“In many ways The Great Wall is the opposite of what is being suggested. For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tent pole scale for a world audience. I believe that is a trend that should be embraced by our industry. Our film is not about the construction of the Great Wall. Matt Damon is not playing a role that was originally conceived for a Chinese actor. The arrival of his character in our story is an important plot point. There are five major heroes in our story and he is one of them — the other four are all Chinese. The collective struggle and sacrifice of these heroes are the emotional heart of our film. As the director of over 20 Chinese language films and the Beijing Olympics, I have not and will not cast a film in a way that was untrue to my artistic vision. I hope when everyone sees the film and is armed with the facts they will agree”.

Yimou certainly makes some good points here. We aren’t armed with all the facts yet, and as such concluding that Damon is a ‘white saviour’ type in the film may yet prove to be a premature assumption. It’s also worth noting that trailers are cut much differently from region to region, so while the US trailer was 90% Matt Damon it’s likely that the same won’t be true for international trailers. 

With that said, whichever party was responsible for OK-ing that trailer – be it filmmakers, studio, or otherwise – should have seen this negative reaction coming from several miles away. Whitewashing is a hot-button issue right now, and it’s not surprising that people would immediately jump to the white hero conclusion given Hollywood’s recent history (I’m looking at you Gods of Egypt, Pan, and Ghost in the Shell). For now though, let’s take a step back and have a little faith that Yimou and co have avoided that trope with The Great Wall. 

Directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal, and Andy Lau, The Great Wall will be released in US theatres on February 17, 2017 before making its way to the UK a week later on February 24, 2017.

Images: Legendary Pictures/Universal Pictures

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A “stunning debut,” we called the epic fantasy that wrangled hot-button issues of racism, subjugation and segregation, “heralding the arrival of an exciting new action-cinema voice”.

Neo-realist, gritty, innovative and boasting a gut-punch of an arc for its protagonist (Sharlto Copley), from selfish to selfless, District 9 was a promise of greatness from Blomkamp and a brave new world of smart sci-fi for heart and head.

Four years on, and here’s his hugely anticipated follow-up, Elysium … and Blomkamp has done it again. Almost exactly. The set-up’s tweaked – in 2154, Earth’s been bled dry and the rich live in a space station while the poor, disenfranchised and ill scrape an existence miles below – but Elysium shares strikingly similar visual/narrative/emotional beats with its predecessor.

It’s still exciting and thought-provoking – but less fresh and consequently, something of a disappointment.

Lens flare glints handsomely off a richly detailed decaying world (à la D9 ) as ex-con Max (Matt Damon, reliably compelling) is forced to become an unlikely freedom fighter when his own health is compromised.

On Elysium, the wealthy have medical pods which eradicate disease, injury and even sun damage. So if Max can break into the hi-tech torus he could heal himself and perhaps “change the world”…

Going up against him is Copley’s venal sleeper agent, Kruger (a surprisingly standard-issue psychobaddie with misogynist streak), who’s working for self-serving Elysium gatekeeper secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster, with distracting roving accent and propensity to flounce).

Also along for the ride: a sidelined Diego Luna; a couple of awesome action set-pieces and gross/inventive SFX moments; recurring sledgehammer sentimentality; and an emotional pay-off that echoes another futuristic tentpoler out this summer.

It’s all accomplished, engaging and goodlooking stuff. But it’s not unique (tonally evoking last year’s Total Recall remake isn’t exactly a plus) or groundbreaking – which, perhaps unfairly, is what’s expected from Blomkamp’s sophomore outing.

Maybe he’s a one-trick pony? Or maybe the edges got knocked off a more daring project by a larger budget and more studio control? ( D9 was made for $34m under the mentoring eye of Peter Jackson.)

Either way, this perfectly alright actioner will entertain newcomers, while leaving Blomkamp fans in a holding pattern until his next project.

Verdict:

Slick and stylish, Elysium shines like the space station at its core – and feels as sterile and generic, too.

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