Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

A likeable and easily digestible advertisement for the East and all that is good about it. A philosophically and artistically easier to grasp version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Smart, unpretentious, with a focus on family values until the final few minutes, when it becomes another one of Marvel’s CGI fests about saving the world. The humour is alright and some of the action scenes are fantastic. The visual effects are a bit weaker, but it’s still watchable entertainment that, unlike other “secondary” Marvel flicks, can be sipped like good lemonade. (2021-12-18)

This combination of modern Chinese action movie with folk tales works. Disney understands that it’s making movies mainly for the Eastern market and so they honor their view of the world with occasional bow to the West. Shang-Chi’s acting is spot on. Simu Liu is a nice guy, despite the weird trailers, and comes across completely natural when he sings karaoke as well as in battles. Tony Leung steals the whole movie for himself and his "daddy" is another one of those baddies who you side with more than with the main hero. Choreography perfect, action just fantastic. Special effects are a bit shaky in places, but other times breathtaking. Thumbs up. P.S.: At the end, Bruce does more to attract you to watch his further adventures more than Wong. (2021-09-03)

The more/longer is it just a fantasy kung fu fairy tale rather than a Marvel movie, the better it is. What works throughout is the dynamics and likeability of the Leung/Awkwafina duo, the solid action choreography by Marvel standards (a sort of "post-Western wu-sia"), and, wonder of wonders, even a charismatic villain with understandable motivations. In the second half, things get a bit sketchy, because the writers don't know what to do with Awkwafina's character, and so she's turned into "Mulan Sue" out of nowhere, and the sister, who would work as a supporting character, is unjustifiably shoved into the foreground, where the creators have nothing for her. Also, the humour that has worked up to that point is killed by the overuse of a joke with an unnamed (non)actor and his sidekick. All the Marvel moments (characters, references, events) are incorporated, but they are kind of broken over both knees (except for the successful first meeting scene). It is then crowned with a downward trend of CGI kaiju shenanigans during the final act, which is a great shame, because it takes away from the solid choreography. What keeps the final act afloat, on the other hand, is the likeability of the new characters and the passable personal/emotional level. Still one of the best Marvel movies to take on an original character and introduce them to the world. (2021-10-19)

Marvel has gone the route of exploiting Eastern Asian culture and I would not mind if the final product was entertaining or at least interesting to the audience. This movie is neither. I got tired of live-action CGI comic book nonsense a long time ago, and Tony Leung and a few pretty choreographed scenes is not going to change that, unfortunately. (2022-05-08)

The most interesting thing about this film is how (well) it connects to the entire universe. Otherwise, it's an thoroughly generic Marvel movie that, while it takes place in a novel setting, is basically nothing special in itself. Decent fight scenes and an air of family drama are definite pluses here, but somehow I'm already feeling a slight fatigue after 25 MCU movies. [65%] (2021-09-02)