The Great Wall

The film is an excuse to showcase the expertise of ancient China when it comes to warfare, to the "barbarian" West.

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.

...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.

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.

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.

...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.