Enjoy the movie as it was made and learn about other cultures film making styles (with U.S. You have to accept it for what it is NOT what you think it should be. The colors looked vibrant which is worth noting. The monsters were as good as the ones in KONG SKULL ISLAND. The legend of why the wall was built is based on legend. If you are expecting a great Chinese fantasy film with Matt Damon in it you are in for a treat. If you are expecting a Matt Damon action film you WILL be disappointed. I will say it was A LOT better then LEGEND OF TARZAN or even KONG SKULL ISLAND. It's a beautiful film! Watching it on Blu on my 70" Sony with 7.1 THX sound it was an enjoyable film. I will say it sort of takes you out of the story but that's OK. True, when square-jawed Matt Damon fights alien monsters side-by-side with Chinese soldiers, the film sometimes feels like a spectacular big-budget action epic with a golden-age western-style hero. I like Matt Damon, I like Chinese/HK action, fantasy, drama films so I didn't see any reason why it would be bad. Chinese/American co-produced action-fantasy 'The Great Wall' doesnt feel like a McDonalds-ified version of a Chinese film. I went into this having heard all the negative press. Matt Damon trained as an archer to prepare for his role in the film. Nevertheless, it’s not a bad movie and certainly not ambitious enough to deserve any of the vitriol people read into the story without ever watching the movie. European mercenaries defend the Great Wall of China against an army of monsters.The US-China co-production was directed by Zhang Yimou. The quiet scenes were a bit lacking, leaving the audience emotionally cold. With a running time of less than 2 hours, viewers expecting in-depth characterization along the lines of "Hero" and "Curse of the Golden Flower" will be disappointed. His use of color not only adds to the visual flair, but also helps to add coherence to the movie while the editing is never confusing. Yimou's masterful direction elevates the movie above standard action fare, giving moments of truly astounding visuals. This was an all-out action movie that explored the themes of greed and sacrifice, nobility and savagery. The excessive slow motion deaths and explosions that plague some Chinese movies isn't such a problem here. Director Zhang Yimou is known for extravaganzas and sometimes the action does look acrobatic but it's not too bad. A Western screenplay by Max Brooks keeps things going quickly without the irritating self sacrifice and slow dialog of the recent Dragon Blade movie (Jackie Chan, Adrien Brody). Overall, there is a good balance between East and West. Soon, they get involved in protecting the Great Wall of China against an army of monsters, known as the Taotie. The Great Wall tells the story of a group of Western mercenaries, searching for a powerful substance known as black powder, in China.
Don't take it that seriously and you'll have a good time. First of all this is a movie about fighting monsters - not a fact based historical epic.