Uttarakhand Assembly Election 2022: AAP's Ravindra Jugran resigns party, rejoins BJP Counting of votes will take place in March, along with four other poll-bound states The Election Commission has announced seven-phase voting in Uttar Pradesh starting 10 February. UP Assembly Election 2022: BJP to return to power with 'overwhelming majority', says Yogi Adityanath after EC announces poll dates And more worryingly, more Hollywood talent would flock to the other side for a quick buck and little effort. If this is the big revolution of Chinese-Western cinema then I foresee more hyper nationalist films that depict China as the greatest place in the universe and its people slavishly subservient to it. During one moment even defenseless women jump towards the monsters with open arms to sacrifice their blessed lives for their nation – and it is executed in a manner that expects its audience to stand up and loudly applaud while shedding horse sized tears. The white men in the film have some layers to their personalities, but none of the Chinese characters in the film are real humans – they are robotically fatalist and patriotic and would in fact do anything for their country including giving up their lives. The truly frustrating aspect of the film is how it feels like a propaganda piece. Strangely the dragons from 2002’s similarly themed low budget Reign of Fire look more convincing and interesting than the creatures in this movie. The monsters in the film are serviceable at best – in an era where you get Star Wars levels of special effects, anything less feels jarring and cheap. Damon’s unintentionally hilarious Irish accent only adds to the layer of cheesiness in the film that director Yimou never fully embraces. At most times the film plays out like a tired soap opera that is far more serious than it needs to be. It’s the stuff in between the action scenes that disappoints. Those familiar with Eastern cinema will also find much to like about superstar Andy Lau who plays a military honcho. Some of the action-ey bits in the end are also fairly engaging. Like most of Yimou’s films there is some ostentatious camerawork and production design, and if you like medieval costume dramas like Game of Thrones you’ll find much to appreciate in the look and feel of the film. There are some interesting sequences – like the showboating of the Chinese military and its tactics – which have such giant scale and tactical planning you’ll want to pick up a copy of Sun Tzu’s book after you’re back home. The film kind of works in fits and starts.