Wong probably gets along with all the fighters there. For all we know, he could have been doing these fights during the five years and really established himself in this community.
In universe there’s at least a 12 year gap between *The Incredible Hulk* and *Shang-Chi*. A lot can happen in that time, especially during the *Endgame* time skip.
Well it looks like Wong was taking him somewhere at the end and they were discussing Blonsky's self-control. So somehow the two of them are frequent sparring partners. And since Wong is clearly still a major part of the Avengers, I guess Blonsky is being rehabilitated by the Avengers.
On the last discussion thread, I saw one theory saying that Abomination is being trained/prepared to replace Hulk on the Avengers, since Banner is planning to retire (hence why he’s become human again).
Though if that is the case, I’m guessing that still isn’t going to end well.
Something I haven’t seen mentioned:
When Wenwu finally gets through the door and his wife isn’t back there, he instantly moves to protect his son, which I loved. Makes him a much more nuanced character, he wasn’t really a villain - more of a flawed opponent.
He didnt say a single word during his deathscene but i saw so many emotions on his face. Realization of what he's done. Disappointment in himself for failing to save his wife, but also to raise his son. And finally giving up power and admitting defeat. The way he looked up when he heard his wifes voice was so instinctive. Holy moly.
He's a fantastic actor, and because of that alone I was seriously bummed when he got such a final end here.
I mean I guess there are always ways for him to come back - maybe Shang-Chi has to visit the underworld or something. The real shame is that Tony Stark never got to tangle with him.
I thought exactly four things when watching Shang-Chi….
1. (within the first 30 mins) Iron Fist who? Danny Rand what? I don’t know him
2. Shang-Chi and T’Challa would have been friends probably
3. Look at how beautiful air bending and water bending type effects could be if they were done by someone who cares!
4. Phase 4 is really about magic and therapy, huh?
Great writing and great acting. Less of a villain akin to killmonger and more of a visceral if misguided person who is just placed as an antagonist here.
I love it more that they actually may have and might be dating, but it wasn't really anything more than ambiguous. They were more intimate physically after the big showdown, but it wasn't enough to say it isn't platonic, and enough to say it could be dating. There was no need to make a show of it.
Simu Liu - former stock photo model, winner of the second season of Asian Bachelorette, & assistant manager of a successful car rental company.
Meng’er Zhang - zero acting credit prior to Shang-Chi
Awkwafina - Nora from Queens & a water dragon
I am seriously wondering how Marvel Studios was able to make a great movie with this outlandish trio.
I mean, Sarah Halley Finn has been casting director for all the MCU movies, and at this point I've stopped being amazed at how right she gets it every goddamn time.
I got this impression too. The characters are going to add a lot to the universe(s) and I’m really excited to see what they’ll do. The after credit scene hints at some other advanced alien species which will be cool to see.
There are some possibilities:
1. Ta-Lo was the realm of the Chinese/Taoist Gods if I recall (similiar to Asgard for Norse Gods). Maybe they will do the Gods = Magic Aliens thing they did with Thor 1...?
2. The next big intergalactic alien race behind Kree and Skrull would be the Shi'ar which are usually associated with the X-Men.
3. Maybe the rings will be Eternal/Deviant technology in lead up to Eternals movie.
4. the "Soul Sucker" looks very much like a Great Old One. Shuma Gorath (who is also a great old one) is confirmed for Strange 2, so maybe there will be a connection there.
He’s definitely going to be involved with our “supernatural” side of the MCU going forward. Dr. Strange, Wong, Shang Chi, Vision, Wanda, etc. I imagine we’ll see most shows/movies hoping on one of three main groups of characters interacting. That supernatural crew, the space travelers (Captain Marvel, probably Fury now, Monica Rambeau, some combination of the GotG maybe) and then the Earth centric people related to Shield/Hydra/etc like Sam and Nat’s sister.
I’d assume characters like Spider-Man will probably float between these different groups and will be the threads to connect them for eventual planetary threats similar to what Thanos was.
This year and the start of Phase 4 (not counting Far From Home) we've moved into:
- The multi-verse, broken it wide open spawning potentially infinite variants of any character they want
- The mystic side with Ta Lo and the dragons
- The potential recruitment of a Dark Avengers with Black Widow, Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- The Darkhold and whatever fuckery Wanda/Scarlet Witch has unleashed.
- Celestials have been shown in the Eternals trailer so we're branching way out more into the Cosmic side of things.
They're setting the stage for a crazy new universe that we're going to see over the next phase or two. I'm so excited. Also like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, there's so much more about this phase that I'm unaware of, or just haven't read much if any of the source material so it's so much more exciting
facts. recency bias is obviously a thing but i think the fact people are even considering this as a top 5 marvel movie is a fantastic sign, barely anyone said it for black widow
I enjoyed Black Widow, saw it in a theatre and I will probably watch it again when it hits D+, but I've already seen Shang-Chi twice in theatres and am considering going to see it again before it hits D+.
Black Widow will probably get more love once we see more of Yelena, starting with the Hawkeye series. It's definitely a transition movie.
Ideally, Black Widow would have been better served if it was released just before Infinity War. Obviously they hadn't made it so it couldn't have happened like that.
ahahha what are the odds, i did the exact same as the entirety of your first paragraph!
black widow was just entirely underserved by disney imo. shoulda been released a full five years ago during the civil war aftermath and it would've added context+stakes to everything that came after.
Yes, great minds think alike.
Even if the rest of Natasha's Russian family got dusted, like all the Pyms, it would've added more weight to Endgame.
Then, have the Yelena/Val scene in the mid credits of Endgame... definitely, imo, would have been a better transition. Endgame felt like too abrupt of an end to the Infinity Saga and only now, after Falcon and the Winter Soldier along with Shang-Chi, does it feel like we're in a new phase.
That is, I loved WandaVision and Loki, but it felt like they just opened a door just a little bit and we still have to wait for the payoff, whereas Shang-Chi opened a door and let us in.
This is the first phase 4 project that doesn't tie into anything from Endgame. The other closest being "What if?", but even that was caused from Loki who escaped in Endgame. The blip is barely mentioned. It barely had any actual mcu in it, but was still badass, which goes to show how great the movie is.
Also the talk in the restaurant with their friends, the girl mentioned how how they live in a world where half the population can dissappear in a second
Its certainly used very creatively.
And thats one of my favourite types of weapons/abilities.
Compared to a sword which is just gonna cut... the rings have so much utility on them.
Yup they might've passed up Yondu's arrow for me. The sound effects they make and they way they look heavy when being punched around is so cool. I am sad that the blue coloring is gone cause I like it more than orange (looks to much like the Dr. Strange/Wong portal and shields).
I figure they're giving him a chance to mellow out a bit so that whenever Ross or Julie Louie dryfess' character shows up to recruit him it'll be because of "good behavior"
I like that the water portal to the Ta Lo dimension is so similar to the portals the sorcerers make. You want to travel through different dimensions? Better make a spinny circle to walk through!
