Movie star Feng Shaofeng. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In the movie, the masters of the exiled rebel force have a host of magic tricks at their disposal to create complex illusions, such as making victims believe they are seeing a sculpture of a dragon come alive or being besieged by giant monsters.

"People might wonder what would happen if the monsters from the Godzilla or Jurassic films could coexist with us in our world," Hark says of his inspiration behind the monsters and supernatural creatures in his movie.

Aside from the protagonists, the cast also includes Feng Shaofeng starring as empress Wu's top aide, Lin Gengxin playing a doctor, Ma Sichun as a swordswoman, while the tale's mysterious hero is a Buddhist monk played by Taiwan actor Ethan Juan－who summons a gargantuan white-haired gorilla to ultimately solve the crisis.

In one of the most dazzling scenes in the film, the monk rides on the gorilla to fight a multi-eyed avatar of one of the four heavenly kings from the film's title on top of a building housing the Tang empire's top judicial body.