Serving as a major American-Chinese blockbuster production, The Great Wall is primed to be an epic historical fantasy adventure starring Matt Damon (Jason Bourne) and directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou - whose work on such seminal film as Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers has made him a household name among international film buffs. Yimou and Legendary aim to deliver a thrilling adventure here, marrying Western aesthetics to Eastern influences - all while standing in the face of controversy over Damon playing a 'white savior' type in the film.
Certain Asian-American actors have already come forward to voice their concerns regarding the casting choices made on the behalf of Yimou when it came to filling out the lead roles for The Great Wall - which most notably includes non-Asian co-stars Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) and Willem Dafoe (The Grand Budapest Hotel). Granted, the original movie is set to feature a story concerning various myths and legends of Chinese history, with Chinese performers like Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers) and Tian Jing (Kong: Skull Island) filling out the rest of the cast. On that note, the latest Chinese trailer for the new movie has just dropped online with a stunning nine-minutes of footage.
In the video featured above, distributor Universal Pictures teases potential viewers of The Great Wall with an epic look at all of the monster fighting action soon to come in Yimou's new epic fantasy production. The trailer takes its time introduce viewers to each and every one of the movie's central players, while holding nothing back when it comes to teasing them with plenty of break-neck action sequences and special effects heavy theatrics.
Fans of Yimou will probably note a lot of the Chinese director's influence on the cinematic proceedings throughout, and American viewers unfamiliar with his past work will probably want to seek films like Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers out before The Great Wall sees its theatrical release early next year. Outcries against the primary inclusion of Damon as the film's lead star will probably continue, but based on the latest batch of footage alone, general moviegoers are in a for a real spectacle regardless of the surrounding controversy.
Movies like Pacific Rim and the still forthcoming Kong: Skull Island serve to prove that there is still significant interest in big budget monster movies domestically and internationally, and The Great Wall stands as another major motion picture event looking to capitalize on that niche market. With any luck, Yimou, Damon, and the rest of the cast and crew will manage to thrill audiences come February 2017 with a historical fantasy adventure fit to please viewers of all sorts and stripes.
Source: Universal Pictures