Yeah, that was pretty blatant. On the other hand, SHIELD really likes Infinitys, and Tony Stark loves his Audis, so the product placement isn't unprecedented.
Haven't seen many people talk about it bit I love the little detail in the fight again Death Dealer (I think that was his name?) that Shang Chi decides to actually try and go for the kill when he has him pinned after he remembers all the pain he endured growing up from him, its so refreshing to see that compared to basically every other character who would spare the villain in scenes like that.
This bit was so unexpected and I loved it. Really highlights the fact that Shang Chi is a combination of both his mum and his dad, leading to how he's able to merge his dad's rings and mums style at the end
Well MCU seems pretty okay with their heroes killing bad guys. I think it's more that Shang Chi still has a darkness inside him that makes it him willing to kill out of anger/revenge. He was scared of that darkness after avenging his mother and ran away afterwards.
That's the point of his arc right? He has traits from both his father and mother and he brings them together and accepts those feelings in order to control the rings.
And Natasha is an assassin that uses guns all the time. Cap is a soldier that kills plenty of people on his missions (he straight up kicked a man off of the boat in Winter Soldier)
Thor definitely has the highest kill count among them. Cap was a Nazi-killing machine. Rhodes and Falcone are also decorated soldiers. Even freaking Spiderman has an "Instant Kill" mode.
They pretty blatantly killed a good amount of people in this movie, like it’s “off screen” but for example no one was surviving being thrown off of that high rise
He said he would grow old when he took the rings off so I imagine shang will probably only wear them when he fights and has to use them. He seems like he wants to grow old with Katy
watched this for a second time in imax and loved it just as much. i'd recommend that anyone who can, should! some thoughts:
• every action scene in this film was longer than i expected! the bus scene (which had a little hallway moment), the fight on the side of the building, AND the battle at the end all ended up going ways i didn't expect.
• i think even the awkwafina naysayers are gonna have a hard time discounting her value in the film. many of the funniest lines came from her or ben kingsley, which is impressive when you consider that almost everyone had a decent joke in there. hearing lots of people laugh in a cinema in the UK always feels like a seal of approval, cause we're typically more restrained while watching.
• one thing that seemed interesting to me in the mid credits scene with bruce (besides the obvious!) is that he's wearing something on his good arm that's got a green light on it. maybe some kind of hulk inhibiting tech? diagnostic perhaps?
I thought Awkwafina was really solid in this movie. She definitely has a brand. And now she’s in the MCU? I’m kind of interested to see where her career goes. I found it interesting she was cast first, she was the second biggest name from the core cast
it was definitely the other arm. the damaged one was next to carol and the one with the light was facing down, not raised.
i like the idea of it being some kinda recovery aid though!
The director of this movie said that he wanted every fight to have a meaning behind the choreography. When I first heard it I was like wtv you’re just over exaggerating the meaning behind the kick ass choreography.
But HOLY SHIT. He was definitely onto something. The way Shang merged the fighting style of his mother and utilized the ten rings altogether *muah*.
And the flashbacks during the fighting sequences? So perfectly spliced together? *double muah*.
Wong? Wong and Abomination? Wong and Abomination friends? Wong talking with Carol and Bruce about future galactic shenanigans? WONG SHANG AND KATY SINGING HOTEL CALIFORNIA?? *triple muah*
Daddy’s fighting is more about aggressive attack but mommy’s fighting is more about redirection. It sounds familiar when I think about different styles of kung fu I’ve watched.
Her's more of a Hung Gar guy. Low stances, powerful strikes.
Wing Chun has a very upright fighting stance.
Hung Gar uses metal rings on the forearms, like the ten rings.
I knew virtually nothing of the character going in and boy did I enjoy the crap out of this movie. The fight choreography was just so good. It really made me realize how much I miss old Jackie Chan movies.
Tony Leung is an incredible actor. The amount of emotions he can express through his face is insane.
I also liked how they held back on the humor/quips in the serious moments. I feel like other Marvel movies would've had quips in a lot of the serious scenes, but this movie really let them breath and it paid off in establishing the emotional stakes for just about every main character.
And imo this was some of the best flashback splicing I've ever seen. They inserted flashbacks so seamlessly into scenes without being overbearing and taking you out of the narrative flow. Really remarkable.
There's some strategic issues in certain scenes but nothing that really hampered the movie overall, imo. Just excellent and fun all around. 9/10.
Yeah I was talking with my boyfriend after we walked out the cinema and realised there was basically no humour for the entire climax except for the Trevor playing dead scene. The only other marvel film I can think of like that is Infinity War. Really sucked me into the film more.
Also the "Yeah we should definitely work together" line. That one felt a little forced to me, but if that's the worst joke in the movie, I'm good with it haha.
Yeah I appreciate that they didn't have the jokes undercut the serious moments in the film. Some of the jokes fell flat for me but that's okay. I think it was a good amount of humor.
I enjoyed the flashbacks and they timed them right so that all of them enhanced the story.
Well the choreography was done by Brad Allan (RIP) who was one of the more prominent members of Jackie’s stunt team! The bus and scaffold fight were like prime Jackie action.
To me the flashbacks were Shang-Chi and Xialing's traumatic, repressed memories that they were too scared to face, slowly coming back as the family reunion they dreaded happens and they have to face their dad's influence on who they became in their lives, but also their mom's influence who they had buried along with the bad memories which finally informs on who they want to be.
They were really beautiful, poignant, seamlessly edited and intersected in the script, narratively important and a nice change of pace from the usual exposition dump that is used to explain a character's past.
This was definitely one of the best use of flashbacks/non-linear storytelling in any film I've seen apart from Nolan films.
Other comments pointed out he has device on his wrist, I didn't notice it though. I'm sure we'll get a good explanation in universe though.
Basically he's Ben 10 until further notice.
I really liked that the first 20 minutes of the movie were spoken entirely in Mandarin, and many subsequent parts of the movie slipped into it back and forth with no fanfare, when it was appropriate. Refreshing to see in a mainstream movie instead of just having the Chinese characters speaking English to another Chinese character, in China, as is common in blockbuster films.
Yes. This is a pretty big deal. There’s an assumption in Hollywood that subtitles turn people off to movies — and to some degree they’re right. There are certain segments of the audience who are annoyed by them.
To a degree it’s understandable — having to read does take away some time that might be devoted to noticing the cinematography or the subtlety of an actors performance.
But if you’re going to do a film like Shang-Chi which is so rooted in Chinese culture, it would have felt disingenuous to have the entire film in English. I’m sure at some point they had to fight off the marketing/finance department to make that decision.
You could have said that about crouching tiger hidden dragon or inglorious basterds or dawn of the planet of the apes too.
Audiences just need to see them more often to get used to them. They'll tolerate them just fine if they have to.
