The Great Wall

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The Great Wall

PG-13

2017

1h 44m

Adventure

Action

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

36%

Tomatometer

236 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When a mercenary warrior (Matt Damon) is imprisoned within the Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of the world. As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront the unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

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Critics Consensus

For a Yimou Zhang film featuring Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe battling ancient monsters, The Great Wall is neither as exciting nor as entertainingly bonkers as one might hope.

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Kambole Campbell

One Room With A View

Aug 25, 2018

2/5

A sometimes entertaining, but otherwise forgettable two hours, The Great Wall sounds cool on paper, but feels more like a business deal than a complete film.

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Scott Tobias

Uproxx

Oct 10, 2017

The Great Wall gives one of the world's great visual filmmakers $150 million and an army of extras at his disposal, and he turns a monument into a playground.

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Christopher Orr

The Atlantic

Mar 27, 2017

Zhang's moments of visual splendor-a battalion of hot-air balloonists, the queen-monster and her royal guard of fan-frilled monstrosities-are weighed down by a script and performances almost dutiful in their dullness.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Oct 14, 2024

3/5

Visually splendid from top to bottom, this epic adventure squeaks by on its looks and spares no expense to make sure of that.

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Victoria Luxford

City AM

Feb 21, 2022

2/5

With a ponytail and dodgy accent, Damon fits awkwardly into the mix, putting in one of the most uneven performances of his career. The fact a Western actor is leading an Asian film should be uncomfortable, but in a film this bad, its hard to care.

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Drew Dietsch

FANDOM

Dec 29, 2021

2/5

The Great Wall is the equivalent of a well-made toy movie. It's a feast for the imagination, but your heart and brain will check out after a while.

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Thomas S

@RT34409026 Sep 28, 2026

Great graphics. Story line wasn’t as bad as the critics suggested.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 27, 2026

The Great Wall = a *2* star Movie!

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Raymond R

@CainVirethorn Sep 23, 2026

Commander Lin / Jing Tian is gorgeous af! Asian girls are truly the hottest. Without giving insane spoilers, the plot was eh. Makes no sense Pedro's character was like "lets stay and help out these randoms." Maybe he had a thing for Commander Lin like me. The creatures also didn't make any sense. It feels like they just threw all of this together and said "done!" I can only recommend this if you're bored out of your mind.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 15, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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R V

@areveedubs Sep 6, 2026

Willem DaFoe? Pedro Pascal? Matt Damon? How could this movie NOT be good? Well… you’d be surprised. It’s not horrible. Just not very good.

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Sandra J

@sandranj4 Aug 30, 2026

It was awesome. A tad cheesy at times but the plot & good actors made up for that. Really liked the story & effects. Thank you for not putting a bunch of sexual innuendo crap or porn in it. 👏👏 We’ve added this to our family’s favorites.

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Yimou Zhang

Director

Matt Damon

William Garin

Jing Tian

Commander Lin Mae

Pedro Pascal

Pero Tovar

Willem Dafoe

Ballard

Andy Lau

Strategist Wang

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Synopsis

When a mercenary warrior (Matt Damon) is imprisoned within the Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of the world. As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront the unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Thomas Tull, Charles Roven, Jon Jashni, Peter Loehr
Screenwriter: Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Tony Gilroy
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Atlas Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Fantasy Action Violence)
Genre: Adventure, Action, Fantasy
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 9, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $45.1M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos

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