Umm... are we sure that "The Great Wall" is a Chinese movie? I thought it was made by Legendary Pictures, which while been owned by a Chinese company, still remains very much an American producer, making movies predominantly for a western market?
At first I was really excited when I knew about this movie which is to be directed by Zhang Yimou. But when I know that it's basically a Hollywood production, with Zhang as director, my expectations quickly went south.
But I've never considered the casting of a western actor in this ancient Chinese setting to be racist... at all. I mean why not, there were western merchants and whatnots travelling to China since ancient times. And if dragons (some commentators call them lizards) trying to breach the Great Wall can exist, then it isn't such a stretch to imagine a bunch of stranded western dudes being thrust straight into the deep end.
And if Legendary is making movies for a western audience, they might just be playing it safe with a western guy as the focal point of the story.
Which brings me to the point of why I'm not putting much expectations to this movie. If this is a Chinese production meant primarily for an Asian market, we can be sure Zhang Yimou will be pulling out all the stops to guarantee epic status for this movie. But since this is primarily an American movie about Ancient China, we know it'll be watered down.
Not exactly racist. Just lame.
At first I was really excited when I knew about this movie which is to be directed by Zhang Yimou. But when I know that it's basically a Hollywood production, with Zhang as director, my expectations quickly went south.
But I've never considered the casting of a western actor in this ancient Chinese setting to be racist... at all. I mean why not, there were western merchants and whatnots travelling to China since ancient times. And if dragons (some commentators call them lizards) trying to breach the Great Wall can exist, then it isn't such a stretch to imagine a bunch of stranded western dudes being thrust straight into the deep end.
And if Legendary is making movies for a western audience, they might just be playing it safe with a western guy as the focal point of the story.
Which brings me to the point of why I'm not putting much expectations to this movie. If this is a Chinese production meant primarily for an Asian market, we can be sure Zhang Yimou will be pulling out all the stops to guarantee epic status for this movie. But since this is primarily an American movie about Ancient China, we know it'll be watered down.
Not exactly racist. Just lame.
