Review of The Great Wall (2016) by Nicolette H — 23 Feb 2017

A very low 4. Thanks to the bro for taking me to see this. So like most people when the trailer came out I was not interested. Then when my bro and I went and saw Doctor Strange in IMAX 3D, The Great Wall trailer was played and we were blown away by the visuals.

Also my brother is a fan of the Director. So those were our reasons for watching it in IMAX 3D. I'm so glad we did. I can see why people hated it. Totally blame the marketing for this. I went in thinking Matt Damon was the main character and it was all up to him to save the day.

WRONG. Also saw this as a  experiment, being this huge Chinese/American collaboration, you can tell they tried to write a script that catered to both the East and West. Definitely problems with the script.

If they had probably taking out Matt Damon's story and focused more on the Chinese characters I think it would have been so much better. Also there were some problems with the CGI, the monsters in paticular, a let down.

So I'm not saying this is the best movie ever. But there are elements I LOVED. Women are shown as bad asses, like right there in the front lines and in charge. Women bungee jumping into a sea of monsters! HOW IS THAT NOT AWESOME?!! WHEN HAVE WE EVER SEEN THAT?! Beautiful direction and cinematography.

I was in awe of those stunning locations and shots. The colors and costumes were great eye candy. The Chinese cast were all amazing and perfection. I am so in love with Tian Jing now. The music! So epic and perfectly fitting.

I finally will stop listening to La La Land soundtrack all time and now listen to this! You know I LOVE my war movies and fantasy war is no exception. I thought the battle scenes were amazing and well done.

So cool. With stuff I have never seen before in a war movie. People always shout for Diversity in movies, here you have a Chinese director, an amazing talented Chinese cast and a woman that is a main character, maybe even more important than the white male actor and people still don't appreciate the art.

I won't recommend this to everyone, but if you're like me, have an open mind and want to get lost in some breathtaking cinematography accompanied by an epic score then this is for you. Or if you're just looking for an action packed movie with well done battle scenes then check this out.

Highly recommend seeing this in IMAX 3D. You know I hate 3D but I thought it actually worked and looked beautiful. They used the 3D in ways I enjoy & clever with it. I do want to see this again. I went in expecting a visually stunning, action packed war movie.

That is what I got.