Movie Review - The Great Wall

Why Zhang Yimou choose to direct this ‘white saviour to the rescue’ film is anybody’s guess.
While the film is visually appealing with its vibrant colours and use of CGI, the monsters, on the other hand, look more cartoonish than scary.
The story begins with William (Matt Damon) and Pero (Pedro Pascal) along with their men trying to outrun some bandits. They manage to elude their pursuers (who are so easily fooled).
While hiding, they are attacked by a monstrous creature that conveniently takes out all except for William and Pero.
William manages to slice off its claw before the creature falls to its death in a ravine.
As he and Pero are riding off the next morning, the same bandits show up and the chase begins. The two end up riding straight into soldiers guarding the Great Wall and are taken captive.
Through Commander Lin Mae (JingTian) and Strategist Wang (Andy Lau) – the only two Chinese who speak English – William and Pero learn about these monsters called Tao Tie which relentlessly attack the wall every 60 years.
Though the two travelled to China for the ‘black powder’ that will make them wealthy back home, William has a change of heart and decides to help fight off the monsters with a very reluctant Pero.
However, Pero and long-time army captive Ballard (Willem Dafoe) plan to escape during the next monster attack with a stash of the black powder.
The attack scenes look very CGI and some action scenes such as female soldiers of the Crane troupe jumping off platforms with ropes tied to their backs to stab at the monsters with lances are more comical than dramatic.
Funny how white guys who have only encountered these monsters a couple of times are able to kill them with ease while an army of soldiers specially trained to do the job struggles in vain.

Watch the trailer here :