SPOILER FREE
Let me start by saying that going into this film, I originally avoided it's theatrical release and waited for DVD mainly due to largely unimpressive trailers and what feels like Hollywood white washing of a significant event in Chinese history mixed with fiction. As big of a Matt Damon fan that I come off as being, I honestly felt that he was miscast here due to his surprisingly wooden performance, and that he wouldn't be able to prevent the film from ultimately flopping at the box office. Unfortunately my feelings and suspicions about the movie tanking both critically and financially came true, as the film was one of 2017s first major box office bombs and easily got passed up by American audiences. Having now gotten the chance to sit down and view the film on DVD, I can confirm with ease that the movie deserved it's fate domestically.
The Great Wall is a mess of a movie, that is uninspired and lacks true excitement to make audiences care about its plot. The story of the film centers around European mercenaries searching for a black powder that leads them to become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures. To put it bluntly, The Great Wall is all over the place stylistically and lacks genuine heart to make audiences care. With the image of Matt Damon and William Dafoe battling ancient monsters, the overall final product is never as entertaining nor exciting as it could've been. The Great Wall feels less of an epic and more of a B- level creature film with the attempt to deliver a unique yet questionable storyline appearing to be a noble intent but ultimately poorly executed. The characters are poorly developed to the point where you dont become emotionally connected with anyone including Damon and Dafoe characters. The concept allows for large numbers of cheese to plague the script which doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing but given the story presented here, it's not in a good way. The action is over the top with its striking visuals, but even its impressive set pieces can't make amends for lackluster storytelling and poor character development. For a film that's titled The Great Wall, nothing about the movie truly rings as being great because the final product though ambitious falls completely flat on its face. For the narrative being centered around a Westerner, who shifts his own perspective from being a self-centered character to someone who demonstrates self-sacrificing tendencies by the film's climax, one can't help but feel underwhelmed by the potential that arc could've presented had it been handled with greater care. Outside of the film's battle scenes being well-choreographed, The Great Wall in the grand scale of things is a huge disappointment and ultimately terrible movie that audiences should avoid like a nasty plague.
Given the film is the most expensive film in Chinese history with the first major co production between an American film studio and a Chinese-owned studio with Matt Damon riding the project as the main star, audiences deserved so much better than what they got with The Great Wall. The film is so poorly done and uninspired that it never lives up to its name and will leave audiences bored and frustrated rather than excited and inspired. The film could've been a great blend of entertaining over the top action, that best represents Asian cinema along with good old fashioned American banter but what audiences got in the end was a mess of a film both story wise. What could've been an epic image of a row of soldiers mixed with rains of spears and surging forces along the likes of something out of the battle of Helms Deep in Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, ultimately feels like a wasted opportunity to give audiences something amazing on the big screen, but instead settles for horrific mediocrity. Its not that the film was white washed for American audiences, as it could've been a terrific film even with its story that gives flashbacks to The Last Samurai, its that the filmmakers look like they didn't try to give their all with a film that signifies an important piece of Chinese history mixed with fiction and two historical film fronts coming together in delivering what shouldve been grand scale filmmaking. The film couldn't decide on whether itnwated to be an epic action movie drama or a cheesy monster flick. For Hollywood taking a risk by telling this story, it shouldve been much more.
4 out of 10
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