9/3/21 - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) - 6+/7-/10
A thoroughly enjoyable American xianxia spectacle with talent and heart. It functions within the basic trappings of a comic origin story, but feels distinctly less “capes and tights” and more “fantasy’n’fu”. It builds the MCU world in a fresh way and further expands the reach of what said heroes can be & mean. I appreciate its soul as well as its sights, delivering enticing action and dynamic drama.
The fighting, though a bit big and more cgi-ey than I often prefer, came off well and impactful. The set pieces for those scuffles were sharp and well executed with the camera just about staying with the focus. I might have liked a little more Chocolate (check it out if you don’t know it) in the scaffold fight, but it felt intense and triggered a touch of my acrophobia. Overall, solid action choreography, stunts, execution and direction, especially from a generally small indie drama filmmaker.
The actors were mighty strong. Simu Liu shows pathos and some fun range, but reaches the standard level of emotional depth of these Marvel origin tales. Awkwafina was fun, though not as slayingly jokey as I expected, but I appreciated her audience connection and reality injection. Leung might have stolen the show with his emotional ripples under stoic badassery. He just brings a profundity that radiates in each scene. Yeoh’s turn was minimal but effective and Kinglsey is impeccable with his buffoonery.
The final act lags a bit and but they do an admirable job of layering storytelling and character pathos throughout the film. It builds and, though it might be a bit too truncated to be reasonable, instills a growth in talent and persona. No matter the windings of that path, they have delivered a special, represented and believable star & hero for the now and their future plans. I am on board with where Shang Chi and Katy go from here.
MCU RANKINGS UPDATE (I THINK...AT THIS EXACT SECOND):
