The Great Wall is a 2016 monster film directed by Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers), starring Matt Damon (Green Zone), Jing Tian (Kong: Skull Island), Pedro Pascal (Narco), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man), and Andy Lau (The Duel).  The film follows a European mercenary named William (Damon) in who encounters the Great Wall of China and meets Chinese soldiers who defend it against monsters called the Tao Teih.

Plot: The story is pretty cool and original concept, admittedly, but it does have its share of hiccups. The idea behind the Chinese soldiers fighting to protect China against the Tao Teih is really cool. There are some great action sequences that make for some awesome battles. However, the film does sacrifice its story for the action. The story lacks any interesting twists, interesting subplots, or backstories to help flesh out the characters or the setting. The fast paced action doesn’t leave much room for character development and also makes the film pretty predictable in certain parts. When things get going you know who’s going to live and who’s going to die, and how important some characters are over others. This is clearly wasted potential on the part of the writers. There also should’ve been a bit more backstory into the origins of the Tao Teih so as to make them a bit more interesting. (2 out of 5)

Characters: The characters are a bit of a mixed bag. The main protagonists are William Garin (Damon) and Pero Tovar (Pascal), mercenaries searching for the secret to gunpowder which brings them to the Great Wall of China. Garin is a badass but he’s basically Jason Bourne. Tovar is cool but literally given nothing to do. Of the Nameless Order, there are only three memorable characters and that’s General Shao (Hanyu), Strategist Wang (Lau), Commander Lin Mae (Tian), and Peng Yong (Han). Each have a good moment but are constantly overshadowed by Garin. If the film was based around them in this fight without Garin and Tovar, it would’ve been a better movie. Sir Ballard was an interesting character but totally mistreated. There are some good supporting characters; but overall the characters are okay. (2 out of 5)

Cast:  The cast is much more impressive than the characters.  The main cast includes Matt Damon (William Garin), Jing Tian (Lin Mae), Pedro Pascal (Pero Tovar), Willem Dafoe (Sir Ballard), Any Lau (Wang), Zhang Hanyu (Shao). The supporting cast includes Eddie Peng (Comander Wu), Lu Han (Peng Yong), Lin Gengxin, Chen Xuedong, Huang Xuan (Commander Deng), Wang Junkai (Emperor), and Ryan Zheng.  Matt Damon is pretty beast, although he was basically feudal version of Jason Bourne. And to be honest, Damon is horribly miscast. Not that he does a bad job but it falls into the category of a white man being a savior in a foreign country. It could’ve easily been an Asian actor. Jing Tian is actually relevant and does give a pretty good performance as a strong female lead.  Andy Lau is pretty good. Pedro Pascal and Willem Dafoe are good but are literally given nothing to do. It’s a pretty well-rounded cast. (3 out of 5)

Visuals: The visuals are the best aspects of the film.  When it comes to the wide shots of the landscape, the awesome set pieces, and the costume designs.  The Tao Tei creature designs look pretty cool, even unique with a bit of Chinese influence, specifically its maw.  There should’ve been a variety of Tao Teih creatures to help keep the creatures from being repetitive.  The action sequences are intense and have some great cinematography.  Every battle has an unique look to it which this grand feel. (5 out of 5)

Score:  Honestly, the soundtrack was not that bad.  Ramin Djawadi does a really good job of establishing atmosphere and keeping the scenes pretty intense. The creature sound effects were pretty cool.  (3 out of 5)

Writing: The director is named Zhang Yimou and his approach to the film is mixed. In terms of the presentation, pacing, and storytelling I personally think he did a pretty good job. He’s done some great films, Hero and House of Flying Daggers, and there is some of that mystical element to it. The whole set up and story surrounding this film is good, however, it feels pretty unbalanced. I really enjoyed how well thought out the Chinese forces were in their diversity and weapons. There’s a lot of action, one of the most memorable is the first battle between the Chinese forces and the Tao Teih. There’s plenty of great, suspenseful action sequences, I can’t take that away from the film. The dialogue is decent with some clever back-and-forth. There is a strong characterization on the main characters though many of the supporting were lacking. The Tao Teih felt generic. Yes, they were cool but they lacked diversity and actual intrigue. All-in-all, the writing feels subpar, lacking any real depth. There was an opportunity that was unfortunately missed. (2 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, The Great Wall is a great disappointment. If you want a mindless action film to kill some time, this is your movie. The visuals are good for the most part, sound design is good, the action is intense, and it’s a good premise. However, the story does feel lacking, the characters are wooden, writing doesn’t feel deep; it’s just one of those films that could’ve been great. The Great Wall gets 3 out of 5.