"The Great Wall" is an American-Chinese epic fiction that is also an action-adventure. At a time when every nation wants to be friends with China for economic reasons, stakes are riding high on this Matt Damon unprecedented fusion film.
Very ambitious Matt
One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, 46-year-old Damon stars in the $150 million Legendary Entertainment production. He plays, William Garin, a warrior captured by the military garrison at one of the outposts along the Great Wall. Not only is the production stupefyingly big but a lot of red tape had to be overcome culturally and politically just to be able to film on the most powerful defensive structure ever built.
Such was the hype built up on "The Great Wall" that Legendary Comics is releasing a prequel graphic novel. It would be based on a secret society of heroes defending the world within the Great Wall.
Not all the hype
"The Great Wall" premiere in China was received with a few lukewarm reviews. Not really a breakthrough for anyone in the film is one of the first disappointing feedback. Director Zhang Yimou put all the best of both worlds together and in this case too much of a good thing really is a bad thing.
The more important task of the film - which is to be able to penetrate the barrier of appreciation from a cultural perspective - didn't materialize. This is what the critics were actually looking for. The monstrous creation somehow turned out like a movie collector's dream provided that the collector only likes these types of film.
Despite the criticisms, the movie's revenue did not disappoint. It rang in $7 million in its first five hours. "The Great Wall" will be shown in the U.S. on Feb. 17, 2017.
