In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 2 nominations
Ryan Zheng
- Shen
- (as Zheng Kai)
Karry Wang
- Emperor
- (as Junkai Wang)
Vicky Yu
- Lieutenant Xiao Yu
- (as Xintian Yu)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was the most expensive Chinese film ever, with a budget of $135 million and, due to the huge amount of crew involved, had over 100 translators.
- GoofsOnly one magnetic stone, which can pacify the Tao Tei, appeared in the movie. The stone was brought in by William the European mercenary. In reality, Chinese civilization first made compasses from magnetic stones in Han dynasty (< AD100). By the time point of the movie (somewhen between AD960 and AD1127), the compass had been widely used in navigation. It shouldn't be hard to find more magnetic stones inside China.
Magnetic stones (lodestones) are not normally very strong. William's was far more powerful than normal, as evidenced by its "reach out" distance of several feet. The normal magnetic stones found in China were not strong enough to affect the Tao Tei.
- Crazy creditsThe Universal logo appears quicker than usual, and after appearing the Earth zooms into China, going all the way to a section of the Great Wall and through a crack in the section.
During the zoom the Legendary Pictures logo appears (in reverse).
- Alternate versionsThis film will be released in the Mandarin language separately in English-speaking countries --- that is, at least Australia. Both English and Mandarin versions have been classified.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood Express: Episode #14.32 (2016)
Featured review
A good balance of East and West
First of all this is a movie about fighting monsters - not a fact based historical epic. So don't take it that seriously and you'll have an okay time. The great wall is the center of a fight against some invading dragon dinosaur like creatures.
There have been criticisms of having a white hero in the lead role. But it's just a monster movie so take it easy. There should have been more of the "saving" done by Chinese characters but to be fair they did make the white people look scruffy and the Chinese ones pretty/handsome. Matt Damon does look kind of short and puffy here compared to the Chinese cast. Liked Pedro Pascal the excellent detective Pena from Narcos as Matt's partner in crime. Tian Jing is a feisty enough female commander. So all is fair race wise in this war.
Overall there is a good balance between East and West. A Western screenplay by Max Brooks keeps things going quickly without the irritating self sacrifice and slow dialog of the recent Jackie Chan Adrien Brody movie. Director Zhang Yimou is known for extravaganzas and sometimes the action does look circus acrobat like. But it's not too bad - the excessive slow motion deaths and explosions that plague some Chinese movies isn't such a problem here.
There have been criticisms of having a white hero in the lead role. But it's just a monster movie so take it easy. There should have been more of the "saving" done by Chinese characters but to be fair they did make the white people look scruffy and the Chinese ones pretty/handsome. Matt Damon does look kind of short and puffy here compared to the Chinese cast. Liked Pedro Pascal the excellent detective Pena from Narcos as Matt's partner in crime. Tian Jing is a feisty enough female commander. So all is fair race wise in this war.
Overall there is a good balance between East and West. A Western screenplay by Max Brooks keeps things going quickly without the irritating self sacrifice and slow dialog of the recent Jackie Chan Adrien Brody movie. Director Zhang Yimou is known for extravaganzas and sometimes the action does look circus acrobat like. But it's not too bad - the excessive slow motion deaths and explosions that plague some Chinese movies isn't such a problem here.
helpful•9779
- phd_travel
- Jan 9, 2017
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Tử Chiến Tường Thành
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $150,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $45,540,830
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $18,469,620
- Feb 19, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $334,933,831
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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