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Keep It Reel: 'The Great Wall'

By Marc Woodfork

This film starring Matt Damon is about a wandering European trader who finds himself caught in a conflict that can determine the fate of the planet.  He stumbles upon the Great Wall of China and discovers that there is a centuries-old war between the Chinese who are the "guardians" of the world and an ancient species determined to take over the planet.

I'll start by saying that if you're looking for a good, mindless popcorn movie, then this is the one to watch.   It has all the clichés of that genre: From sweeping landscapes to lots of high-wire action and cheesy, poor dialogue.

The action scenes are overly violent so this may not be for the younger viewers.   From a cinematic aspect, it's a very good-looking film.  In lots of the scenes, the director uses the camera as an extension of the weapons his characters are using, providing viewers with an intense experience.

That's about all the good things to say.

Matt Damon isn't a bad actor.  Why is he so bad in this?  Let's begin with the awful Scottish or Irish accent he tries to pull off.  It's awful...disgraceful to anyone from that part of the world.  I'm not sure why he would attempt it in the first place.  He looks as though he is not having any fun filming this either.  No matter how good the visuals are, it can't make up for the bad script.  It's filled with cheap one-liners and lacks any real depth.  While watching you can't help but think you're at a local park seeing kids and young adults L.A.R.P. (Live Action Role Play).

The actual Great Wall is a magnificent backdrop for many great stories.  Sadly this isn't one.

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