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The Great Wall

The Great Wall

Action · Adventure · Fantasy · 2016

European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Movie details

The Great Wall

“1700 years to build. 5500 miles long. What were they trying to keep out?”

2016 Action · Adventure · Fantasy 1h 43m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

5.9 / 10

157.8K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

36 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

42 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Great Wall?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

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Orphaned heiress, English aristocrat and intrepid archaeologist, Lara Croft, embarks on a dangerous quest to retrieve the two halves of an ancient artifact which controls time before it falls into the wrong hands. As an extremely rare planetary alignment is about to occur for the first time in 5,000 years, the fearless tomb raider will have to team up with rival adventurers and sworn enemies to collect the pieces, while time is running out. But, in the end, who can harness the archaic talisman's unlimited power?

Warcraft

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Mulan

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When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Chinese Army to defend the country from Huns, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. She is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. Disguised as a man by the name of Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her innermost strength and embrace her true potential.

The Forbidden Kingdom

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Jack the Giant Slayer

Jack the Giant Slayer

Fantasy · 2013

The story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Zhang Yimou

Written by

Marshall Herskovitz · Edward Zwick · Max Brooks · Carlo Bernard

Matt Damon

Matt Damon

William

Jing Tian

Jing Tian

Commander Lin Mae

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe

Ballard

Andy Lau

Andy Lau

Strategist Wang

Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal

Tovar

Zhang Hanyu

Zhang Hanyu

General Shao

Lu Han

Lu Han

Peng Yong

Court is in session

Put The Great Wall on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.