The Great Wall (2016)

In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Carlo Bernard (screenplay), Doug Miro (screenplay)

Stars:

Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Willem Dafoe

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	William
Tian Jing	...	Commander Lin Mae
Willem Dafoe	...	Ballard
Andy Lau	...	Strategist Wang
Pedro Pascal	...	Tovar
Hanyu Zhang	...	General Shao
Han Lu	...	Peng Yong
Kenny Lin	...	Commander Chen
Eddie Peng	...	Commander Wu
Xuan Huang	...	Commander Deng
Ryan Zheng	...	Shen (as Zheng Kai)
Karry Wang	...	Emperor (as Junkai Wang)
Cheney Chen	...	Imperial Officer
Pilou Asbæk	...	Bouchard
Numan Acar	...	Najid

Storyline

When a mercenary warrior (Matt Damon) is imprisoned within the Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of the world. As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront the unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

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Plot Keywords:

great wall of china | female general | monster | mercenary | queen | 

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Taglines:

One of mankind's greatest wonders. 1700 years to build. 5500 miles long. What were they trying to keep out?

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Horner was contracted to write a score to this movie before his death.

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Goofs

The monsters attack every 60 years. Not only does this beg the question of what the Chinese do about the threat in the intervening downtime, but all species which swarm periodically do so for a prime number of years, and 60 has many divisors.

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Quotes

William: Is there a chance?
Strategist Wang: There's only one. Kill the Queen. Kill the Queen, or we all die.

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Crazy Credits

Part of the closing credits are a montage of Chinese watercolor paintings depicting scenes/characters from the film.

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Alternate Versions

This film will be released in the Mandarin language separately in English-speaking countries --- that is, at least Australia. Both English and Mandarin versions have been classified.

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Connections

References Interstellar (2014)

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Soundtracks

Bridge of Fate
Vocal by Leehom Wang, Weiwei Tan
Lyrics by Vincent Fang
Music by Leehom Wang

User Reviews

The Great Wall

Matt Damon, given his predicament and the backlash of being a white person cast in a move that was based in China, still gave a great performance. The plot was nothing special, but I throughly enjoyed the concept. The cinematography was beautifully shot and the colors throughout the movie make it very pleasing to the eyes. Without the camera work, this would not be a good movie. I think this movie is still worth a watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA China Hong Kong Australia Canada

Language:

English Mandarin Spanish

Release Date:

17 February 2017 (Canada)

Also Known As:

La grande muraille

Filming Locations:

Qingdao, China

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,469,620, 19 February 2017

Gross USA:

$45,540,830

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$334,933,831

Company Credits

Production Co:

Legendary East, Atlas Entertainment, China Film Group Corporation (CFGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Auro 11.1 Dolby Atmos (Dolby Atmos+Vision) Dolby Digital (Dolby Atmos) 12-Track Digital Sound (IMAX 12 track) IMAX 6-Track Sonics-DDP Dolby Surround 7.1 DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1