Matt Damon Fights Monsters in the Trailer for Zhang Yimou's The Great Wall

Here's one of the more bizarre trailers of the week. In fact, I had never even heard of this film before today. It's "The Great Wall," from director Zhang Yimou, who has brought us such outstanding martial arts films as "Hero," "House of Flying Daggers," and "Curse of the Golden Flower." But why does "The Great Wall" look particularly bizarre? Well, for one thing, you have Matt Damon of all people defending the iconic structure against a horde of monsters and.... well, do I really need to say more than that? I didn't think so,

With a cast that also features Willem Dafoe and Pedro Pascal ("Game of Thrones"), the film looks as though it could be a fun action adventure, though there's also a chance that it could turn into a rather silly mess given the premise. However, given the director's track record, I'm certainly willing to give this a shot in hopes of it being another incredible addition to his already-impressive filmography. Let's just hope that Damon doesn't become too much of a distraction in a film where he's obviously going to seem a little out of place.

It's interesting to note that Yimou actually took over from original director Edward Zwick, who has given us such great films as "The Last Samurai" and "Blood Diamond," and was to star Henry Cavill (whose schedule is no doubt filled with his Superman gig). It's not known exactly why he left ("creative differences" is the commonly used excuse), but if they had to replace someone that good, I'm glad it was with someone as experienced in action as Yimou.

We'll see how the whole endeavor turns out when Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall" opens in US theaters on February 17, 2017.

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