he Great Wall is a 2016 epic historical fiction action-adventure monster film directed by Zhang Yimou and written by Tony Gilroy, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Max Brooks, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau.
Principal photography began on March 30, 2015, in Qingdao, China. The film was released in China on December 15, 2016, by Le Vision Pictures and China Film Group Corporation and is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 17, 2017, by Universal Pictures.
During the Song dynasty, a few miles north of the Great Wall, William, Tovar, and three other survivors from a European mercenary group searching for black powder are pursued by Khitan bandits, who have already killed the rest of them. Upon escaping they seek refuge in a cave but are then attacked by a shadowy monster, leaving only William and Tovar alive, the former having slashed off the monster's hand. The next day, they stumble upon the Great Wall and are taken prisoner by Chinese soldiers, who are led by General Shao, Commander Lin, and Strategist Wang.
The officers have been preparing for a monster invasion which happens every sixty years, and have trained five special units: Bear Troop, Tiger Troop, Eagle Troop, Deer Troop and the Crane Troop. However, they are shocked upon seeing the monster's hand, identified as a member of the Taotie species, as they believed the invasion was still weeks away. Suddenly, a wave of Taoties attack the Great Wall, and the soldiers respond with their own special attacks.
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