The Great Wall

⚔️ The Foreign Savior in the East: Character Analysis and Controversy
​The Main Character: William Garin (Matt Damon)
​The crux of The Great Wall's plot lies in the arrival of the character played by Matt Damon, a European mercenary and master archer named William Garin. Garin, along with his partner Tovar (played by Pedro Pascal), travels far East with the goal of finding the secret to the legendary gunpowder known as "Black Powder."
​Instead of finding the weapon, they stumble right into the middle of an ancient battleground on the Great Wall, where they are captured by The Nameless Order, an elite Chinese military force dedicated to fighting monsters.
​The "White Savior" Controversy
​The casting of Matt Damon as the protagonist of this $150 million budget film drew heavy criticism in both Western and Asian media. Many critics accused the film of employing the "White Savior" trope—a narrative where a white character arrives to save or lead a minority or non-Western society out of their own crisis.
​Although Zhang Yimou and the producers repeatedly argued that Garin's story was simply about a foreigner's journey to learn and join, not to lead, the criticism persisted. The character of William Garin is positioned as an individual who brings superior combat expertise (even though The Nameless Order itself is highly organized), thereby indirectly diminishing the role of the Chinese heroes. This controversy became an inseparable part of the film's legacy.