MOVIE REVIEW: THE GREAT WALL (2017)

From IMDB:

When a mercenary warrior (Matt Damon) is imprisoned within the Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of the world. As wave after wave of marauding beasts besieges the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront the unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force. 

48 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 56 user | 41 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary's The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world's most iconic structure. The first English-language production for Yimou is the largest film ever shot entirely in China. The Great Wall also stars Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau.

Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of fantasy action violence)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery & Suspense

Directed By: Yimou Zhang

Written By: Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Tony Gilroy

In Theaters: Feb 17, 2017 Wide

Runtime: 104 minutes

Studio: Universal Pictures

TOMATOMETER 44%

Average Rating: 5.8/10

Reviews Counted: 9

Fresh: 4

Rotten: 5

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

WANT TO SEE 94% want to see

User Ratings: 8,672

Meet Pero and William. They've been riding across the desert for months only to end up at a wall. ©Universal Pictures

A movie that you wouldn't expect to see someone like Matt Damon in...

The Great Wall. From the very beginning of the film, much like that xXx: Return of Xander Cage movie, you know who is behind this film, who's paying for it. But unlike that movie, this movie actually has an impressive team behind it, in a way. Written by Max Brooks who wrote the book World War Z which was turned into a movie in 2013, Edward Zwick who produced movies like Legends of the Fall (1994) and The Last Samurai (2003) and directed movies like Glory (1989) and Blood Diamond (2006), and Marshall Herskovitz who also worked on the same films. It's directed by the acclaimed Zhang Yimou who directed The Flowers of War (2011), House of Flying Daggers (2004), Hero (2002) andRaise the Red Lantern (1991). So you're expecting something pretty amazing, right? Well, compared to xXx, yes you are. 

The man in black is the commander the others are the generals. The commander doesn't last long and guess which of the generals he chooses to take over his place. ©Universal Pictures

So if you've seen the trailer you know that this movie is about or takes place in China and more specifically the Great Wall of China. You also know that something monstrous is attacking said great wall and for whatever reason, a white man and his Spanish friend end up at said portion of the very long wall where the monsters are attacking. The white man named William Garin played by Matt Damon then decides to volunteer himself to help the Chinese army fight the attackers. His travel buddy Pero Tovar (Pedro Pascal) though has different ideas, he wants to do what they came to do which is look for something that the west has heard rumours of and wants very badly. He is aided by a man named Ballard (Willem Dafoe) who has been at the wall for 25 years for learning the existence of the thing that William and Pero have come looking for. 

As the film progresses you see William go through a change of heart and career, annoy his buddy Pero, gain the trust of Commander Lin Mei (Tian Jing) and her generals as well as Strategist Wang (Andy Lau), do amazing things with a bow and arrow and kill monsters whose origins and behaviour are pretty ridiculous. 

The movie says it takes place at the Great Wall but most of the time you're at this one section only. ©Universal Pictures

On to the likes.

• The story. It isn't that bad actually. It isn't original for sure but it isn't completely horrible, full of plotholes or peppered with bad dialogue. It's simple and straight forward.
• The cast. Overall not bad. If you like Matt Damon in the Bourne series you'll probably enjoy him here too. Same goes for Pedro Pascal whom most will remember as the dude that gets his eyes gouged out and then his head crushed in the Game of Thrones series. And of course Willem Dafoe, this is a minor role for him for sure but that doesn't mean he doesn't do a good job. And then there's the Asian cast of whom you'll have the pleasure of meeting two of them for most of the movie, Commander Lin Mei played by Tian Jing, an orphan girl who rises up the ranks and one day due to an unfortunate circumstance is given control of the Nameless Army and Strategist Wang played by Andy Lau, a kind of intelligence officer cum scientist for the Nameless Army. If you're a fan of Asian Cinema especially those coming out of Hong Kong then you know who Andy Lau is. Tian Jing on the other hand is a relatively new actress but she's shared the screen with Jackie Chan in Police Story: Lockdown (2013) and with Chow Yun-Fat in The Man from Macau (2014) and also Donnie Yen in Special ID (2013). 
• What you see on the screen. That's pretty good too. The costumes are colourful and elaborate. The sets look impressive and quite real. The effects look good. The army makes quite an impression. The action scenes were quite good too.

