8 Years Later, Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal’s Rotten Fantasy Lands on Netflix
Two of the main Hollywood stars took part in a controversial Asian blockbuster.
Summary:
- Back in 2016, the world saw the Chinese action movie, starring Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal as the two warriors fighting against alien monsters.
- It was panned for its plot and casting, but at the same time praised for the action.
- Despite having one of the lowest Tomatometer scores, it’ll be added on Netflix.
Sometimes Asian filmmakers employ Western actors to attract more public attention to their works. We can recall here such Chinese movies as Christian Bale ’s The Flowers of War (2011), Adrien Brody and John Cusack’s Dragon Blade (2015), both of them being historical dramas, and, besides, Kevin Spacey’s comedy thriller Inseparable (2011).
The same happened with the Jason Bourne actor, Matt Damon and Game of Thrones ’ Pedro Pascal, who were invited to star in the Chinese monster movie, which turned out to be controversial enough to spark debate about the reasonability of such a cast.
The plot of this kaiju focuses on two European mercenary warriors (played by Damon and Pascal), who become imprisoned within the Great Wall of China by imperial forces, forcing them to join the army fighting against the unstoppable alien creatures.
This movie can be divided in two halves, with the first one presenting a large amount of spectacular action, featuring giant terrifying beasts. The fighting sequences with them are really well-choreographed, which is added by the outstanding visual effects.
The second main part of the film is, disappointingly, the poorly-written dialogues, with the actors declaring pretentious speeches that can be heard in every mid war movie. The side lines aren’t worth-watching at all, only interfering with enjoying the action.
It’s also quite controversial because of the very idea of the white protagonist in the Asian flick, which brought whitewashing accusations to the movie. It is claimed to unfairly depict the Chinese nation as the one that needs to be saved by a Western hero.
We’re talking about the 2016 movie titled The Great Wall, which was panned by critics due to its plain plot and dubious casting decisions. It even gained a shameful 35% of critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score being near that too, 42%.
However, this feature can obviously be a great blockbuster choice for the evening chill.
“It's a good popcorn flick, dumb and fun. The plot's predictable but the action and visuals are fantastic, and Pedro Pascal is great,” says Redditor @Imapony.
The Great Wall will be available for streaming on Netflix on May 1.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes Trailers