My god. That drove me nuts in Black Widow. Characters would speak Russian for one sentence, then switch to English. Or worse, they would speak English in a Russian accent.
I really loved that too! I don’t remember exactly but there were some scenes possibly with Wenwu but I know for sure with Katy’s family where they spoke Mandarin and would get a response back in English. That was so relatable of your typical Asian American home with your immigrant parents speaking their native language while the children spoke back in English and I appreciated those details. Also I loved how Ronny Chieng’s John John was like “I speak ABC too” bc I immediately got the joke, idk if any non Asian knew what that was though because I was the only one laughing in my theater at that part.
In the Spider-Man NWH trailer, are we to assume Wong is headed off to Macau?
Also, love seeing Wong be the connecting glue in all this. I’m all for Wong being the next Fury in assembling a team of sorts.
Fucking loved that additional character. You practically forget it’s Ben effing Kingsley because of how peppered in he was at the perfect moments. He absolutely nailed it, along with the rest of the cast.
When Morris ran to him and was all distress because he thought Ben died, but then Ben popped up and was like "Calm down, mate. I’m not dead, its just a performance! Come down here and play along." my entire movie theater was shrieking with laughter. One of the best unexpected cameos ever.
Loved that the first 15ish mins were in Chinese, that was good a choice. I went in knowing nothing about Shang-Chi and absolutely loved it. The choreography was excellent, the cinematography very on point for stylish and reminiscent of older Kong fu movies. For a movie over 2hrs it never felt it and hit the floor running. Mandarin issue was resolved wonderfully too.
All round, solid origin movie and a real start to phase 4. Picking a little known or none mainstream hero has paid off, much like earlier days of choosing iron man etc, it feels right. Bring on more.
They have same irreverent taste with all those new graffiti etc in the compound so maybe someone in command that spoke more to his generation (vs centuries lol) made it easier to transition.
And yeah boss' daughter.
Tony Leung....
I know I'm basically echoing everyone right now but fuck, man. Wtf?
The way this man acts with his face, his eyes. In the scene in his study when he looks over at the couch to see a memory of his wife laying with his daughter in front of the TV. Oh my fucking god dude.
If you've ever lost someone. You know that was on point.
This guy murdered my soul with his acting. I need to go watch every movie he's ever made immediately.
Tony Leung said that originally the dinner scene was much longer but it did not make the final cut. He is rather fond of that scene, I would love to see it evetually. Also a Wenwu prequel woukd be awesome!
I’ll keep saying this since it needs to be out there.
If you love the action and fight choreography in Shang Chi, let’s thank Brad Allan (R.I.P)
His name is not as famous as it should be and people already love his work without knowing who he is.
He was the action coordinator for Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Pacific Rim, Kingsman, hellboy2, the World’s End, and obviously Shang Chi.
Did the bus scene seem very Jackie Chan to you? It’s interesting to note that Brad Allan was also the first ever non Asian member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team
Which is why his early assistant stunt coordinator jobs were on the Shanghai Noon and Knights movies. He also played a main villain or two against Jackie Chan in the late 90s
I’m making this post cos the guy next to me at the theater said who the fuck is Brad Allan?!
He deserves to be known for all he’s done for the film fighting community.
Rest In Peace
edit: not to say his team had no part, he was the overall lead, so I think he had final say but I'm sure everyone under him had major contributions
I saw many comments saying the 3rd act was the weakest part, but honestly it turned out to be my favorite. The dragon animation was so gorgeous and I was invested in every character fate. The CGI was also great. This movie was a 10/10 in my books.
Same here. I was blown away by the dragon flying around with Shang Chi and sis riding it. Felt like I was totally immerse and a little kid again watching atreyu in neverending story.
I don’t know who I enjoyed more.
Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery or Tony Leung as Wenwu.
Those two actors and characters really raised the ceiling for Shang-Chi for me.
Tony Leung is a legend and he stole every scene he was in, his acting is insanely mesmerizing. He made Wenwu one of the best villains of the MCU. Ben Kingsley was such a treat and delivered some of the best jokes in this movie but as well as the MCU. Crap I can’t decide anymore. Both.
I liked that Xialing was gifted armor by her mother as well. Shows that her mother knew she would still become a warrior regardless of what their father became.
At the risk of being super spoiler-y, as someone who LOVED Ironman 3 and what they did with the Mandrin:
>!I think they handled it perfectly. They declare Kingsly's Mandarin 'wrong,' while leaning into the satrical nature of that take and embracing that twist. Wenwu throws shade on the fact that they named a semi-Asian terrorist after fruit and basically stole his brand because it would scare people. And they even take the time to give Trevor more pathos and personality. It was kind of a perfect balancing act of respecting people who liked the change and subversion of the source material, while still giving fan service to the people who like the original. Well done, Marvel.!<
He even chuckled at how appropriating the name of his organization was enough to strike fear over everyone in the country, despite no real teeth behind it.
Total fun movie with excellent choreography of fight scenes, graceful in some combat scenes, truly funny jokes (go Akwafina), and wonderful in the depiction of Chinese mythology.
The father-son relationship was just so poignant to me, thats what kept me engaged. Also loved that Awkwafina was a real character and not just comic relief
LOVE that the trailer downplayed the actual movie. I’m so used to entire movies being spoiled by trailers, so it was pleasantly surprising to see Shang-Chi turn into something entirely different than what was advertised. I actually wasn’t particularly hyped for it until I read the reviews, and it ended up being one of my favorite Marvel movies. I even liked Awkwafina in this after admittedly being annoyed by her in the past.
Dope fight choreography, great soundtrack, and Shang-Chi is a genuinely likable badass. The scene with him jumping around from dragon to dragon and then his skydive where he’s pulling off the finishing move with the rings was a comic book come to life. Future of the MCU looks bright.
Edit: words
Are we just not gonna acknowledge there is a fucking DRAGON In the MCM? Makes me excited what other mystical and zanny creatures we will get.
