Watch Luhan Brave Acting as a Fearless Soldier in The Great Wall
The former EXO member Luhan starred alongside Matt Damon, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau in the American-Chinese movie, The Great Wall. Though he earned negative reviews from movie critics for his acting, Luhan received praise from Matt Damon and Andy Lau.
Luhan performed the role of a brave soldier that fights to protect the Great Wall of China from scary animals. Even thought his role was small and limited, Luhan’s popularity as a K-Pop idol was enough to attract audiences with Asian movie mania to come watch the film.
In this article, Byeol Korea will talk about former EXO member Luhan’s appearance in The Great Wall.
About The Great Wall
The Great Wall is 2016 American-Chinese production action movie. It starred renowned American actors like Matt Damon, Willem Defoe, Pedro Pascal and famous Hongkong actors like Andy Lau and Jiang Tian. The movie was directed by senior director Zhang Yimou and was dubbed as the Hollywood movie with Zhang Yimou’s touch. It was the first movie involving famous American actors that was directed by Zhang Yimou. Exo’s Luhan made a short but meaningful appearance as a brave soldier in the movie.
The Great Wall had a $150 million USD budget and racked up over $300 million USD worldwide. The movie made most of its earnings outside of North America and Europe.
William Garin (Matt Damon) and Pedro Tovar (Pedro Pascal) traveled to China to look for gunpowder, and intended to acquire the method to its production. They were attacked by a group of vicious monsters somewhere close to the Great Wall. Among their traveling group, only William Garin and Pedro Tovar survived the attack. They were rescued by the soldiers of the Renzong Empire.
It was revealed that the monsters attacked the empire every 60 years and this time, the monsters were a little bit early in the timing. The emperor’s army defended the city from the monsters and they were hesitantly relying on William Garin and Pedro Tovar’s battle skill. The duo earned the respect of the general after saving a soldier name Peng Yong, played by Luhan, from two monsters. William Garin, Pedro Tovar, and the generals fought Peng You together, and defended the city from the vicious monsters.
Luhan in The Great Wall
Luhan performed as Peng Yong,a cadet of the Renzong Empire who was assigned to prevent William Garin and Pedor Tovar from escaping. He made a mistake that left him doing menial work instead of the honorarable work of defending the wall. Initially, he was hesitant between helping the other soldiers defending their wall and watching the captured mercenaries. He was looked down upon by other soldiers because of his timid and hesitant character. In the end, the mercenaries were released and they saved Peng Yong from the monster’s attack. Luhan’s role as a hesitant, but brave cadet was short but very important. It was the cadet that protected the generals from the monster’s sudden attack.
SPOILER! Luhan Death Scene in The Great Wall
Matt Damon, Andy Lau, and Luhan went inside the city’s sewer canal to bring out the dead body of a monster. On top of them, the monsters lurked around trying to find prey. They had to be careful and move in silence. The group could clearly hear the horrible sound of the entire creature. Midway to the end, some of the monsters caught the soldiers from holes between the sewers. William Garin acted fast, and he was able to save the soldiers. Luhan was among the soldiers and he was wounded. Since his wound wasn’t too severe, they left him inside the sewers so that they could return and save him later.
However, the monsters finally located the group. The creatures were screaming and roaring upon finding their prey. William Garin and other soldiers prepared for the battle to save their own lives. Suddenly, Luhan, the cadet, stood up and lit the explosives around his body. In a heroic manner, he stood at the center and braced the monster with the explosives. Before the explosives detonated, he looked back to the other soldiers and gave his farewell. The explosion caused the sewer to collapse and block the entrance. William Garin and other generals were saved by a cadet.
Netizens Reactions
Viewers praised Luhan’s heroic performance. Many of the viewers shed tears when watching Luhan sacrifice himself to save the generals and to complete their mission. Luhan’s role develops from a timid and hesitant cadet to that of a courageous warrior. Netizens admired Luhan’s heroic act, but they regretted his decision to sacrifice himself since it was the end of his role in the movie. Many fans were left in tears when Luhan gave the last look to the generals before the explosion.
Luhan with Matt Damon
On-Screen
Matt Damon and Luhan collaborated on the set of The Great Wall. In the beginning, it was Matt Damon’s character that saved Luhan from the monster’s attack, but in the middle of the movie it was Luhan that saved Matt Damon’s character. It was a great honor for Luhan to play in an action movie alongside the respected movie actor, Matt Damon.
Off Screen
Matt Damon was amazed by Luhan’s popularity in China and other Asian countries. He got along well with Luhan, and acclaimed the idol’s acting talent in the movie. Matt Damon was overwhelmed when he found hundreds of flower bouquets at his hotel entrance the night before the shooting started. Matt Damon said that it was easy working with Luhan since they are all very talented. He was impressed by how well-behaved Luhan was, considering he is a big star in his country. Luhan carried himself well to other cast members. Matt Damon thanked the staff and crew for their kindness and warm reception to the western actors.
That was all the information about Luhan’s heroic performance in The Great Wall. His sacrifice made him one of the most important soldiers in the movie. Don’t forget to give your thoughts and opinions about Luhan’s acting performance in the comment section below.
