Matt Damon will soon be seen fighting Chinese monsters armed with arsenal by Weta Workshop.

The work the Kiwi special effects company did for his latest film – The Great Wall – was "incredible", Damon says.

The Great Wall is a US-China co-production from Legendary, China Film Group, Le Vision Pictures and Atlas Entertainment, by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou.

YOUTUBE/LEGENDARY Matt Damon stars in the The Great Wall, largely filmed in Qingdao, which is set in the Song Dynasty-era and features extensive special effects work by Weta Workshop.

Having recently finished working on Scarlett Johansson's film Ghost in the Shell, Miramar-based Weta Workshop spent 65,000 man hours creating 4500 pieces of armour, swords, spears, shields, and other props for the action-packed monster film.

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Filmed largely in Qingdao, China, the The Great Wall is set in the Song Dynasty-era, and based on an ancient motif that appears throughout Chinese mythology, the Tao Tie.

Tao Tie appear in the film as a swarming army of monstrous predators that a Great Wall is built to keep out.

Weta founder, Sir Richard Taylor, has said his manufacturing and design teams outdid themselves with what they achieved for the film – which included making 10,000 arrows.

"We normally carry about 150 staff on our workshop floor, but we had to jump to about 330 staff to get this product through quickly enough," Taylor revealed in a behind-the-scenes clip.

JASON LEE Actor Matt Damon attends a red carpet event in Beijing last week promoting Great Wall.

"A sci-fi fantasy monster-adventure action epic set in historical China: an extraordinary premise for a movie and a fantastic opportunity for Weta Workshop!" he said.

"That a sizeable part of the biggest Chinese film ever made has been produced in a small suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, is a terrific thing for us all to celebrate."

Damon expressed at New York Comic Con in October that he was disappointed the film had faced "white-washing" criticisms after a teaser trailer released in August.

The Bourne franchise star recommended that people make judgements after seeing the entire film, rather than just a teaser, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"Ultimately, where I come down is if people watch the movie and still believe there's whitewashing involved in it, in a creature feature that we made up, then I will listen to it with my whole heart, he said.

"I will be surprised if people watch it and have that reaction. I will be genuinely shocked. But it's a perspective as a progressive person I really do agree with and try to listen to and try to be sensitive to."

The film's Design Studio Project Manager, Tasha Guillot, said that while the film is a work of fantasy, its setting meant that designs had to embody a sense of historical realism.

"It is always a wonderful challenge for us to explore trying to create something beautiful, striking and exciting in a fantasy realm while feeling inspired and grounded within the realms of a historic period.

"The team relished the opportunity for The Great Wall and, I think, excelled in achieving this balance for the designs within this dynasty in Chinese history."

Another project Weta Workshop recently helped bring to life is the sci-fi thriller film Spectral.

Weta Workshop created costumes and high-tech props and weapons for the film, which revolves around an elite special operations unit which must fight a terrifying, unseen, enemy.

Directed by Nic Mathieu and produced by Legendary Pictures, the film is available now on Netflix.

The Great Wall is set to open in New Zealand cinemas on February 16, 2017.