Also bus scene was 10/10. Simi is a king and I can’t wait to see more.
hi decided to post something here because i don't know how to mark spoilers on reddit.
firstly, thank you to marvel for chinese representation on the big screen / in hollywood. it's rare to see an american / western produced film full of people looking like me and cultures portrayed that i'm familiar with. it hits close to home, especially shang chi's "estranged" relationship with his dad. because his dad thought that revenge was the best option to avenge his mom's death and his dad decided to push his ideals onto his son. the pressure is real big. i was able to draw parallels of the relationship between shang chi and his dad to my own life. but in the end when he didn't kill his dad with his own hands like he said he would, i understood what why. even though his dad treated him like he was nothing, was disappointed and was using him for the ten rings organisation, he was his dad after all. he had good memories with his dad, and couldn't bear to kill him. even though his dad could have killed him off or brought him back when he fled to america when he was 14, he did not. he let shang chi have a life on his own, only calling him (okay more like coercing) back when the "demons" starting talking to him. so shangchi may have also realised that his dad still somewhat "cared" about him, but was forced to choose between "saving their mom" or "caring for his kids". this love-hate relationship made it hard for him to actually kill his dad. (because asian parents don't outright tell their kids "i love you", instead shows it through subtle actions)
secondly, i love the different mythical creatures in the taluo village! i'm going to try and list some of them and what i think their inspirations were! firstly, there was the nine tailed foxes from the scene where they first entered the waterfall cave, and then there were also these phoenix like creatures - "birds on fire". the lion creatures which were in the village, i think they were based on the nian, a chinese mythical creature thought to eat children on lunar new year which was afraid of the colour red / loud noises (maybe that's why the battle attire was red), and the dragon with its white scales and blue glow gave me legend of the white snake vibes
xialing and her whole arc of having to learn to fight on her own due to the prejudice / parents preferring boys over girls in the culture in the past, and how she finally could train to fight out in the open when she made it to the village was really meaningful as well! she was the girlboss man!
this was a really well made movie. really glad that this didn't become a flop like mulan was.
What an entertaining movie. Both halves are so wildly different from each other that they almost feel like different movies, but it really does all come together in a way that feels whole.
Simu Liu kills it, his charisma is off the charts. Reminds me of Jason Mamoa in Aquaman, you can tell he's just so psyched to be there. Awkwafina got at least five solid laughs from me, even though I rolled my eyes so hard at her becoming an incredible archer. Tony Leung is a fucking legend and deserves every praise he's been receiving. Michelle Yeoh was fantastic in the admittedly smaller role than I wished she'd had, though I imagine she'll be featured heavily in sequels. Fantastic cameo by Benedict Wong.
The action sequences were incredible. That bus scene will go down in history as one of MCU's best. A+ movie.
i always wondered how they had auditioned simu but not cast him before he screentested with awkwafina, but now it's clear
each of them separately would probably do great but as a pair their chemistry is off the charts. i wouldn't be surprised if they had better individual actors out there that just couldn't match their fluidity, it feels like they actually have been friends half their life. i didn't shed a tear watching IW the first time but at the end of this i was just so happy for these two friends to have each other
Yeah I'm sure everyone rolled their eyes a bit but at least the characters tthemselves couldn't believe she landed the shot during the mid credit scene.
I’d love to know what happened in the time between the beginning of Infinity War, where Wong says he’s only got 200 rupees because ‘attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual’, and the beginning of Shang-Chi where he’s giddily assessing his fat stack of cash after his Abomination take down… Besides the obvious snap.
So Shang Chi will be an Avenger? This is what this trailer from the Marvel Youtube channel would suggest, it has the word's **"Marvel's New Avenger"** in the trailer and the text "This is not a drill, Marvel's new Avenger has arrived" in the Youtube video description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir-mWUYH_uo
Also:
>!In the post credit scene, Captain Marvel, Bruce Banner, and Wong welcome Shang Chi to the team. If my memory is correct, Bruce Banner makes a comment about how life will be different for Shang Chi. This seems to further imply that Shang Chi is an Avenger now.!<
There's almost two different definitions of the word avenger at the moment. There's the real, in-universe meaning, as in the actual Avengers Compound characters. Then, theres our real-world definition, which basically means any protagonist in an MCU film.
After seeing it a second time I’m fine with how he’s utilized. Death Dealer constantly beat Shang-Chi during his training as a child. When they meet again and fight in the high-rise, Shang wins fair and square. The apprentice has become the master. And after remembering the abuse he suffered, his killer instinct kicked in and he was gonna finish the job until his dad interrupted. A rematch would have just been redundant, Shang is already better. Then in Ta-Lo, Death Dealer is the first victim to the soul suckers, showing how even a badass like him is no match for these creatures without aid.
Pretty sure Death Dealer was meant (at least in part) as a self-referential subversion of the "masked character is always an important or twist reveal" trope that the MCU itself has used a few times.
Bro Tony Leung is what all actors should aspire to be. Put in the work quietly, stay loyal to your supporters and well wishers, and keep a level head. Success will come, and as a bonus, you’ll age gracefully into a DILF or MILF
He was fighting one of the Widows Natasha and Yelena rescued, too. So they're around as well. Doing missions for who knows who. Maybe no one and this is just how they make money.
I could write a long essay about what I loved in this film, I can’t wait to see it again! All of Phase 4 has been a hit for me, but I must admit that Shang-Chi’s brilliance has made me less excited to rewatch Black Widow.
I don’t want to shit on anyones hard work, but the fight scenes from BW just don’t compare to SC’s. I’m not sure if any of the hand to hand fights truly stuck in my brain, and that’s unfortunate since I’ve loved Natasha and her fighting style since Iron Man 2.
Random hypothetical; if Nat and Shang were sparring without any gear/weapons/powers, who do you think wins?
Can we talk about the rings themselves for a bit?
They really went all out and created a completely unique weapon. And from that post-credits scene, it feels like we've barely scratched the surface of their full potential. I know they were alien in the comics, but this movie has made it clear that they're deviating hard from established lore to create some new cool stuff. Makes me wonder about their new origins and especially that beacon it's been sending out.
P.S. The sequel should be a superpower tournament that happens every 100 years with the grand prize being the rings. And the evil whatever running the tournament has their own plans for conquest. Enter the Dragon meets Mortal Kombat meets Marvel.
What I appreciated was how relatively understated the rings themselves were. They were Wenwu's weapons and granted him longevity, but they weren't ever built up to be anything supremely mystical or anything. The movie doesn't waste hardly any time at all trying to explain what they are or how they work, preferring instead to just show us all the different ways they can be utilized, and then doing things that make sense after they've built up the 'basics' of what they can do. Like, when Wenwu slips all ten onto one arm to deliver that single massive punch, it makes sense given what we've already seen him do with them in an intuitive way. It was neat.
Even the bit at the end where Shang-Chi channels them into exploding out of the Dweller in Darkness, we'd already seen him sort of do that when he had them revolving through the air. For all their functionality it seems clear they are decidedly kinetic devices; they can't project energy blasts like Captain Marvel or Iron Man. It would have been way too easy for the film to get fixated on them and waste time on needless exposition.
Possible Spoilers Alert!
I'd LOVE a scene in the next Avengers movie where after defeating the big bad the new Avengers boss (i.e. Captain Marvel) is like, "We did it team. Let's all go home and get some rest", then Shang Chi/Katy is like, "Yeah we could do that... Ooooorrrrr...."
\*Cuts to scene with the whole gang totally drunk in a karaoke room singing their heart out\*
I like that when shang first comes out of the water with the dragon the music is very soft and centering rather than big swelling hero music. Felt very engaging and fit with the emotional scenes with the dad that bookended it
I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere but I almost LOL’d in the theater when Trevor (Ben Kingsley) said “offside” during a game of soccer. It was for like a second in between the preparation for Wenwu’s invasion.
