Release Date 03Sep2021
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS *Or* NOT Shang Tsung and that horrendous Mortal Kombat movie -AKA- Not bad, but not great.
Saw SHANG-CHI yesterday and while not quite justifying the hype, it wasn't a bad time in a movie theater.
SHANG-CHI -aka- The master of martial arts or Brother Hand was conceived by STEVE ENGELHART and JIM STARLIN in 1972 as a spin-off character from SAX ROHMER'S racist, "yellow peril" caricature FU MANCHU.
Shang-Chi was meant to be the son of FM who was raised to be an assassin in his father's criminal enterprise but turns away to use his martial arts mastery and control of "Chi" to fight evil.
Marvel wanted to adapt the KUNG FU television series but were turned away by Warner media.
This film adapts this character while dumping the racist B.S. that defined the IP's early history.
THE GOOD: A really nice intro to the hero character, SIMU LIU creating a down to earth, charming and relatable lead. AWKWAFINA is great as the best friend. There is a scene on a bus that is some of the best action staging in the entirety of the MCU. There's also an extended cameo that is a lot of fun.
THE BAD: TONY LEUNG is one of the greatest actors working in the world. That said, there must have been something amiss to have dude only show two emotions in the film. Mr. LEUNG plays THE MANDARIN, normally IRON MAN'S chief nemesis, but in this film he is (nicely explaining away the Mandarin moniker) called XU WENWU - the long lived bearer of the powerful Ten rings (Here shown as Hun Gar rings instead of the traditional finger rings). I just couldn't grasp emotionally what this guy's arc was.
The Marvel formula... You know it and are tired of it too. Big CG battle that drags on way too long. Welp it's in this one too, and everyone still doesn't care.
I like this one, but didn't love it. Same with Black Panther. Hopefully, with the box office this film earned, Mr. Liu and the gang will get a better movie for themselves.
SEE IT: If you're invested in these films and would like more legitimate and diverse representation in front of and behind the camera.
DON'T: If you don't care... you know, just empty inside and enjoy sitting in a dark corner, naked, slowly munching on mouldy rye crusts while talking to a rat turd.
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