La Grande Muraille

N’attendez pas plus de ce film que quelques beaux effets visuels, quelques scènes de combat imaginatives, et un « Oberyn Martell » amusant : Pedro Pascal. À l’heure où la technologie visuelle et le graphisme des films sont de plus en plus avancés, cela me dérange lorsque les effets font trop « image de synthèse » bon marché : on arrive tout de même à faire mieux que ça, aujourd’hui. Et puis ces dialogues, mon Dieu ! Qu’est-ce que Matt Damon et Willem Dafoe font donc là-dedans ? J’ai bien ri devant ce film, et ce n’est vraiment pas un compliment... (10/01/2017)

A Chinese billionaire gave money, Hollywood its biggest star, the Middle Kingdom of the once great director and a wonder of the world. The result? An asexual, culturally indifferent and dirty pig, which builds the greatest hope in the first twenty minutes. But in the end, the more artistically pampered Warcraft drowns in a soup full of undercooked characters, narrative clumsiness and funny ideology, which is desperately trying to convince completely different types of audiences. A proper critic does not use the word boredom. But here, the helplessness castration is physically palpable. I’m sorry, but it’s BORING. (05/01/2017)

China playing Hollywood, but the stupid Hollywood. The production values are like from Asylum, the only difference is that you can see the huge budget. Thanks to the People's Republic of China for an enriching experience, I watched it on a Huawei monitor, thinking about the Silk Road and mentally summarizing the text of the letter to Ovčáček, in which I packed the Blu-ray for Miloš to enjoy as well. (20/05/2017)

I didn't really believe in it, and I didn't even bother going to the cinema, but now fresh from watching it I am very pleasantly surprised. Yimou Zhang is a skilled director and his visuals can easily compete with Hollywood. Matt Damon was more than excellent as the archer, and Willem Dafoe was also impressive, while among the Asians, Andy Lau, Eddie Peng and Princess Tian Jing, who also had a role in the new Kong, were good. The action starts at the 15th minute and the siege of the Great Wall of China is very spectacular. I was impressed by the strategy, the synchronisation of the army and all the tools and technologies were very good. I also liked the look of the monsters, which had acceptable CGI. For me, a very entertaining and engaging film that I had a great time with. 80% (21/03/2017)

The Great Wall feels like Hollywood trying way too hard to impress China. Sure, it's cool that Chinese funding is flowing into Hollywood, but this movie is a double dose of digital overload. The plot? Basically, a massive attack by some vague, unexplained creatures on the iconic wall—you'd have to dive deep into Chinese mythology to make any sense of it, and even then, the overwhelming CGI doesn't help. Hollywood brought in heavy hitters like Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, and Willem Dafoe, while China supplied the rest. Despite being the most expensive Chinese film up to 2019, that hefty budget doesn't really translate on screen, even through the rosiest of glasses. (27/04/2021)