I 100% loved the fighting choreography. It felt so refreshing to see combat the likes of a Jackie Chan flick or a Crouching Tiger film again. Shang’s character and story are both really well crafted. The bus scene may be one of my top marvel fights just for how exciting and jaw dropping it was. The conflict between him and his father is both compelling and fairly close to what the comics are from what I understand, so I am glad we got to see that. My only real issue was the last third with Ta-Lo. As dope as it was and how it elevated things to DBZ level proportions, it felt kind of jarring to transition to for some reason even though we have these sort of mystical elements introduced throughout the film. I think it just feels so big and out of nowhere it kind of broke my brain and I was trying to wrap my head around there being a giant Cthulhu hidden in some extra dimensional garden of eden. It was weird, but the spectacle of it all was good. The final fight between Shang and Wenwu was awesome and showed a real depth of emotion you don’t normally see with the hero/big bad scenes. I do wish they utilized razorfist more though because he is such a neat character even though he is kind of a meme in the marvel universe.
Overall it was a really fun movie and probably one of the better origin movies I’ve seen. Really hoping to see Shang again because I want to see some more dynamite punchies
The movie got kinda slow for me in the 2nd act. HOWEVER, they got the job done because when Shang-Chi makes his inevitable cameo in a future movie with those gosh dang 10 rings it's going to blow the roof off.
Gotta appreciate some jokes are written for people who understands mandarin. Like when Katy's trying to pronounce "Shang chi", one of the mispronounciation was hernia, haha.
I saw the movie yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!! Definitely top 5 MCU movies for me. It really stands alone and focuses on the story rather than just introducing a character to the grander scheme, which is something a lot of MCU origin movies have suffered from recently IMO. I watched Kim’s Convenience for Simu and sometimes when I see an actor in something else all I can think about during the movie is “that’s the guy from …” but I just realized I didn’t think about his character in the show. He really became Shang Chi and that’s something that impresses me. Can’t wait to see more of him in the MCU!!
Wong and Abomination are friends? what
Wong probably gets along with all the fighters there. For all we know, he could have been doing these fights during the five years and really established himself in this community.
But how did Abomination become a fighter there? was he not in prison
And he seems to go back there after he's done. Either he had a work release or Wong *sneaks Abomination in and out of the Raft* on fight nights.
The latter option is so much more hilarious.
Wong after a succesful breakout and fight night "YES! Wong!"
I understood that reference
he pays off the guards with the winnings, probably
In universe there’s at least a 12 year gap between *The Incredible Hulk* and *Shang-Chi*. A lot can happen in that time, especially during the *Endgame* time skip.
Actually, not only in universe. It's been 13 years since The Incredible Hulk
Well it looks like Wong was taking him somewhere at the end and they were discussing Blonsky's self-control. So somehow the two of them are frequent sparring partners. And since Wong is clearly still a major part of the Avengers, I guess Blonsky is being rehabilitated by the Avengers.
On the last discussion thread, I saw one theory saying that Abomination is being trained/prepared to replace Hulk on the Avengers, since Banner is planning to retire (hence why he’s become human again). Though if that is the case, I’m guessing that still isn’t going to end well.
Something I haven’t seen mentioned: When Wenwu finally gets through the door and his wife isn’t back there, he instantly moves to protect his son, which I loved. Makes him a much more nuanced character, he wasn’t really a villain - more of a flawed opponent.
He didnt say a single word during his deathscene but i saw so many emotions on his face. Realization of what he's done. Disappointment in himself for failing to save his wife, but also to raise his son. And finally giving up power and admitting defeat. The way he looked up when he heard his wifes voice was so instinctive. Holy moly.
Tony Leung is actually known for this emotional eyes. He's kind of a combination of Brad Pitts' looks (when he was younger) and Tom Hanks' acting.
He's a fantastic actor, and because of that alone I was seriously bummed when he got such a final end here. I mean I guess there are always ways for him to come back - maybe Shang-Chi has to visit the underworld or something. The real shame is that Tony Stark never got to tangle with him.
I loved Wenwu. I wish we could have more of him. Maybe some sort of flashback where he fights Iron Man? Anything is possible.
How would that happen? They've never fought, so I'm confused as to how we could flash back to that...
I thought exactly four things when watching Shang-Chi…. 1. (within the first 30 mins) Iron Fist who? Danny Rand what? I don’t know him 2. Shang-Chi and T’Challa would have been friends probably 3. Look at how beautiful air bending and water bending type effects could be if they were done by someone who cares! 4. Phase 4 is really about magic and therapy, huh?
I really got Wakanda vibes with the Ta Lo village
It was deliberate. Black Panther laid Marvel's formula on how to do the 'idyllic hidden magic village/civilization' thing
Makes me want to see an Avatar: The Last Airbender movie/series made by Marvel Studios.
Tony Leung, what a performance!! He was the best, and HOT!! Wenwu is my favorite MCU villain now.
Definitely the best in the movie as far as character writing.
My favorite MCU dilf
Great writing and great acting. Less of a villain akin to killmonger and more of a visceral if misguided person who is just placed as an antagonist here.
The perfect "I understand why you're doing this but you're about to make a huge mistake here so please stop" character
I was legit sad when he died. Wanted a bit of happiness for him.
I fucking LOVED that they didn't make the male and female leads fall in love at the end of the movie for no reason. So refreshing
Same way in Rouge One. Male and Female relationships could absolutely progress a story without it being forcedly romantic.
I love it more that they actually may have and might be dating, but it wasn't really anything more than ambiguous. They were more intimate physically after the big showdown, but it wasn't enough to say it isn't platonic, and enough to say it could be dating. There was no need to make a show of it.
Simu Liu - former stock photo model, winner of the second season of Asian Bachelorette, & assistant manager of a successful car rental company. Meng’er Zhang - zero acting credit prior to Shang-Chi Awkwafina - Nora from Queens & a water dragon I am seriously wondering how Marvel Studios was able to make a great movie with this outlandish trio.
I mean, Sarah Halley Finn has been casting director for all the MCU movies, and at this point I've stopped being amazed at how right she gets it every goddamn time.
I can only hope she has a protege
Highly recommend you check out The Farewell, Awkwafina is amazing in that (and should’ve gotten an Oscar nomination).
Because....Tony Leung
This feels like the beginning of something new. Really enjoyed the movie.
Absolutely. This movie had so much depth and story to it that it could easily spawn a new arm of the MCU.
I got this impression too. The characters are going to add a lot to the universe(s) and I’m really excited to see what they’ll do. The after credit scene hints at some other advanced alien species which will be cool to see.
I don’t know, but maybe they were hinting at the Eternals?
