In fact, the most eye-popping element of The Great Wall is the color-coordinated army protecting it: The Nameless Order, a secret society whose intricate, anime-style armor is divided into beautiful, stark designs arranged by color (red for archers, blue for pikewomen and so on). Most notably, it’s the latest film from Hong Kong auteur Zhang Yimou ( Hero), who pumps up the perfunctory script and cringeworthy dialogue with some stunning vistas and his signature command of color. Outside of the Damon factor, there’s surprisingly a lot to like about The Great Wall. In a vacuum, Damon puts in a fine, cursory performance, despite a wonky accent that comes and goes - is William supposed to be Irish? - and handles the action beats decently enough. As expected, his character is a literal White Savior who, as all these stories go, shows up to become a better Chinese warrior than they could ever be and enjoy a chaste romance with the comely Commander Lin ( Jing Tian). The casting of Damon in the lead of this Chinese-made action film has ruffled quite a few feathers in the months leading up to the film’s release, and for no small reason. William (Damon) and Tovar ( Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal), two European mercenaries searching for gunpowder in China, run afoul of the beasts, are captured by the secret Chinese army defending the Wall, and are reluctantly recruited into the fight just as their 60-year siege on China begins. The film takes place in an alternative spin of Song Dynasty China, in which the Great Wall was built not to ward off raids and invasions, but to defend China against a swarm of gloopy green dragons called the Tao Tei. The Great Wall is perhaps the greatest experiment in this venture: Instead of arbitrarily slapping Chinese elements into an American blockbuster to appease Chinese viewers, what if we threw Matt Damon in the middle of a Chinese high-fantasy epic? The results are decidedly mixed, though far from the disaster you might expect. Brothers and Huahua production logos, third acts, and subplots that inexplicably take place in Hong Kong, and so on, all in the name of international box office synergy. As a moviegoer, you’ve likely noticed it, too – the increasing prevalence of H. Warcraft, Terminator: Genisys, hell, even xXx: The Return of Xander Cage made its money back in China. In the last few years alone, they’ve accounted for a sizeable portion of summer movie ticket sales, and have singlehandedly saved the grosses of more than one expensive stateside flop.

The rise of China as a force to be reckoned with in today’s big-budget blockbuster film market cannot be underestimated.

The great wall movie rating