The Great Wall (2016)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08 · Missing measurements appear as gaps.
European mercenaries must team up with an elite Chinese military order to defend the Great Wall against an ancient alien threat.
The story
During the reign of Emperor Renzong, a group of European mercenaries travels to China in search of gunpowder. After being attacked by a monster near the Great Wall, only two survivors, William Garin and Pero Tovar, reach the fortifications. They are taken prisoner by the Nameless Order, a military group dedicated to defending against Tao Tei—alien monsters that attack every sixty years. When a horde of Tao Tei arrives a week early, the mercenaries are freed by an Englishman named Ballard. They join forces with the Order to battle the monsters, while secretly attempting to steal gunpowder and escape.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During the reign of Emperor Renzong, European mercenaries William Garin and Pero Tovar survive a monster attack and reach the Great Wall, where they are imprisoned by the Nameless Order. The Order, led by General Shao and Strategist Wang, fights Tao Tei monsters that attack every sixty years. When a horde arrives early, Garin and Tovar are freed by Ballard and help the Order, earning respect. They secretly plan to steal gunpowder. After General Shao is killed, Commander Lin takes charge. An envoy brings a scroll suggesting magnets pacify monsters; Wang believes Garin's magnet is the key. They capture a Tao Tei to test this, but the envoy takes it to the capital. It is revealed the Tao Tei were digging a tunnel. Tovar and Ballard steal powder and escape, but Tovar is abandoned and captured by bandits. At the capital, the captive Tao Tei alerts its queen. Lin uses hot-air balloons to warn the capital and frees Garin. Wang proposes a plan to kill the queen with explosives. During the final battle, Peng sacrifices himself. Lin and Garin reach the queen; Wang sacrifices himself to buy time. Garin throws his magnet to disable the shields, allowing Lin to kill the queen with an explosive arrow. Garin returns home, taking Tovar with him.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- China; United States; Japan
- Original languages
- English; Mandarin
- Directors
- Zhang Yimou
- Writers
- Carlo Bernard · screenplay; Doug Miro · screenplay; Tony Gilroy · screenplay; Max Brooks · story; Edward Zwick · story; Marshall Herskovitz · story
- Cast and characters
- Matt Damon · William Garin; Jing Tian · Peng Yong; Pedro Pascal · Pero Tovar; Willem Dafoe · Ballard; Andy Lau
- Genres
- monster; action adventure; fantasy
- Themes
- sacrifice; cooperation; cultural fusion
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; epic; serious
- Premise and plot tags
- monster movie; alternate history; mercenaries; alien invasion
- Content notes
- child
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was considered a box-office bomb, grossing $334.9 million worldwide against a $150 million budget. It was criticized for its performance in major markets and faced accusations of whitewashing.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 35% · review count: 238; Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 40; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F; Douban · score: 4.9 · scale: 10; Maoyan · score: 4.9 · scale: 10
- Production trivia
- It was the most expensive film ever shot entirely in China.; More than 100 on-set translators worked with the various cast and crew members.; The film was considered a box-office bomb for losing up to $75 million.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…