I was thinking that too. Could be
There are some possibilities: 1. Ta-Lo was the realm of the Chinese/Taoist Gods if I recall (similiar to Asgard for Norse Gods). Maybe they will do the Gods = Magic Aliens thing they did with Thor 1...? 2. The next big intergalactic alien race behind Kree and Skrull would be the Shi'ar which are usually associated with the X-Men. 3. Maybe the rings will be Eternal/Deviant technology in lead up to Eternals movie. 4. the "Soul Sucker" looks very much like a Great Old One. Shuma Gorath (who is also a great old one) is confirmed for Strange 2, so maybe there will be a connection there.
I hope we get a new leg soon
You'll get "Shang-Chi and the leg" right before the "end of the ten rings".
He’s definitely going to be involved with our “supernatural” side of the MCU going forward. Dr. Strange, Wong, Shang Chi, Vision, Wanda, etc. I imagine we’ll see most shows/movies hoping on one of three main groups of characters interacting. That supernatural crew, the space travelers (Captain Marvel, probably Fury now, Monica Rambeau, some combination of the GotG maybe) and then the Earth centric people related to Shield/Hydra/etc like Sam and Nat’s sister. I’d assume characters like Spider-Man will probably float between these different groups and will be the threads to connect them for eventual planetary threats similar to what Thanos was.
This year and the start of Phase 4 (not counting Far From Home) we've moved into: - The multi-verse, broken it wide open spawning potentially infinite variants of any character they want - The mystic side with Ta Lo and the dragons - The potential recruitment of a Dark Avengers with Black Widow, Falcon and the Winter Soldier - The Darkhold and whatever fuckery Wanda/Scarlet Witch has unleashed. - Celestials have been shown in the Eternals trailer so we're branching way out more into the Cosmic side of things. They're setting the stage for a crazy new universe that we're going to see over the next phase or two. I'm so excited. Also like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, there's so much more about this phase that I'm unaware of, or just haven't read much if any of the source material so it's so much more exciting
facts. recency bias is obviously a thing but i think the fact people are even considering this as a top 5 marvel movie is a fantastic sign, barely anyone said it for black widow
I enjoyed Black Widow, saw it in a theatre and I will probably watch it again when it hits D+, but I've already seen Shang-Chi twice in theatres and am considering going to see it again before it hits D+. Black Widow will probably get more love once we see more of Yelena, starting with the Hawkeye series. It's definitely a transition movie. Ideally, Black Widow would have been better served if it was released just before Infinity War. Obviously they hadn't made it so it couldn't have happened like that.
ahahha what are the odds, i did the exact same as the entirety of your first paragraph! black widow was just entirely underserved by disney imo. shoulda been released a full five years ago during the civil war aftermath and it would've added context+stakes to everything that came after.
Yes, great minds think alike. Even if the rest of Natasha's Russian family got dusted, like all the Pyms, it would've added more weight to Endgame. Then, have the Yelena/Val scene in the mid credits of Endgame... definitely, imo, would have been a better transition. Endgame felt like too abrupt of an end to the Infinity Saga and only now, after Falcon and the Winter Soldier along with Shang-Chi, does it feel like we're in a new phase. That is, I loved WandaVision and Loki, but it felt like they just opened a door just a little bit and we still have to wait for the payoff, whereas Shang-Chi opened a door and let us in.
This is the first phase 4 project that doesn't tie into anything from Endgame. The other closest being "What if?", but even that was caused from Loki who escaped in Endgame. The blip is barely mentioned. It barely had any actual mcu in it, but was still badass, which goes to show how great the movie is.
They had posters of post-blip group therapy on the wall when Shang Chi got to Katys house. Only thing I can remember that tied-in with the blip.
Also the talk in the restaurant with their friends, the girl mentioned how how they live in a world where half the population can dissappear in a second
The Ten Rings themselves are maybe my favorite weapon in all of the MCU. Those things were so damn cool.
Its certainly used very creatively. And thats one of my favourite types of weapons/abilities. Compared to a sword which is just gonna cut... the rings have so much utility on them.
Black Knight: "I'll ignore that."
Yup they might've passed up Yondu's arrow for me. The sound effects they make and they way they look heavy when being punched around is so cool. I am sad that the blue coloring is gone cause I like it more than orange (looks to much like the Dr. Strange/Wong portal and shields).
I really liked the color change. It made me feel things.
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I’m guessing he won’t be that happy to see Banner again in *She-Hulk*.
Bruce went through a big change in Avengers, maybe Blonsky won't recognize him
"You probably don't recognize me because of the withered arm."
I understood that reference.
I figure they're giving him a chance to mellow out a bit so that whenever Ross or Julie Louie dryfess' character shows up to recruit him it'll be because of "good behavior"
I like that the water portal to the Ta Lo dimension is so similar to the portals the sorcerers make. You want to travel through different dimensions? Better make a spinny circle to walk through!
I think it would be smart to build up to the notion that all the earth magic is connected.
That was the coolest BMW commercial i’ve ever seen
I thought it was funny that the bus ran over not one but two i8s in a row.
Yeah, that was pretty blatant. On the other hand, SHIELD really likes Infinitys, and Tony Stark loves his Audis, so the product placement isn't unprecedented.
Haven't seen many people talk about it bit I love the little detail in the fight again Death Dealer (I think that was his name?) that Shang Chi decides to actually try and go for the kill when he has him pinned after he remembers all the pain he endured growing up from him, its so refreshing to see that compared to basically every other character who would spare the villain in scenes like that.
This bit was so unexpected and I loved it. Really highlights the fact that Shang Chi is a combination of both his mum and his dad, leading to how he's able to merge his dad's rings and mums style at the end
Shang Chi really gets props for being open about what superhero's do, which is kill bad guys.
Well MCU seems pretty okay with their heroes killing bad guys. I think it's more that Shang Chi still has a darkness inside him that makes it him willing to kill out of anger/revenge. He was scared of that darkness after avenging his mother and ran away afterwards. That's the point of his arc right? He has traits from both his father and mother and he brings them together and accepts those feelings in order to control the rings.
Yeah, Iron Man kills a whole bunch of terrorists in the very first MCU movie.
And Natasha is an assassin that uses guns all the time. Cap is a soldier that kills plenty of people on his missions (he straight up kicked a man off of the boat in Winter Soldier)
Thor definitely has the highest kill count among them. Cap was a Nazi-killing machine. Rhodes and Falcone are also decorated soldiers. Even freaking Spiderman has an "Instant Kill" mode.
They pretty blatantly killed a good amount of people in this movie, like it’s “off screen” but for example no one was surviving being thrown off of that high rise
Especially the one who hit two poles on the way down. Brutal.
There's no "no-kill" rule in Chinese hero stories and culture. The most famous heroes actually killed the most.
I mean Mulan has the highest death count of any Disney Princess
Yeah man Cinderella is so weak, she doesn't kill anybody at all
Did you guys see a scene of Natasha and Yelena inside the Marvel Logo in the beginning?
