The Great Wall is a Zhang Yimou movie about alien monsters attacking China and Chinese soldiers of the elite Nameless Order (corny name lah) holding them back at the Great Wall. It doesn't have his usual subtle and complex relationships.
Oh, and it also has a few random Ang Mohs in it, one of them acted by a fella called Matt Damon who plays a brigand/mercenary.
It is an enjoyable but somewhat generic alien battle movie, peppered with occasional propaganda. The visuals and costumes are awesome. My favorite is General Lin Mae (chiobu Jing Tian) and her Flying Crane corps.
You can tell they put a lot of effort into the CG and the costume and weapon details.
From the movie, I learned that China invented gun powder, hot air balloons and bungie jumping.
Matt Damon was ok in the movie. Frankly, his role would have worked with an Asian actor in his place, like Donnie Yen.
And Andy Lau's strategist role would have worked better with Tony Leung.
[Spoiler warning] The alien monster weakness is reminiscent of the villains from the Avengers movie and Independence Day. zzzzz
The movie also starred the world's most powerful magnet, that can disrupt alien sleep patterns.
Still, a fun silly movie to watch and kill time with. Especially when you're in Penang on a Do Nothing But Eat vacation, and Malaysian cinema tickets are cheaper.
