I saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Saturday night. The movie was great, the theater experience.... not so much. I've got things to say about both.
It's been two years since Marvel's last origin story release, and now they've gifted us with a brand new hero and a whole new world with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It's pretty different from anything Marvel has done before and it's gone well, smashing at the domestic box office with a $71.4 million opening weekend. As far as origin stories go, Marvel has nailed the formula, giving us just enough background to understand the character without bogging us down with details we've seen in origin stories time and time again.
Shang-Chi, played by Simu Liu, is a very cool character that I'm excited to see interact with the rest of our heroes in the MCU. He is a master of the martial arts and joins a long list of Marvel characters with Daddy issues (Tony Stark, Thor & Loki, Peter Quill, Gamora & Nebula off the top of my head) when he's sucked back into his father's Ten Rings organization and must confront the past he tried to leave behind. The fight choreography in Shang-Chi is phenomenal and it resulted in the best fight scenes of any Marvel movie. There is a 1 vs 1 fight between Shang-Chi and Death Dealer that tops Cap and Bucky's highway fight in Winter Soldier as the best in the MCU. The fighting really reminded me of old Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee movies with the wirework and choreography and that was no accident. The soundtrack is fantastic as well which can add so much to a movie. And of course it wouldn't be a Marvel movie without a touch of humor. Shang-Chi didn't have as much as some other recent MCU movies, but the humor it did have landed well. As expected Awkwafina brought the comedic relief as Shang-Chi's co-worker/bestie/drinking buddy, but she was great in the tender moments as well. Meng'er Zhang plays Shang-Chi's sister, Xu Xialing, in her very first movie. Ever. That's incredible. Her rope dart weapon was sick as heck. I don't have to say anything about Michelle Yeoh or Tony Leung. They are Hong Kong action film legends, of course they brought the heat to Shang-Chi.
Chinese mythology is not something I know a lot about, but after viewing Shang-Chi I studied up. If you've seen the movie feel free to check out this: https://www.cbr.com/every-mythological-creature-shang-chi/ They loaded the movie down with Chinese culture and myths and it was very cool to see on screen. If I had to deduct some points from Shang-Chi it would come from the third act. I think it lost a little shine with just how much CGI there was. Don't get me wrong the CGI was good and it looked great. It's a testament to just how good the small scale fight scenes were that I wanted more of those and less of the huge CGI fights. Also the "rings" are more like arm bands. But I suppose "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Arm Bands" doesn't have quite have the same ring to it. (get it? hehe)
Overall, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a fantastic addition to the MCU and Simu Liu and friends will be leaving their mark on the MCU for a long time to come. It's unique and different and looks phenomenal and I'm excited to visit this world and these characters again soon. If you need a refresher on anything before diving into Shang-Chi be sure to check out Dr. Strange and Iron Man 3. And be sure to stick around for the two credit scenes that seem to have some pretty major implications on the future of the MCU.
Now. Time for me to rant a little bit. I really, really liked Shang-Chi. I would have liked it a lot more if I wasn't in a theater full of clowns. As soon as the movie started, two people in front of me whipped out their phones. One was checking his emails with the screen as bright as it could be. The other was taking a picture for Facebook and spent the first twenty minutes of the movie trying to decide on the perfect caption. Full brightness. The couple sitting directly to my left got up and passed in front of me like 3 times. As if that wasn't bad enough, a group of twenty something year old boys in front of me continually laughed, threw food, and made fart noises during more intimate parts of the movie. Look if you're going to go the movie theater be respectful. Have we been out of theaters so long that we've forgotten how to act? I get sometimes you may need to check your phone if you've got something going on. If it's absolutely necessary at LEAST turn the brightness down. Get your snacks before the movie and keep your bathroom trips to a minimum. I shouldn't have to type "don't make fart noises." This stuff throws off the whole theater vibe. I let a lot of things slide and I try not to let distractions affect my enjoyment of a movie, but if someone does this stuff to me while I'm watching the masterpiece that Dune will be.... I'm gonna lose it.. Ugh. Saturday night just reinforced my belief that the best time to go is in the middle of the day when you've got the whole place to yourself.
That's it for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I loved it and think it's a great addition to the MCU. I also recently saw Free Guy and Candyman. Free Guy was a lot of fun. I'll never get tired of watching Ryan Reynolds be Ryan Reynolds on screen. And Taika Waititi remains a king. Candyman stinks. It looks and sounds great, but the plot is rushed and unravels and has far too many loose ends that are never explained. It lost me by the third act. September cools down after Shang-Chi, but October is absolutely loaded. My next big review will be Daniel Craig's final Bond movie No Time to Die. But we are also getting The Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark, along with Halloween Kills, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Last Duel, and my most anticipated movie of 2021 - Dune.
I can't frickin' wait.
- BH
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