The Great Wall is a failed epic mixture of a historical fantasy and action, which happens to be not excellent cinema. The film is good in its visual aspects. Production elaborate work and camera work impresses more than expected and takes us into the world of a vast awe-inspiring world in which Great Wall also becomes iconic. Carefully crafted scenery and colorful characters designs induce awe and horror and are more than enough to put the viewer at the center of the fantastic story. The score complements this optical feast and literally tenses during the fights and adds to the feeling of wonder.
Although the visuals are quite remarkable the narrative of the film is somehow not fully developed. The story, being interesting in the beginning, becomes slightly confusing and shallow in the end. Even the supporting characters of the Chinese warriors are stereotypical and this prevents them having an emotional connect. The mocking of the culture in is not really deep, as the film just tries to combine East and West without digging deeper into their peculiarities.
In conclusion, what the movie lacks in plot it more than makes up in visual appeal, but this is still not enough to become a classic movie. Although the scale of the visuals and the music is impressive, the plot and characters of the film does not connect with the viewer despite their shortcomings.