And this thing here is what the Great Wall was made to keep out. Yes, that's his eyes near his shoulder. But these are the soldiers, wait till you meet the queen and her armoured bodyguards. ©Universal Pictures

The not so likes.

• Well as mentioned before the story is not at all original maybe the only original thing is how the monsters, the Tao Tei came to be is and of course how they look. 
• Which brings me to the second thing that was a little ridiculous or maybe really ridiculous, the Tao Tei's origins and what the Chinese empire knows about them. It just sounds ridiculous and this is a ridiculous movie.
• Which brings me to another thing about the Tao Tei. They don't look horrible but seeing as how everything else around looks so good the Tao Tei sort of looks not as good. You get what I mean? Now as perfect as the other visual effects. 

This happens in the final battle. I'll let you figure out what happens. Or go watch the movie. ©Universal Pictures

Overall The Great Wall is a decent no-brainer action movie set in a familiar historical location with an unusual twist. The story has its good moments but it also has its silly ones too. If you know of Zhang Yimou and the movies he's done don't expect this one to be like those others, there are elements from them but overall this is closer to the Hollywood summer blockbusters than any of his elaborate period dramas or action films. Go and watch this with that mindset and you'll be okay. Go expecting something like House of the Flying Dagger or any of Matt Damon's other films and you may be a little disappointed. This is big-budget, colourful-action eye-candy more than anything else. I'm going to give this movie a decent 3 out of 5. 

Have a look at the trailer below. 

MOVIE REVIEW: JASON BOURNE (2016)

From IMDB:

The most dangerous former operative of the CIA is drawn out of hiding to uncover hidden truths about his past.


57 Metascore From metacritic.com
Reviews 28 user | 73 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

The next chapter of Universal Pictures' Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA's most lethal former operative drawn out of the shadows.

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief strong language)

Genre: Action & Adventure , Drama

Directed By: Paul Greengrass

Written By: Paul Greengrass , Christopher Rouse

In Theaters: Jul 29, 2016 wide

Runtime: 123 minutes

Studio: Universal Pictures 

TOMATOMETER 58%

Average Rating: 5.8/10 | Reviews Counted: 85

Fresh: 49 | Rotten: 36

Critics Consensus: Jason Bourne delivers fans of the franchise more of what they've come to expect -- which is this sequel's biggest selling point as well as its greatest flaw.

WANT TO SEE 99% want to see

User Ratings: 28,908

JASON BOURNE OPENS IN THE US ON THE 29th OF JULY AND IN MALAYSIA ON THE 28th OF JULY. TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU CLICK HERE. 

So the first time you see Bourne he's decided to become like Tyler Durden. ©Universal Pictures

After a 9 year hiatus Jason Bourne is back and trying to still figure out his past...

So what we thought had happened after the last film Bourne Ultimatum (2007), which has Bourne totally destroy the people behind the Blackbriar program and with the help of CIA Deputy Director and Task Force Chief, Pamela Lundy (Joan Allen) expose to the world what Blackbriar is and all the nasty stuff that the CIA has been up to. Of course Bourne wasn't killed at the end of it because he swims off into sunset. He's done that at the end of every movie. Just disappear until it's time to have another movie. The film that followed that The Bourne Legacy (2012) wasn't about Bourne but the program that he went through which trained him to be the super soldier/assassin that he is. It also filled the gap as to what happens to the program when it was exposed.

