A film which caused controversy on release out of fear of bringing in a "white saviour" - Matt Damon was going to star in a Chinese story about the Chinese fighting off evil serpents at the great wall. Well he's not really a white saviour - it's the Chinese who drive the action and have the stakes.
Indeed part of the film's problem is that Damon could be cut out of the film and there'd be no real difference. The same problem happened with Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronin - he wasn't necessary for the story, the stakes weren't about him.
I got the feeling this wasn't an issue for Richard Chamberlain in Shogun - I could be wrong it had been a long time since I saw it. But it felt like there were stakes on Chamberlain - he was always at risk of being killed, he fell for a local girl which could've gotten them killed.
Damon didn't have much of a character to play. Come to think of it no one had a great character - the girl general (the actor playing her didn't feel convincing) isn't much of a character, nor was the Emperor. Damon's sidekick wasn't funny or even particularly treacherous. Willem Dafoe looked as though he was going to do something interesting but didn't.
Some impressive production values and decent action sequences. But it felt undercooked. The determination to not offend I think hurt this.
How would you do it? Maybe make the battle more personal for Damon. Have his offsider be his brother - his brother fights for the baddies. Have more treacherous humans (they can ally with the baddies). Have Damon constantly at risk of being killed. Give him a romance instead of just a respectful friendship.
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