The Great Wall Review: 6 Ups & 5 Downs

Amid a ton of controversy about perceived "white-washing", the Matt Damon-starring The Great Wall is in cinemas now, and it's safe to say that critics are decidedly mixed on its quality.

While few would profess this to be a great movie, it does prove that most of the pre-release hand-wringing wasn't worth the fuss, and sometimes a dumb action flick is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Those going in hoping for a legitimately brilliant epic might be disappointed, but if you go in expecting a silly time at the movies with plenty of explosions and corny quips, you'll probably be entertained.

Downs...

5. Matt Damon Is Totally Wasted

In fairness, Matt Damon's presence in this movie has been viewed by most ahead of release as nothing more than a blatant paycheck role, so just about nobody was expecting him to put on a top-tier performance.

Still, he's basically an also-ran here in his own movie, unable to do much with his character beyond the most basic action hero beats.

Strangely, Damon also puts on an imperceptible, ever-shifting accent, resulting in several scenes of distracting, bemused unintentional hilarity.

He just about does what he needs to in order to make the role functional, but pretty much any moderately competent actor could've taken this part no problem.

Damon got it because he's bankable and almost universally liked, which is of course extremely important for a big-budget movie aimed at a broad international audience.