The Great Wall

The Great Wall

Poster for The Great Wall

From the director of 2002's Hero comes this fantasy-action blockbuster, an alternate history twist on why China built The Great Wall - and what elite forces were trying to keep out. Stars Oscar-winner Matt Damon, Jing Tian (Special ID), Pedro Pascal (TV's Games of Thrones), Willem Dafoe (The Grand Budapest Hotel), and Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers).

35 ^%Rotten
tomatoes®
8 reviews
Directed by Yimou Zhang

2016Rating: M, Violence103 minsChina, USA

ActionFantasyBlockbuster

Director:: Yimou Zhang ('Hero', 'House of Flying Daggers', 'Curse of the Golden Flower')
Writer:: Max BrooksMarshall HerskovitzCarlo BernardDoug MiroTony Gilroy
Cast:: Matt DamonJing TianPedro PascalWillem DafoeAndy LauHanyu ZhangEddie PengKenny Lin

Streaming (2 Providers)

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The Great Wall | Reviews

35%240 reviews

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Flicks, Daniel Rutledge

If you want to see Matt Damon fighting an army of mythical reptilian beasts in feudal-era China, The Great Wall shouldn't disappoint. It's a remarkably straight-ahead genre piece with no delusions of grandeur, and at no risk of punching above its dramatic weight by keeping its goals nice and low. I probably won't reach for this Blu-ray in a few years from now over director Yimou Zhang's previous Hero or House of Flying Daggers; but I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had with it on the big screen.

Variety

Zhang Yimou capably gives ... "The Great Wall" the look and feel of a Hollywood blockbuster, but his signature visual dazzle, his gift for depicting delicate relationships and throbbing passions are trampled by dead-serious epic aspirations.

Time Out

Damon is good value, his avuncular charm adding intimacy to what could have been an empty spectacle.

The New York Times

The whole thing plays out as if it had been thought up by someone who, while watching "Game of Thrones" and smoking a bowl, started riffing on walls, China and production money.

The Guardian

Simultaneously futuristic and historic, the visual spectacle carries the film, while Zhang manages to include plenty of promised "Chinese elements", including a beautiful shot of traditional sky lanterns at one character's funeral.

Stuff

The Great Wall plays like The Last Samurai crossed with Jurassic Park, The Two Towers, Reign of Fire and one of those episodes of Thrones...

New Zealand Herald

If you were entertained by the trailers then it's a safe bet you'll enjoy this as a Sunday afternoon movie. Just don't expect too much.

Hollywood Reporter

The Great Wall is easily the least interesting and involving blockbuster of the respective careers of both its director and star.

Empire Magazine

There are plenty of fun CGI monster-skewering scenes, but a clunky plot, rigid script and equally stiff acting make this a crumbling disappointment, if not quite a disaster.

The Great Wall | Trailers

Trailer 2

Trailer 2

Trailer 1

Trailer 1

Featurette ('A Look Inside')

Featurette ('A Look Inside')

The Great Wall | Release Details

The Great Wall is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV.