Zhang, after all, was behind the camera for such universally praised classics as Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, and Shanghai Triad (although his recent work has been more checkered). Nevertheless, with a director like Zhang Yimou and writers that include Tony Gilroy and Edward Zwick, viewers could be forgiven for expecting something a little more substantive. A story that exists simply to justify the special effects and action/battle sequences - check. A hot warrior woman who kicks butt every bit as effectively as the Big American Star - check. Dialogue mostly in English but with few multisyllabic words - check. To achieve that, a simple checklist was followed. Then again, the involved parties knew from the start that the objective was to make a commercially viable worldwide product. It’s baffling that so much talent could produce something this lackluster. That’s not a good sign for anyone who has passed beyond their teenage years. With the biggest budget in the history of Chinese motion pictures and special effects by ILM, The Great Wall can be considered a true multinational co-production. authorship while the director is the internationally celebrated filmmaker Zhang Yimou. The brainless story is the product of (primarily) U.S. A major collaboration between the Chinese film industry and Hollywood, The Great Wall features a primarily Asian cast with a few big-name American actors sprinkled in.
If this is the future for motion pictures, god help us all.