The Great Wall (film)
The Great Wall | ||
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Hanyu Pinyin | Cháng Chéng | |
Directed by | Zhang Yimou | |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | ||
Produced by | ||
Starring | ||
Cinematography | ||
Edited by | ||
Music by | Ramin Djawadi | |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes[3] | |
Countries | ||
Languages |
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Budget | $150 million[4] | |
Box office | $334.9 million[3] |
The Great Wall (
Plot
During the reign of
Shortly after, a horde of Tao Tie assails the Wall. During the battle, Garin and Tovar are freed by Ballard, another European who came east twenty-five years earlier; detained, he now serves as an English and Latin teacher. Garin and Tovar display amazing battle skills. Saving the life of young warrior Peng Yong, they slay two monsters, earning them the Order's respect. Both sides sustain heavy losses before the monsters' queen aborts the attack. The three Europeans secretly plan to steal gunpowder and flee during the next monster attack.
That night, two Tao Tie reach the top of the Wall. General Shao is killed, placing Commander Lin in charge of the Nameless Order. Around this time, an envoy from the capital arrives with an ancient scroll that suggests that the monsters are pacified by magnets. Wang believes the stone Garin carries enabled him to slay the Tao Tie he encountered. To test the hypothesis, Garin suggests they capture a Tao Tie alive and agrees to help. This delays the escape plans, angering Tovar, who nevertheless assists Garin despite Ballard's protests.
While a new fight with the Tao Tie starts, the Westerners capture a monster and prove the theory. However, the Imperial envoy claims the creature and takes it to the capital to present to the Emperor.
It is revealed that the previous attacks had been a distraction so that the Tao Tie could dig a tunnel at the base of the Wall. While Lin investigates, Tovar and Ballard steal black powder and escape, knocking Garin unconscious for trying to stop them. Garin is arrested by the Nameless Order for his apparent betrayal and is locked up in the Wall. Some distance away, Ballard betrays and abandons Tovar. Ballard is later captured by bandits, who accidentally ignite the powder, killing the Westerner and themselves. At the capital, the envoy presents the captive Tao Tie to the Emperor. The creature awakens and reveals its position to its queen, who signals the Tao Tie to attack.
The Order rushes to the capital. Lin orders the use of
After releasing the Tao Tie, Lin and Garin climb a tower so that Garin can detonate the explosives with an arrow. Wang sacrifices himself to buy time for Lin and Garin to reach the upper floors. Two of Garin's arrows are deflected by the Tao Tie queen's bodyguards, but Garin throws the magnet into the horde, creating a gap in the shields, allowing Lin's spear to get through. The queen is killed, and the rest of the horde dies. With the threat eliminated, Garin is allowed to return home and elects to take Tovar with him instead of a reward of black powder, much to Tovar's annoyance.
Cast
- Matt Damon as William Garin (威廉·加林; Wēilián Jiālín), a European mercenary.
- Jing Tian as Commander Lin Mae (林梅; Lín Méi), the leader of the Crane Troop
- Pedro Pascal as Pero Tovar (佩罗· 托瓦尔; Pèiluó Tuōwǎěr), a European mercenary.
- Willem Dafoe as Sir Ballard (巴拉德; Bālādé), a European adventurer-turned-teacher in China.
- Andy Lau as Strategist Wang (王军师; Wáng Jūnshī), the Strategist and War Counselor for the Nameless Order.
- Zhang Hanyu as General Shao (邵殿帅; Shào Diànshuài), the leader of the Bear Troop and General of the Nameless Order.
- Lu Hanas Peng Yong (彭勇; Péng Yǒng), a soldier in the Bear Troop.
- Eddie Peng as Commander Wu (吴将军; Wú Jiāngjūn), head of the Tiger Troop.
- Kenny Linas Commander Chen (陈将军; Chén Jiāngjūn), head of the Eagle Troop.
- Karry Wang as The Emperor
- Zheng Kai as Shen (沈; Shěn)
- Huang Xuan as Commander Deng (邓将军; Dèng Jiāngjūn), head of the Deer Troop.
- Cheney Chenas Commander of the Imperial Guard
- Numan Acar as Najid
Production
Filming
The company and I have been preparing for Great Wall for a long time. It is an action blockbuster. The reason I took the Great Wall project is that there have been requests in the last 10 or 20 years. Now the production is big enough and really appealing. And, very importantly, it has Chinese elements in it.
