Why Matt Damon’s The Great Wall Is So Controversial

Summary

• The Great Wall, starring Matt Damon, faced controversy for its casting choices and white savior narrative.
• Despite a star-studded cast and crew, the film struggled with poor reception and disappointing box office numbers.
• Matt Damon has acknowledged the film’s flaws, referring to it as a “disaster” and admitting it didn’t work creatively.

The Matt Damon historical drama The Great Wall was one of the most controversial films during the time of its release. The Great Wall was a United States and Chinese co-production directed by visionary Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Damon starred in the lead role of William in The Great Wall alongside a supporting cast that included Willem Dafoe, Tian Jing, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal, Hanyu Zhang, Han Lu, Kenny Lin, and Eddie Peng.

Despite its star cast and crew, The Great Wall struggled at the time of its release. Its reception was largely poor, with the film garnering a 35% Tomatometer and an only slightly higher audience score of 42%. The film’s box office was also disappointing. Though it grossed $334.9 million worldwide, its domestic box office for The Great Wall was only $45.5 million, and the film’s $150 million budget didn’t account for the marketing costs, leading to the film losing money. Amidst this lackluster box office, The Great Wall faced a huge controversy.

The Great Wall Has Been Accused Of Whitewashing With Its Cast

The Great Wall Has Also Been Called A White Savior Narrative

The fact that the film’s made-up narrative involves a white man saving the day suggests that
The Great Wall
team felt that the story would be elevated — or more marketable — through the employment of white characters, thus whitewashing the cast of its China-set story.

The main criticism of The Great Wall has been in its casting. Putting Damon in the lead was widely seen as whitewashing or even a white savior narrative. Playing European mercenary William, Damon’s character ends up helping a Chinese army group defend the Great Wall of China, becoming the hero of the story. Even if this was not intentional, it did end up seeming like a textbook example of the white savior narrative.

The Great Wall
is currently available to watch on Netflix.

Damon is also not the only main actor in the film who is non-Chinese. Pascal is Latino and Dafoe is white, making the three main leads all non-Chinese. It would be one thing if The Great Wall were based on a true story involving European mercenaries, but the film is a work of fiction. The fact that the film’s made-up narrative involves a white man saving the day suggests that The Great Wall team felt that the story would be elevated — or more marketable — through the employment of white characters, thus whitewashing the cast of its China-set story.

What Matt Damon Has Said About The Great Wall’s Controversy

Matt Damon Has Given Mixed Thoughts On The Movie

In a time when whitewashing is a huge topic of conversation in the film industry, The Great Wall’s production looks less-than-stellar for Damon. In the years since the film’s release, Damon has come out to admit that The Great Wall was not his best work. In a 2021 interview on the WTF podcast, Damon referred to the film as a “disaster” and said “it doesn’t work creatively.”

Damon’s commentary on the quality of The Great Wall overall has been coupled with reactions to the controversy. In a 2016 interview with The Associated Press, Damon asserted that The Great Wall is a “historical fantasy” and said that he “didn’t take a role away from a Chinese actor.” He was also quoted in other interviews mentioning his distaste for the association between The Great Wall and whitewashing. Even if Damon does not see things the same way, The Great Wall’s legacy will forever be marred by its whitewashing controversy.