The Great Wall (Yimou Zhang)

[TGM]

THE GREAT WALL

Director: Yimou Zhang

imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2034800/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

[Dukefrukem]

That bad huh?

[TGM]

That bad huh?
I thought it was fun. *shrug*

[Spinal]

It's really hard to get too worked up over this film's CGI menace. The creatures aren't really tied very strongly to any sort of morality or politics or representation of human emotion, so, I mean, who cares? It's like watching someone exterminate roaches. There is some pleasure involved, but there's a limit to how emotionally invested I'm going to get. There is that brief scene where they mention that the creatures are reminders of greed run amok. But, I don't know, is that theme successfully explored anywhere else? I don't know that it is. Maybe with Willem Dafoe's character? Eh, not enough.

Because it's a Zhang Yimou film, it's never exactly boring. I'm a sucker for brightly colored armies and big giant drums. But the strength of script is just not there. The heroes are charismatic, but I was not drawn into their cause.

The real find here is Jing Tian, who lights up every scene she's in. She might have tipped me over into buying a ticket for Skull Island.

[Stay Puft]

zhang yimou you need some self-respect man. why would you make a movie like this?

should I see this in imax? I have a gift card so I'm thinking about it. I'm not a big fan of zhang yimou on the best of the days tho so I dunno.
he's a good filmmaker I respect his shit tho don't get me wrong.

raise the red lantern is a masterpiece. but I fuck with that and nothing else. you don't even need to make anything else after a movie like that.

I voluntarily watched shit like railroad tigers and journey to the west 2 so I kidna feel like a hypocrite if I don't support this.

[transmogrifier]

It has its moments; none of them are in the third act

[Spinal]

should I see this in imax? I have a gift card so I'm thinking about it. I'm not a big fan of zhang yimou on the best of the days tho so I dunno.

Unless you're a huge fan of his work or one of the stars involved, I'd say that you can safely skip this. I saw it in regular 2D, so I can't speak to anything else. If you do decide to see it though, might as well amplify the spectacle, as there's not much else to the film.

[Stay Puft]

Well it wasn't playing in IMAX anymore but there were still 3D showings and I still had a pass so... hey, I just got back from seeing it.


Because it's a Zhang Yimou film, it's never exactly boring. I'm a sucker for brightly colored armies and big giant drums. But the strength of script is just not there. The heroes are charismatic, but I was not drawn into their cause.

Yup, pretty much that. Zhang Yimou mounts a very handsome production, I have to say. The art direction, the cinematography, the camera work... it's all really nice. The action choreography is even pretty good, given how dopey some of the action is conceptually (a female squad of bungee jumpers? wtf?). It's a competent and confidently stylish blockbuster. Zhang Yimou is a major talent, and with a budget? Yo, this was definitely worth seeing in 3D. The use of the tech may be largely gimmicky (arrows flying straight out of the screen) but I jumped in excitement or surprise every time. This is very well crafted, which makes it all the more frustrating that absolutely NOTHING is done to elevate the project above its aggressively, miserably dull script. The merits are entirely technical. And technically, it's still entertaining, up to a point. But yeesh! The storytelling is wretched at worst, lame and forgettable at best. I cringed through so many screens. And that money shot at the end? When they're swinging out of the tower? LOL. Terrible.

I didn't hate this. I'd even like to see them try again (i.e. have Hollywood and China join forces on a production like this). But this? Nah, not like this. Get a better screenwriter. Try harder.
Still gotta vote nay.

[Stay Puft]

Also:


There is that brief scene where they mention that the creatures are reminders of greed run amok. But, I don't know, is that theme successfully explored anywhere else? I don't know that it is. Maybe with Willem Dafoe's character? Eh, not enough.

The Taotie are from ancient Chinese mythology. Specifically, they are a motif of Shang dynasty art. We're talking 2000 years back in the other direction, from the birth of Christ.
Not much is known about them, though, and the idea that they represent greed (as quickly suggested in this film) is a more modern interpretation. But, yes, it's just one more reason to be disappointed in the film. The movie does absolutely nothing with them, or even with the theme of greed. Hell, the movie even suggests (quickly, as if to want to forget it just as quickly) that the Toatie are aliens? They came to Earth on a meteorite? But, again, the movie literally does absolutely nothing with any of these ideas.

[Spinal]

The Taotie are from ancient Chinese mythology. Specifically, they are a motif of Shang dynasty art. We're talking 2000 years back in the other direction, from the birth of Christ.

Ah, good insight. Thanks!

[Dukefrukem]

Oof. I knew I was in a for a rough time with the opening scene around the campfire. A quick sword battle ensues with Damon and a mysterious creature in the dark- The battle is a series of quick edits and cuts that hides the reveal of the monster, that we the audience already know about thanks to Universal's marketing campaign. It's just a pure example of terrible setup and foreshadowing.

All the action scenes are inspired by the Fast and the Furious franchise.

The "crane corps attack" might be the biggest skeptical nonsense that has ever graced the silver screen. And that final climax shot was laughable.

Then there is the set piece where Damon and Pascal are on the ground in front of the wall, in the fog, shooting axes out of the air. Why??

Matt Damon turned down Manchester by the Sea for this.

[Spinal]

Matt Damon turned down Manchester by the Sea for this.

No question Manchester is the better movie. But I can totally understand jumping at the chance to work with Zhang Yimou.

[dreamdead]

Man, more than anything else this film is perfunctory. Yimou cuts between scenes without much narrative flow, seems to be missing inserts to help establish characters being in the same proximity, and struggles to generate any actual feelings for characters beyond archetype. It's not helped that the script hits so many expected beats, or that the enemies here operate as voiceless and narrative-less CGI shells, preventing any sense of the big bad, or even the underlings, from feeling multidimensional.

It's frustrating because there's a good cross-networking of American and Chinese blockbusters being attempted here, but everything plays at such a pedestrian level that it undoes a more interesting cultural study. Perhaps the politics account for some of it, as collectivist self-sacrifice here speaks against Western individualism, but it's done without more interesting work to complement its study.

Yimou scores some good shots throughout, though the weightlessness of the dive-jumping or balloon ride undo that extravagance. Still, even though the third act is absolutely meh, the mad colors coming through the windows are a cool touch. All in all, not the white savior film that some feared, but nonetheless disappointing.