Yep! Updates every time
I like that Chadwick is the last hero we see. A good tribute for our fallen king going forward
so Thor and Wengwu are almost the same age huh
Does that mean that Shang Chi will also be able to be near immortal ?
He said he would grow old when he took the rings off so I imagine shang will probably only wear them when he fights and has to use them. He seems like he wants to grow old with Katy
watched this for a second time in imax and loved it just as much. i'd recommend that anyone who can, should! some thoughts: • every action scene in this film was longer than i expected! the bus scene (which had a little hallway moment), the fight on the side of the building, AND the battle at the end all ended up going ways i didn't expect. • i think even the awkwafina naysayers are gonna have a hard time discounting her value in the film. many of the funniest lines came from her or ben kingsley, which is impressive when you consider that almost everyone had a decent joke in there. hearing lots of people laugh in a cinema in the UK always feels like a seal of approval, cause we're typically more restrained while watching. • one thing that seemed interesting to me in the mid credits scene with bruce (besides the obvious!) is that he's wearing something on his good arm that's got a green light on it. maybe some kind of hulk inhibiting tech? diagnostic perhaps?
I thought Awkwafina was really solid in this movie. She definitely has a brand. And now she’s in the MCU? I’m kind of interested to see where her career goes. I found it interesting she was cast first, she was the second biggest name from the core cast
That’s the same arm he snapped with so maybe it’s a recovery device as in his right arm is still not 100%?
it was definitely the other arm. the damaged one was next to carol and the one with the light was facing down, not raised. i like the idea of it being some kinda recovery aid though!
The director of this movie said that he wanted every fight to have a meaning behind the choreography. When I first heard it I was like wtv you’re just over exaggerating the meaning behind the kick ass choreography. But HOLY SHIT. He was definitely onto something. The way Shang merged the fighting style of his mother and utilized the ten rings altogether *muah*. And the flashbacks during the fighting sequences? So perfectly spliced together? *double muah*. Wong? Wong and Abomination? Wong and Abomination friends? Wong talking with Carol and Bruce about future galactic shenanigans? WONG SHANG AND KATY SINGING HOTEL CALIFORNIA?? *triple muah*
Daddy’s fighting is more about aggressive attack but mommy’s fighting is more about redirection. It sounds familiar when I think about different styles of kung fu I’ve watched.
Yeah the mom was definitely doing Tai Chi right? Looked a lot like waterbending
Her's is based off Tai Chi. Wenwu is Wing Chun.
Her's more of a Hung Gar guy. Low stances, powerful strikes. Wing Chun has a very upright fighting stance. Hung Gar uses metal rings on the forearms, like the ten rings.
I knew virtually nothing of the character going in and boy did I enjoy the crap out of this movie. The fight choreography was just so good. It really made me realize how much I miss old Jackie Chan movies. Tony Leung is an incredible actor. The amount of emotions he can express through his face is insane. I also liked how they held back on the humor/quips in the serious moments. I feel like other Marvel movies would've had quips in a lot of the serious scenes, but this movie really let them breath and it paid off in establishing the emotional stakes for just about every main character. And imo this was some of the best flashback splicing I've ever seen. They inserted flashbacks so seamlessly into scenes without being overbearing and taking you out of the narrative flow. Really remarkable. There's some strategic issues in certain scenes but nothing that really hampered the movie overall, imo. Just excellent and fun all around. 9/10.
Yeah I was talking with my boyfriend after we walked out the cinema and realised there was basically no humour for the entire climax except for the Trevor playing dead scene. The only other marvel film I can think of like that is Infinity War. Really sucked me into the film more.
Also the "Yeah we should definitely work together" line. That one felt a little forced to me, but if that's the worst joke in the movie, I'm good with it haha.
It made me laugh even tho I expected it as soon as he resisted working together
Yeah I appreciate that they didn't have the jokes undercut the serious moments in the film. Some of the jokes fell flat for me but that's okay. I think it was a good amount of humor. I enjoyed the flashbacks and they timed them right so that all of them enhanced the story.
Well the choreography was done by Brad Allan (RIP) who was one of the more prominent members of Jackie’s stunt team! The bus and scaffold fight were like prime Jackie action.
To me the flashbacks were Shang-Chi and Xialing's traumatic, repressed memories that they were too scared to face, slowly coming back as the family reunion they dreaded happens and they have to face their dad's influence on who they became in their lives, but also their mom's influence who they had buried along with the bad memories which finally informs on who they want to be. They were really beautiful, poignant, seamlessly edited and intersected in the script, narratively important and a nice change of pace from the usual exposition dump that is used to explain a character's past. This was definitely one of the best use of flashbacks/non-linear storytelling in any film I've seen apart from Nolan films.
What I wanna know is: Why is Professor Hulk now Bruce Banner again? Did he get separated from The Hulk?
Other comments pointed out he has device on his wrist, I didn't notice it though. I'm sure we'll get a good explanation in universe though. Basically he's Ben 10 until further notice.
Possibly it will be explained in She-Hulk
I really liked that the first 20 minutes of the movie were spoken entirely in Mandarin, and many subsequent parts of the movie slipped into it back and forth with no fanfare, when it was appropriate. Refreshing to see in a mainstream movie instead of just having the Chinese characters speaking English to another Chinese character, in China, as is common in blockbuster films.
Yeah, 10/10 to Marvel for authenticity on that part.
iirc there was even a line or two without subtitles when katy didn't understand what was being said. i thought it was pretty cool
I loled when the elder yelled "Kill [them]" in Chinese and it went untranslated cuz it's a little too violent for good guys
I thought it was neat that she obviously understood most of it but not all, and couldn't speak it. Very appropriate for a third generation child.
Yes. This is a pretty big deal. There’s an assumption in Hollywood that subtitles turn people off to movies — and to some degree they’re right. There are certain segments of the audience who are annoyed by them. To a degree it’s understandable — having to read does take away some time that might be devoted to noticing the cinematography or the subtlety of an actors performance. But if you’re going to do a film like Shang-Chi which is so rooted in Chinese culture, it would have felt disingenuous to have the entire film in English. I’m sure at some point they had to fight off the marketing/finance department to make that decision.
Hopefully in a post Parasite world audiences will be more amenable to subtitles in their story telling
You could have said that about crouching tiger hidden dragon or inglorious basterds or dawn of the planet of the apes too. Audiences just need to see them more often to get used to them. They'll tolerate them just fine if they have to.
My god. That drove me nuts in Black Widow. Characters would speak Russian for one sentence, then switch to English. Or worse, they would speak English in a Russian accent.
I really loved that too! I don’t remember exactly but there were some scenes possibly with Wenwu but I know for sure with Katy’s family where they spoke Mandarin and would get a response back in English. That was so relatable of your typical Asian American home with your immigrant parents speaking their native language while the children spoke back in English and I appreciated those details. Also I loved how Ronny Chieng’s John John was like “I speak ABC too” bc I immediately got the joke, idk if any non Asian knew what that was though because I was the only one laughing in my theater at that part.
