legend. Once a director of intimate character dramas (“Raise the Red Lantern,” “The Road Home”), the Chinese filmmaker has since redefined himself, and distinguished himself Stateside, as a crafter of opulent, gravity-defying martial arts epics like “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers” and “Curse of the Golden Flower.” Though even greater in scope than those previous triumphs, “The Great Wall” possesses little of those films’ dizzying splendor, and every frame seems smudged with popcorn butter. There was hope, though, in the choice of director Zhang Yimou.
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Reportedly the most expensive film ever shot entirely in China and shot mostly in English with a white Hollywood star in the spotlight, it felt from a distance like a calculation, a movie churned out of a factory set to certain specifications to reach the highest global audience possible. “The Great Wall” seemed a dubious prospect from the start.