It’s the hunt for gunpowder-a 9th century Chinese discovery-that draws the stateless Anglo soldier-of-fortune, William (Matt Damon) into conflict with a Chinese army stationed atop the titular massive wall built to defend their capital against a mysterious enemy.
Visually, it’s nearly as stunning in scale and scope as the 66-year-old director’s design of the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies, presenting a crisp parade of striking costumes, beautiful production design, mist-shrouded desert landscapes, rousing battle sequences and lightning flashes of deep, resonant color inside its muted palette.įrom a script originally hatched by producer Thomas Tull (reportedly an old fashioned fantasy/monster movie fanboy), and subsequently labored over by a succession of high-paid Hollywood pros to feature the adventures of wandering Euro-mercenaries in Song Dynasty (11th-Century) China, Zhang has created a vehicle to spotlight China as the source of military might and moral right, from an overwhelming number of troops with unshakable loyalty to their emperor, to the magical black powder that “turns air into fire” and the fortitude to use that powder only for good. Arriving in the US this past weekend and earning some US $21.5 million as of Tuesday morning, the hybrid monster movie/war epic is a curious specimen, representing Zhang at both his best and worst. The first coproduction between China and the US directed by an A-list auteur from either country, Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall was long anticipated, and then anticlimactic once its Chinese run last December failed to attain the record-breaking earnings necessary to justify its megabudget cost. The Great Wall (2016), story by Max Brooks, Edward Zwick & Marshall Hershkovitz screenplay by Carlo Bernard & Doug Miro, Tony Gilroy directed by Zhang Yimouĭistributed by Universal Pictures (cinemas here) Periodically, CFI will review and point readers in the direction of noteworthy US releases of contemporary commercial and independent Chinese titles. Though they receive virtually no publicity outside the non-Chinese community, these films are more than worth seeking out by anyone serious about engaging the Chinese industry, understanding the Chinese sensibility and familiarizing themselves with China’s talent pool.
But in major US cities, mainstream Chinese films are increasingly available: thanks to Wanda’s purchase of AMC and distributors like China Lion, they get American theatrical releases practically simultaneous to their premieres at home. Every day while CFI’s Hollywood readers take in the business of the Chinese film industry, the actual movies can sometimes seem exotic or remote.