By Emilio Frenk.
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Tian Jin, Andy Lau, Hanyu Zhang, Lu Han Eddie Peng, Kenny Lin and Willem Dafoe.
Rating: Average.
Zhang Yimou, director of movies like “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers” brings “The Great Wall”, without a doubt his most ambitious project to this day, but unfortunately the results didn´t paid off.
The movie tells the story of two mercenaries William (Matt Damon) and Tovar (Pedro Pascal) who are in the search for black powder and travel to China.
In their way they are both taken prisoners by Chinese Soldiers and are being sent to the Great Wall. In an attack both men try to fight against a group of alien monsters called the Tao Tei.
The Chinese army is impressed of their fighting skills and ask both of them to help them attack the monsters in order to protect the Wall.
Both men accept and will help the Chinese army against the monsters and save The Great Wall before it´s too late.
One of the things that I liked of “The Great Wall” was the visuals of the film. Zhang Yimou is known for making visual and compelling films and here was not the exception.
The major problem that I saw in “The Great Wall” was in terms of story that was very weak and honestly the characters were to vague that personally I never felt identified with them.
The screenplay written by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro and Tony Gilroy, who is well know for the first three “Bourne” films and “Michael Clayton” was more focused on the attacks that happened around the wall and honestly I didn´t see to much of story and it was more focused on the visuals.
The dialogue by moments was to on the nose and again the movie became to predictable. It was very obvious what was going to happen and in terms of narrative was to weak.
Visual wise it´s a great experience to watch. The fighting scenes are well choreographed and the monsters were scary and very well designed.
I do have an enormous respect towards Zhang Yimou, since I loved “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers” that not only both movies represent such a great visual experience but both of them you identify with the characters who have inner conflicts and both movies had heart.
As a movie that is visually striking “The Great Wall” works but in terms of narrative is weak and vague and that is the main reason I cannot recommend this film and put it as one of huge disappointment this year.