The Great Wall Dvd

The Great Wall (Chinese: 长城) is a 2016 Chinese fantasy action monster film directed by Zhang Yimou, with a screenplay by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro and Tony Gilroy, from a story by Max Brooks, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It is an American and Chinese co-production starring Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau. The Great Wall is Zhang’s first English-language film.

Principal photography for the film began on March 30, 2015, in Qingdao, China, and it premiered in Beijing on December 6, 2016. It was released by China Film Group in China on December 16, 2016, and in the United States on February 17, 2017 by Universal Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who said it “sacrifices great story for great action.” Although it grossed $335 million worldwide, the film was still considered a box office bomb due to its high production and marketing costs, with losses as high as $75 million.

Plot

European mercenaries, including Irishman William Garin and Spaniard Pero Tovar, travel to China during the reign of the Song dynasty’s Renzong Emperor, searching for the secret to gunpowder. A few miles north of the Great Wall, they are attacked by a monster. Only Garin and Tovar survive. They sever the monster’s arm and bring it with them. Reaching the Wall, they are taken prisoner by soldiers of the Nameless Order, led by General Shao and Strategist Wang. The Nameless Order exists to combat alien monsters called Tao Tei, which attack once every sixty years. The Tao Tei arrived from a meteorite. While examining the severed monster arm, the Order’s commanders are surprised by the monsters’ first assault one week early.

Shortly after, a monster horde assails the Wall. Both sides sustain heavy losses before the monsters’ queen aborts the attack. During the battle, Garin and Tovar are freed by Ballard, another European who ventured east twenty-five years earlier, searching for gunpowder. Detained, he now serves as an English and Latin teacher. Garin and Tovar display amazing battle skills, saving the life of young warrior Peng Yong, then slaying two monsters, which earns the Order’s respect. The three Europeans secretly plan to steal gunpowder and flee during the next monster attack.

That night, two Tao Tei reach the top of the Wall. General Shao is killed, placing Commander Lin in charge of the Nameless Order. Around this time, an envoy from the capital arrives with an ancient scroll which suggests that the monsters are pacified by magnets. Wang believes the stone Garin carries enabled him to slay the Tao Tei he fought at the cave. To test the hypothesis, Garin suggests they capture a Tao Tei alive and agrees to help. This delays his escape plans, angering Tovar, who nevertheless assists Garin despite Ballard’s protests.

During the next attack, the Tao Tei are numerous enough to cause Lin to resort to using arrows equipped with black powder, whose capabilities had been kept secret from the Westerners until now. They capture a living Tao Tei and prove the theory. However, the Imperial envoy claims the monster and takes it to the capital to present to the Emperor.

A tunnel is discovered at the base of the Wall; the previous attacks had been a distraction so that the Tao Tei could dig the tunnel. While Lin investigates, Tovar and Ballard steal a supply of black powder and escape, knocking Garin unconscious for trying to stop them. Garin is arrested by the Nameless Order, and is locked up in the Wall. Some distance away, Ballard betrays and abandons Tovar, but is captured by bandits, who accidentally kill themselves and Ballard after igniting the powder. At the capital, the envoy presents the captive Tao Tei to the Emperor and his entourage, but it awakens and reveals its position to its queen, who signals the Tao Tei to attack.

The Order rushes to the capital. Lin orders the use of hot-air balloons, and before setting out, Lin sets Garin free. Wang tells him to warn the outside world, but Garin boards the last balloon with Peng and Wang. They arrive just in time to save Lin from being devoured. They land in the Emperor’s palace, where Wang proposes killing the queen by tying explosives to the captured Tao Tei and giving it meat to be delivered to the queen. While approaching the site, a horde of Tao Tei attack the band, and Peng sacrifices himself to save the others.

After releasing the Tao Tei, Lin and Garin climb a tower so that Garin can detonate the explosives with an arrow. Wang sacrifices himself to buy time for Lin and Garin to reach the upper floors. Two of Garin’s arrows are deflected by the Tao Tei queen’s bodyguards, but Garin throws the magnet into the horde, creating a gap in the shields, allowing Lin’s spear to get through. The queen is killed, and the rest of the horde is paralyzed. With the threat eliminated, Garin is allowed to return home and elects to take Tovar (whom the Nameless Order recaptured) with him instead of a reward of black powder, much to Tovar’s annoyance.

Cast

Matt Damon as William Garin (威廉·加林), a European mercenary.
Jing Tian as Commander Lin Mae (林梅; Lín Méi), the leader of the Crane Troop
Pedro Pascal as Pero Tovar (佩罗· 托瓦尔), a European mercenary.
Willem Dafoe as Sir Ballard (巴拉德), a European adventurer-turned-teacher in China.
Andy Lau as Strategist Wang (王军师), the Strategist and War Counselor for the Nameless Order.
Zhang Hanyu as General Shao (邵殿帅), the leader of the Bear Troop and General of the Nameless Order.
Lu Han as Peng Yong (彭勇), a soldier in the Bear Troop.
Eddie Peng as Commander Wu (吴将军), head of the Tiger Troop.
Kenny Lin as Commander Chen (陈将军), head of the Eagle Troop.
Karry Wang as The Emperor
Zheng Kai as Shen (沈)
Huang Xuan as Commander Deng (邓将军), head of the Deer Troop.
Cheney Chen as Commander of the Imperial Guard