Matt Damon thinks ‘The Great Wall’ is like "the Beijing Olympics with monsters".
The 45-year-old actor may not be able to communicate directly with director Zhang Yimou but has always understood his vision for the historic fantasy and thinks their project is "next-level insane".
He said: "It’s amazing. Zhang Yimou doesn’t speak a lick of English and I don’t speak any Mandarin. But we both have made movies our entire adult lives, so I always know where he’s coming from. The guy is a genius.
"It’s basically a historical fantasy monster movie but with Zhang Yimou directing.
"It’s next-level insane. The shot making is so exciting.
"Having done this for 25 years, to watch hi work is just amazing. He directed the Beijing Olympics [opening ceremony in 2008]. It’s like the film version of the Beijing Olympics but with monsters."
Matt – who stars alongside Pedro Pascal, Andy Lau and Willem Defoe in the film – plays a mercenary who gets captured and wants to help defend China against the rise of mythical monsters.
He explained to Total Film magazine: "It takes place around 15AD and I play a mercenary who has gone to northern China to steal gunpowder.
"The movie starts with him being pursued by these nomad tribesman who are going to kill him.
"They are a group of Chinese soldiers whose job it is to defend the wall because every 60 years these monsters out of Chinese mythology rise up and assault the wall, and try to break through to take over and kill everyone.
"Some of these soldiers living and die without ever seeing these beasts. They live to defend China.
"Pedro and I get captured by the army on the eve of an attack and prove ourselves worthy of helping in the defence of the wall."
Matt Damon’s Olympic monnster movie
