Just got back from Shang-Chi. It's: pretty good! I wasn't blown away, but it's solid, the fight choreography is great, and it's got a bit of a fresh style to it in sort of the same way Black Panther did. There are both mid- and post-credits scenes.
The entire cast is charismatic and entertaining, but I gotta give it up to Tony Leung in particular. He does a lot with a little in terms of what he's actually physically doing, moment to moment -- he puts forth this front of being stoic and unflappable but you can see there's a maelstrom of emotions just below the surface. But shouldn't an immortal thousand-year-old warlord with godly rings and an army of assassins have conquered the world by now? I realize he took a bit of a break when he met his wife, but really dude. Also, I feel like his incredibly bloody past kind of got glossed over to focus on what he's doing right now. "Your family needs you!" ...Do they? Do they really?
Did they ever even say the mother's name in dialogue? Did I just miss it? She's the focal point of the villain's motivations, and I had to look her name up on Wikipedia just now. (It's Jiang Li.)
I'm not really qualified to speak on the topic of Asian representation in cinema, but I do think it's a little unfortunate that the first MCU film with a majority Asian cast leans so heavily on martial arts and dragons and shit. It seems like it was all handled pretty respectfully, but I guess that's not really for me to decide.
Like I said, the fight choreography is bananas, especially on the bus towards the beginning. Acrobatic fights in cramped spaces are always cool, and what is a bus but a hallway on wheels? I also loved all the shenanigans with the rings, like blasting them at the ground to do super jumps. Can't wait to see Shang-Chi bust out more moves in future films.
I feel like the movie forgot Ben Kingsley was in it halfway through. That's fine.
Bruce isn't the Smart Hulk anymore! I was worried that represented the conclusion of his story so I was pumped to see him again. Nice to see Carol and Wong too, of course. And sure, the Abomination, I guess. Also caught a poster for "Post-Blip Anxiety Counseling" in one shot. I continue to want to see more of how the events of Infinity War and Endgame affected the world.
Did they ever even say the mother's name in dialogue? Did I just miss it? She's the focal point of the villain's motivations, and I had to look her name up on Wikipedia just now. (It's Jiang Li.)
I'm not really qualified to speak on the topic of Asian representation in cinema, but I do think it's a little unfortunate that the first MCU film with a majority Asian cast leans so heavily on martial arts and dragons and shit. It seems like it was all handled pretty respectfully, but I guess that's not really for me to decide.
Like I said, the fight choreography is bananas, especially on the bus towards the beginning. Acrobatic fights in cramped spaces are always cool, and what is a bus but a hallway on wheels? I also loved all the shenanigans with the rings, like blasting them at the ground to do super jumps. Can't wait to see Shang-Chi bust out more moves in future films.
I feel like the movie forgot Ben Kingsley was in it halfway through. That's fine.
Bruce isn't the Smart Hulk anymore! I was worried that represented the conclusion of his story so I was pumped to see him again. Nice to see Carol and Wong too, of course. And sure, the Abomination, I guess. Also caught a poster for "Post-Blip Anxiety Counseling" in one shot. I continue to want to see more of how the events of Infinity War and Endgame affected the world.