![]() (Envision a pitbull as reimagined by H.R. (For one thing it’s too short to be, clocking in at a merciful 104 minutes in an era when CGI epics frequently approach twice that.) But it’s certainly not a good one.ĭamon plays William, a rogue who makes the perilous journey to China in search of “black powder,” a fabled substance that can “turn air into fire.” The others in his mercenary band are all killed en route, save for Tovar (Pascal), who with William discovers an unimaginably vast wall garrisoned by selfless warriors called the “Nameless Order.” Their mission, he learns, is to protect China against the Tao Tei, hideous quadrupeds with eyeballs in their shoulder blades. Let the Record Show Is an Essential Story of the AIDS Movement Dagmawi WoubshetĪlas, rather than multiply these talents productively, The Great Wall reduces them to their lowest common denominator. And as a general rule, Damon is as reliably excellent a lead actor as you’ll find anywhere in Hollywood. The cast includes talented American actors in Willem Dafoe and Pedro Pascal (who was magnificent as Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones) and Chinese stars both relatively new (Jing Tian) and firmly established (the great Andy Lau). Zhang has directed sophisticated dramas ( Ju Dou, Raise High the Red Lantern) and thrilling action pictures ( Hero, House of Flying Daggers). The Great Wall, a Chinese-American co-production starring Matt Damon as a European mercenary fighting (literal) monsters during the Song dynasty, could have been a marvel. ![]() ![]() ![]() But, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you go to the cineplex with the army you have. It’s probably safe to presume that, had he known the political climate into which he would be dropping his debut English-language film, the legendary Chinese director Zhang Yimou would have chosen a subject other than the heroism of warriors defending an immense national wall against an invasion of horrifying aliens. ![]()
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