Zhang Yimou, director[8]
Principal photography began on March 30, 2015, on location in Qingdao.[9] The filming wrapped on July 23, 2015.[10] It is the most expensive film ever shot entirely in China.[11][12]
Three walls were built during production as they could not shoot on the actual Great Wall.[13] During the filmmaking, the director said the most impressive part for him was the presence of so many translators to handle communication, as he assembled an international crew for the filming. More than 100 on-set translators worked with the various cast and crew members.[14]
Music
The film's score is composed by Ramin Djawadi.[15] The first track called "Nameless Order" was released on December 14, 2016.[16]
Release
The Great Wall was released in China on December 16, 2016. It was released on February 17, 2017 in the United States by
Marketing
The Great Wall released its first trailer in July 2016. The trailer shows views of the Great Wall in fog, thousands of soldiers on a battlefield ready for war, and a mysterious monster, as well as the roster views of the cast, including Matt Damon and Andy Lau.[19][13]
A song from Wang Leehom and Tan Weiwei was released on November 15, 2016, to promote The Great Wall. "Bridge of Fate" was composed and produced by Wang Leehom, with lyrics written by Vincent Fang, a longtime collaborator of singer-songwriter Jay Chou. Female rocker Tan Weiwei joined Wang for a duet, but with two different vocal styles. Wang sang pop, while Tan performed a traditional Qinqiang – a folk Chinese opera style from Shaanxi Province.[20]
Chinese pop diva Jane Zhang released another new English song, Battle Field, and its promotional music video, for The Great Wall on November 22, 2016. The song was composed by King Logan and Maroon 5's keyboardist PJ Morton and written by Josiah "JoJo" Martin and Jane Zhang. It was produced by Timbaland.[21]
Universal Pictures and Legendary Entertainment debuted eight character posters of the film on November 17, 2016. All in all, Legendary spent $110–120 million on promotion and advertising worldwide.[22]
Legendary Pictures made a strategic decision to work with Chinese talent and investors and altered their production plan to better cater to Chinese audiences. The Great Wall, funded by Legendary, China Film Group, and Universal Pictures was an attempt at a joint production between Chinese and American talent.[23] The film was directed by a big-time Chinese director, Zhang Yimou, and starred Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe alongside Chinese film stars in an attempt to capture Chinese audiences. Although the film was considered to be a box office failure in China, the intent was clear and compelling.[24] Other film studios such as Pixar have been making these minor adjustments to appeal to international audiences for years.[25]
The film was released for digital download on May 9, 2017, and on DVD, Blu-ray on May 23, 2017.[26]
Reception
Box office
The Great Wall grossed $45.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $289.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $334.9 million, against a production budget of $150 million.[3]
In China, The Great Wall opened on December 16, 2016 and made $24.3 million on its first day and $67.4 million in its opening weekend. In the second weekend, it grossed $26.1 million.[27] The film went on to gross $170.9 million at the Chinese box office,[28] which is considered a disappointment.[29]
In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside
In March 2017,
Critical response
Deadline reported that The Great Wall received "poor reviews" from critics.[6] On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 234 reviews, and an average rating of 4.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "For a Yimou Zhang film featuring Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe battling ancient monsters, The Great Wall is neither as exciting nor as entertainingly bonkers as one might hope."[34] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[35] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[6]
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, writing for The A.V. Club, gave the film a B− on an A to F scale, saying: "There is no logical reason for the film to climax in a tower of stained glass that paints Lin Mae and William in psychedelic Suspiria lighting, but boy does it look gorgeous in 3-D."[36] Simon Abrams, a contributor for RogerEbert.com, gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, summarizing: "The Great Wall is unlike any American blockbuster you've seen, a conservative movie with action set pieces that are actually inventive and thrilling enough to be worthwhile. See it on as big a screen as you can."[37]
Clarence Tsui, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, gave the film a negative review, saying: "The Great Wall is easily the least interesting and involving blockbuster of the respective careers of both its director and star."[38]
In 2021 Matt Damon said his daughter had mocked him for the movie. She made a point of calling it "The Wall", and when Damon corrected her with "The Great Wall", she remarked that there was nothing great about it.[39][40]
Controversies
White protagonist in an East Asian setting
Because some of the characters, including a main character played by
Director Zhang said that Damon was not playing a role that was intended for a Chinese actor. He criticized detractors for not being "armed with the facts" and stated that "In many ways The Great Wall is the opposite of what is being suggested. For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tentpole scale for a world audience. I believe that is a trend that should be embraced by our industry."[47]
Chinese critical response
The film's largest investor, the
See also
References
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despite reports that the media blasted it for whitewashing, Asians repped the pic's second-biggest demo
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External links
- Official website
- The Great Wall at IMDb