So she's got personal ulterior motives and he's just a crazy patriot. ©Universal Pictures

So now that Bourne (Matt Damon) is back guess what he's up to now? No surprises here actually, he's still trying to piece together random flashbacks of his past, trying to piece them together so that he can be at peace with himself, he's also I guess in a way punishing himself for his past deeds by participating in illegal fights for money. But he's not the only one who's gone off the grid and trying to figure out what truly happened in the past, Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) is back too and trying to figure out what else he previous employer has been up to so it is during her most recent attempt she discovers even more about Bourne and the latest naughty thing that the CIA has been up to.

So he goes from being an illegal pugilist to running around during the riots in Greece killing agents. ©Universal Pictures

Her discovery of what the CIA has been up to results in the CIA's boss Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) wanting her head on a plate and when he discovers that Nicky has reached out to Bourne he wants his head too. But of course since he's the boss he has other people handle it and in this case he has two, an eager young agent named Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) and an agent from the Blackbriar program with the moniker Asset (Vincent Cassel). So what follows it is basically the same as all the past Bourne films, Bourne runs around several cities around the world being chased by the CIA causing massive amounts or property damage as well as killing many, many innocent government agents who are just doing their jobs following orders. 

So after 9 years the CIA has upgraded their system. It can do anything you want it to do except make breakfast. ©Universal Pictures

So here's a list of things I liked.

1) The story. Although nothing new or original but it is updated in a way to reflect what's current. The CIA using social networks to try and spy on everyone, government agencies trying to coerce silicon valley to "work" with them to give the backdoor access, referring to Snowden, etc. It makes the story somewhat interesting.

2) The action. With Paul Greengrass back at the helm you get the same tense and fast paced action that was a pleasure to watch in previous Bourne films. Although at times it did seem a little too over the top.

3) The cast. Damon is of course good after all this is his fourth time as Bourne, at this point he is Bourne. Vikander does a pretty good job as well but her Swedish accent does slip in every once in a while which ruins things a bit, the same can be said of Cassel. Tommy Lee Jones is just evil as the CIA Director wanting to do anything he can to make his program succeed. It was nice to see Stiles again too but her presence seemed only to get the ball rolling which honestly could have been done by anyone else, whatever emotional connection that they were going for between Bourne and Nicky was fleeting at best.

4) Camera work. Greengrass knows how to make it look good.

Nicky's back and she is so ticked off at the CIA she's decided to go all Snowden on them. ©Universal Pictures

The not so likes.

1) The action. Like I said before at times it was just a little too much and too over the top.

2) Although I like the performances of the cast I wasn't too impressed with what the characters were given to do. For the most part it was forgettable, especially Lee who although is supposed to be quite important but somehow is completely forgettable.

3)The inclusion of Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed) the founder of Deep Dream the social network that Dewey wants the backdoor access to seems completely pointless at times.

This dude wants to kill Bourne so badly, he doesn't even have a name. ©Universal Pictures

Basically if you've enjoyed Matt Damon in the previous Bourne films and enjoyed what you saw on screen and aren't too particular about details like the story or plot then you'll most likely enjoy this one as well. It is a worthy successor to the previous Bourne films and it looks like they've left it open for another follow up at the end. The question is of course should there be another Bourne film? Anyway, I found it to be a fun film and I'm going to give it a decent 3 out of 5.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE MARTIAN (2015)

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MOVIE INFO

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover. Written by 20th Century Fox

Rating: PG-13 (for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity)

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Ridley Scott

Written By: Drew Goddard

In Theaters: Oct 2, 2015 Wide

Runtime: 2 hr. 14 min.

20th Century Fox - Official Site

From IMDB:

Ratings: 8.6/10 from 3,296 users 

THE MARTIAN OPENS THIS THURSDAY IN MALAYSIA WHICH IS THE 1st OF OCTOBER. TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU CLICK HERE.

Notice how serious and worried everyone looks? So you can probably guess what happens after this, right? ©20th Century Fox

What you'll see in The Martian started with Gravity...