Top Cast
The Great Wall is a 2016 epic historical fiction action-adventure monster film directed by Zhang Yimou and written by Tony Gilroy, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Max Brooks, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for The Great Wall skews negative to mixed, with most reviewers finding it a visually impressive but hollow spectacle. The film's large-scale action sequences and 3D visuals drew the most consistent praise, with several critics acknowledging its entertainment value as a one-time watch. However, reviewers widely faulted its thin writing, underdeveloped characters, and the central casting of a white protagonist saving the day for China, with some critics going further to label it a propaganda piece that reduces Chinese characters to robotic archetypes.
11 reviews · 3 positive · 3 mixed · 2 negative
AI-generated summary of 11 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (11)
"...it's a fairly run-of-the-mill fantasy epic with 3 spectacular action scenes that more than make up for one very muted Matt Damon."Read full review ↗
"The Great Wall doesn't have a single dull moment, thanks to the visuals in 3D. But if you seek something deeper, beyond the spectacle of fantasy war movie tropes, this one's quite forgettable."Read full review ↗
"As a monster flick of epic proportions, it is dwarfed by its own ambition, never quite reaching full potential, but is entertaining nevertheless. A one-time watch."Read full review ↗
"...the writing doesn't allow for much attachment. And having a white man save the day for the Chinese is certainly not pluralism the way we'd like to see it."Read full review ↗
"The Great Wall is unable to offer a coherent system within which the monsters should exist."Read full review ↗
"If you are in the mood for Chinese feud try Kung Fu Yoga instead.At least Jackie Chan doesn't take himself seriously."Read full review ↗
"The film is an excuse to showcase the expertise of ancient China when it comes to warfare, to the "barbarian" West."Read full review ↗
"Then there's Damon, as a medieval Jon Snow. You can only surmise that there must have been a fat pay cheque for the Oscar-nominated actor to be a part of something so undercooked and soulless."Read full review ↗
"The truly frustrating aspect of the film is how it feels like a propaganda piece. The white men in the film have some layers to their personalities, but none of the Chinese characters in the film are real humans – they are robotically fatalist and patriotic and would in fact do anything for their country including giving up their lives."Read full review ↗
"If you enjoy cinema with crazy action and mind-blowing stunts, you should not miss this one. The Great Wall gives you some of the best battle sequences and the well-performed war strategies are worth a watch."Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Matt Damon · William Garin
- Jing Tian · Commander Lin Mae of the Crane Troop
- Willem Dafoe · Sir Ballard
- Andy Lau · Wang
- Pedro Pascal · Pero Tovar
- Zhang Hanyu · Shao
- Lin Gengxin · Commander Chen of the Eagle Troop
- Huang Xuan · Commander of the Deer Troop
- Chen Xuedong · Commander of the Imperial Guard
- Zhang Yimou
- Thomas Tull
- Charles Roven
- Jon Jashni
- Doug Miro
- Tony Gilroy
- Max Brooks
- Edward Zwick
- Marshall Herskovitz
- Ramin Djawadi
- Stuart Dryburgh
Director
Screenplay
Music
Cinematography
Editing
Details
- Release Date
- 3 February 2017
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Language
- English
User Ratings & Reviews
3 ratings from the community















