REVIEW: The Great Wall (12A)

"The cosplay finals were in full swing..."

Matt Damon, and that fella (Pedro Pascal) who fights The Mountain in Season 4 of Game of Thrones, team up for this fantasy action movie set in ancient China with Tian Jing playing the Commander of a group of elite soldiers defending The Great Wall (of China). Featuring rather colourful and cool armour and some sweeping cinematography, The Great Wall is a visceral pleasure, but gives everything away too soon so any sense of suspense is deflated before it starts.

Based on myth (obviously loosely) The Great Wall features armies, monsters and two almost superhuman characters. Damon’s character begins like Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant and finishes like an Ancient Chinese Jason Bourne whilst Pedro Pascal reminds me a bit too much of Cassian Andor from Rogue One. My biggest fear was that this would be a movie where the superior white man saves the other ethnicities from certain doom, but although there is an element of this it was nowhere near as bad as I feared it would be.

The movie itself is enjoyable enough, but, as I said earlier, is hit with the issue that the film gives too much away too soon. This means that once the big reveal has happened, the movie trundles to a conclusion that you could probably guess before it actually happens. Tian Jing is a stunning looking lady but backs it up with combat prowess and a strong female character that defies stereotype. Willem Dafoe also features and is woefully underused, but a welcome addition to the cast. However, regardless of the pleasing visuals, the sweeping shots, some great choreography and special effects, the film doesn’t quite reach the echelons of greatness that the Wall suggests. It’s enjoyable and decent if you are yearning for an action movie, but the only great part is in its title.

POPSCORE: 7/10

REVIEW: The Martian (12A)

THE MARTIAN is Matt Damon’s latest blockbuster directed, no less, by the legend that is Ridley Scott. Not to be confused with yesteryear classic My Favourite Martian or a male friend named Martin, The Martian is a disaster movie with a difference. One part Castaway and two parts Gravity, The Martian tells the story of a squad of astronauts who when encountering difficulties in a manned mission to Mars, evacuate to return to Earth. As evacuation procedures are put into place, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left for dead when he is hit by some debris of part of their equipment. Reluctantly abandoning the search for him to save the rest, Commander Lewis (the luscious Jessica Chastain) sends the crew home to safety.

Not long after Watney awakens to find out that he is still alive and alone on the planet and it will be four long years before help arrives. If he wants to survive he will need to “science the shit” out of Mars and solve each problem as it arises and does so in an almost MacGyver like fashion.

The Martian is such a well made film with emotion, great humour and arresting visuals. As the ensemble cast – themselves of stellar pedigree – assemble on Earth to try and save him, Watney alone is played brilliantly by Matt Damon. He has only his charm and the bleak red desertlike landscape to play with and coupled with an ongoing disgruntlement for Cmdr Lewis’s penchant for disco, the solo sections of him on Mars are as amusing as they are brilliant. The cast on Earth rearing up to save them include  Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sebastian Stan, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean. I was expecting Sean Bean to die, but luckily he stays within an office environment so in this movie he stays very much alive, much to my happiness. The Earth sequences are a great contrast to the barrenness of mars.

The Martian has a cool disco soundtrack which strangely goes with the story and the quest for one man to survive takes this idea to the limit. Coupled with awesome cinematography and top actors this film is a must see. It’s on for a while but it is great and deserves all the credit it gets.

POPSCORE: 9.5/10 

What am I talking about? The Martian film

Where can I find out more? http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-martian

If you like this try: Gravity, Interstellar (especially since Damon features in that), Guardians of the Galaxy, Castaway, Apollo 13

Anything else?

This film is based on the book The Martian by Andy Weir - something I think I would quite like to read!