China is the new force in cinema today. Producing American blockbuster, making Chinese blockbusters and soon will pass the US as the biggest market for movies. It is then no surprise that a real US-Chinese co-production of that size would see the light of day.
When a mercenary warrior (Matt Damon) is imprisoned within the Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of the world. As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront the unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.
Acclaimed director Zhang Yimou (“Huo zhe”, “Hero”), seemed to be the right director to make a movie on that scale. After directing several award winning films and directing the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, he directs this giant production. The film is an impressive endeavour. The actions and the monsters are beautifully shot and made. The battle scene are well choreographed and epic but that’s it. The problem of the film is the script, it seems there isn’t one. For a feature that had five people work on the story and script (Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Tony Gilroy, Max Brooks, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz) it is surprising how bad the dialogues and the story is. The film looks like the battle scene in “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” but without the depth or the backstory to strengthen to the totality of the production. It doesn’t help that the story doesn’t seem believable even if you accept the fantasy aspects of the film.
The acting is descent, Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal have a nice chemistry. Andy Lau and Tian Jing are the standouts in the Chinese cast. We still don’t have a clue of what Willem Dafoe is doing in the film (which is a pity).
