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

…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.

The Great Wall is unable to offer a coherent system within which the monsters should exist.

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.

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 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.

If you are in the mood for Chinese feud try Kung Fu Yoga instead.At least Jackie Chan doesn’t take himself seriously.

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.

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.

Overall, the film is an affectless, effect laden extravaganza.

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.