The film, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Matt Damon, is an ambitious co-production between Legendary and Universal films. By bringing together one of China’s most acclaimed directors and one of America’s most talented actors, it hopes to bring a blockbuster film to theaters in both countries. While there was a lot of discussion concerning the racial issues around the casting, the performance of Damon under Yimou’s direction has produced a movie of astounding action and stellar cinematography. Whether it will be the anticipated box-office hit or not, only the box office will tell.
The movie begins with European mercenaries being pursued by nomads through the pastel-colored desert steppes in the North China mountains. Eluding their pursuers, the Irishman William (Damon) and Spaniard Tovar (Pedro Pascal), set up camp with a couple of fellow survivors of a 20-man expedition in search of black powder. As they discuss their dilemma and divvy up their remaining equipment, two of the group are devoured by an unseen creature. William and Tovar and spared that fate after William swiftly chops off the creature’s arm and it falls down a crevice in the hillside. Tovar wonders what kind of God created such a creature, while William decides to take the severed claw with them in case they find someone who can tell them what is. At daylight, pursued once again by the Nomads, William and Tovar arrive at the gate of the Great Wall. Deciding it’s better to take their chances with the Great Wall army rather than the nomads, the pair surrender.
They are brought before Commander General Shao (Zhang Hanyu) of the Nameless Order, a special military unit commissioned by the Imperial Court to man the Great Wall and protect the population from monsters called the Taotai, a Dire-Wolf-like creature that eats human beings to feed their Queen. Taotai is based on a geometric mask design motif seen on Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) and Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) bronze vessels. In the tradition of UFO seeker Erich von Däniken, some armchair archeologists fantasize that Taotai were inspired by alien contact. In the THE GREAT WALL, the Taotai is a hybrid combination of the mutt-wolf dogs from THE HUNGER GAMES and the monsters from ALIENS (1986). They were created when a meteor slammed into a mountain side and come around every 60 years to feed on the people of North China as punishment for the greed and abuse of power by a past Emperor. The Great Wall and its garrison are the only force that can prevent the Taotai from devouring all of humankind. Their Queen has a voracious appetite and needs to be feed in order continue to produce her spawn. The various troops of the Nameless Order have been training for decades in anticipation of the Tao Tie onslaught.
When asked by Strategist Wang (Andy Lau) how they come across the severed Taotai claw, they learn that perhaps something that William was carrying on him was what helped. William tries to explain how they were merely traders, but Commander Lin (Jing Tian) accuses them of being thieves. Instead of executing the mercenaries, William and Tovar are caged and brought to the rampart of the Great Wall just as the Taotai begin their attack. Yimou is known for being incredibly colorful ith his films, using various colors to set a theme, like in HERO (2002). It is this scene that Yimou’s use of color and pageantry are on full display. As the troops head to their battle location, Tovar tells William how the various colors worn by the troops designate their assignment. The troops in black (Bear Troop) are the foot soldiers responsible for combating any Taotai who lay siege to top of the Great Wall, the troops in red were the archers in red (Eagle Troop), but Tovar was not sure what the troops in blue do. This was the Crane Troop led by Commander Lin. They leap head first over the wall at the Taotai as they try to climb up and over the Great Wall. It is during this scene that William and Tovar first see the fearsome Taotai as they grub on Nameless Order troops. Fearing the same fate, they luckily spot soon a fellow foreign captive (Willem Dafoe) hiding in the wings who cuts them free. But instead of following their fellow captive to freedom, William and Tovar join the troops in fighting off the Taotai assault. While helping to fight back the Taotai onslaught, William saves the life of a Bear Troop soldier Peng Yong (Lu Hun) and is later commended for his bravery and fighting skills by General Shao. William offers his talents for the battle to protect humanity. It is during the first major attack by the Taotai that moviegoers learn of the various skill sets the various troops of the Nameless Order. While there are no hand-to-hand fight scenes, there are plenty of martial skills displayed with the use of martial expertise in the use of archery, swords and spears being on full display, with creatively coordinated fight scenes between the Taotai monsters and the humans they are intent the feast upon.
Later, meeting with William and Tovar, the mysterious Sir Ballard (Dafoe) describes how he had travelled decades earlier to this Kingdom in search of black powder. He has been held captive ever since and was teaching the Nameless Order commanders English and Latin (which explains why Commander Lin and Strategist Wang can speak English). After Ballard describes how he came to his fate, he tells William and Tovar about his plans to escape, but that he would need their help to escape with the black powder. This conspiracy would later put William’s and Tovar’s friendship to the test.
When the Nameless Order troops meet to discuss how William repelled a Taotai on his own, William suggests they capture one. Sir Ballard suggests this would also be a good opportunity to escape. When the Taotai attack, William instead decides to stay and help the Nameless Order capture one of the Taotai. It is during this scene that the use of black powder appears with all the CGI special effects one would expect from a contemporary Chinese blockbuster.
During the battles with the Taotai, a camaraderie develops with the young Bear Trooper Peng Yong, and Commander Lin, whose trust he eventually gains. It is that sense of trust that develops between the characters that lead to great acts of bravery and self-sacrifice. And while the Taotai are ferocious and persistant, the scenes where they eat people aren’t overtly gory. The film uses impressive CGI to create incredible scenery through use of the largest outdoor green-screen ever assembled. And the customs and sets help to draw the imagination into the era. The plot is a bit thin, but there is a lot of action and acrobatics during the battles. The dialogue is not compelling (except perhaps the comic repartee between William and Tovar), but that is understandable given the language barrier expected by a joint venture film between China and the US. The pressure for having the biggest budget for a film being shot entirely in China ($135 million), the predictable plot and mediocre dialog between the characters make the audience look forward to when the Taotai pop up again. Yet, Yimou’s flare for artistry is a saving grace for the film because it can be seen throughout the movie. From the siege of the Taotai on the Great Wall and the fictional capital city of Bianliang, to the aerial scene displays, the movie has all the hallmark touches of Yimou’s desire for detail when creating an elaborate period piece.
The Great Wall will be known as one of the most expensive cinematic cultural-exchange projects between Hollywood and China so far, the watermark by which other productions are measured going forward. While it may not turn out to be the international box-office hit hoped for, it still is a noble attempt by two filmmaking cultures to develop a motion picture that can appeal to both a Chinese and American moviegoers that love action films. Even if this fantasy film fails at the box office, it won't be that much of detriment to the future of such projects because the money is there, waiting for some filmmakers to succeed and win the big cash out. In the promotional interviews by Yimou and Damon, they were both truly enthusiastic about making the movie and hoped that their work can endear the Fant-ASIA and Sci-Fi genre to moviegoers in both the U.S. and China. In its own way, this film does just that.