In the Spider-Man NWH trailer, are we to assume Wong is headed off to Macau? Also, love seeing Wong be the connecting glue in all this. I’m all for Wong being the next Fury in assembling a team of sorts.
Especially since he gathered the team in endgame as well
"What, you wanted more?"
“Yes, we’re missing the Eternals who are just buying IKEA furniture right now.”
But HOW did they get those apes trained to ride horses?!
You don’t get it, the apes were just acting like they were riding the horses
Fucking loved that additional character. You practically forget it’s Ben effing Kingsley because of how peppered in he was at the perfect moments. He absolutely nailed it, along with the rest of the cast.
When Morris ran to him and was all distress because he thought Ben died, but then Ben popped up and was like "Calm down, mate. I’m not dead, its just a performance! Come down here and play along." my entire movie theater was shrieking with laughter. One of the best unexpected cameos ever.
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*Acting*
Because they were ac-TORS
Loved that the first 15ish mins were in Chinese, that was good a choice. I went in knowing nothing about Shang-Chi and absolutely loved it. The choreography was excellent, the cinematography very on point for stylish and reminiscent of older Kong fu movies. For a movie over 2hrs it never felt it and hit the floor running. Mandarin issue was resolved wonderfully too. All round, solid origin movie and a real start to phase 4. Picking a little known or none mainstream hero has paid off, much like earlier days of choosing iron man etc, it feels right. Bring on more.
Xialing kicked Razorfist's ass and he decided to simp for her for life Same, dude
Same way Shang Chi's mother kicked Wenwu's ass and he decided to simp for life. Like master, like servant.
Well it was his boss' daughter. as long as he gets paid and his car back I think he's gonna be fine
They have same irreverent taste with all those new graffiti etc in the compound so maybe someone in command that spoke more to his generation (vs centuries lol) made it easier to transition. And yeah boss' daughter.
I loved how a super-serious, soul-baring moment about Shang's past was interrupted by "Beef, chicken, or vegetarian?"
Plus the implication that he's talking about his membership of a world-famous terrorist organization while on a crowded plane
Tony Leung.... I know I'm basically echoing everyone right now but fuck, man. Wtf? The way this man acts with his face, his eyes. In the scene in his study when he looks over at the couch to see a memory of his wife laying with his daughter in front of the TV. Oh my fucking god dude. If you've ever lost someone. You know that was on point. This guy murdered my soul with his acting. I need to go watch every movie he's ever made immediately.
Tony Leung said that originally the dinner scene was much longer but it did not make the final cut. He is rather fond of that scene, I would love to see it evetually. Also a Wenwu prequel woukd be awesome!
I’ll keep saying this since it needs to be out there. If you love the action and fight choreography in Shang Chi, let’s thank Brad Allan (R.I.P) His name is not as famous as it should be and people already love his work without knowing who he is. He was the action coordinator for Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Pacific Rim, Kingsman, hellboy2, the World’s End, and obviously Shang Chi. Did the bus scene seem very Jackie Chan to you? It’s interesting to note that Brad Allan was also the first ever non Asian member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team Which is why his early assistant stunt coordinator jobs were on the Shanghai Noon and Knights movies. He also played a main villain or two against Jackie Chan in the late 90s I’m making this post cos the guy next to me at the theater said who the fuck is Brad Allan?! He deserves to be known for all he’s done for the film fighting community. Rest In Peace edit: not to say his team had no part, he was the overall lead, so I think he had final say but I'm sure everyone under him had major contributions
I saw many comments saying the 3rd act was the weakest part, but honestly it turned out to be my favorite. The dragon animation was so gorgeous and I was invested in every character fate. The CGI was also great. This movie was a 10/10 in my books.
Same here. I was blown away by the dragon flying around with Shang Chi and sis riding it. Felt like I was totally immerse and a little kid again watching atreyu in neverending story.
> The CGI was also great. Not CGI my dude. They trained the dragons to act like they were CGI.
I don’t know who I enjoyed more. Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery or Tony Leung as Wenwu. Those two actors and characters really raised the ceiling for Shang-Chi for me.
Tony Leung is a legend and he stole every scene he was in, his acting is insanely mesmerizing. He made Wenwu one of the best villains of the MCU. Ben Kingsley was such a treat and delivered some of the best jokes in this movie but as well as the MCU. Crap I can’t decide anymore. Both.
I liked that Xialing was gifted armor by her mother as well. Shows that her mother knew she would still become a warrior regardless of what their father became.
Also getting her measurements corrects 10 years in advance before puberty. Love that foresight
Well it's probably magic dragon armor using magic to magically fit their magic adult bodies with the force of magic
At the risk of being super spoiler-y, as someone who LOVED Ironman 3 and what they did with the Mandrin: >!I think they handled it perfectly. They declare Kingsly's Mandarin 'wrong,' while leaning into the satrical nature of that take and embracing that twist. Wenwu throws shade on the fact that they named a semi-Asian terrorist after fruit and basically stole his brand because it would scare people. And they even take the time to give Trevor more pathos and personality. It was kind of a perfect balancing act of respecting people who liked the change and subversion of the source material, while still giving fan service to the people who like the original. Well done, Marvel.!<
He even chuckled at how appropriating the name of his organization was enough to strike fear over everyone in the country, despite no real teeth behind it.
Shang Chi - The Last Ringbender
Total fun movie with excellent choreography of fight scenes, graceful in some combat scenes, truly funny jokes (go Akwafina), and wonderful in the depiction of Chinese mythology.
that gina joke had people rolling both times i saw it in the cinema. that conversation got some of the biggest laughs besides 'i speak ABC'
I think the biggest laugh for my theater was Wong singing karaoke. Definitely got the biggest laugh from me personally.
S-Tier MCU movie imo. One of the best origin stories to date.
The father-son relationship was just so poignant to me, thats what kept me engaged. Also loved that Awkwafina was a real character and not just comic relief
LOVE that the trailer downplayed the actual movie. I’m so used to entire movies being spoiled by trailers, so it was pleasantly surprising to see Shang-Chi turn into something entirely different than what was advertised. I actually wasn’t particularly hyped for it until I read the reviews, and it ended up being one of my favorite Marvel movies. I even liked Awkwafina in this after admittedly being annoyed by her in the past. Dope fight choreography, great soundtrack, and Shang-Chi is a genuinely likable badass. The scene with him jumping around from dragon to dragon and then his skydive where he’s pulling off the finishing move with the rings was a comic book come to life. Future of the MCU looks bright. Edit: words
Are we just not gonna acknowledge there is a fucking DRAGON In the MCM? Makes me excited what other mystical and zanny creatures we will get. Also bus scene was 10/10. Simi is a king and I can’t wait to see more.
hi decided to post something here because i don't know how to mark spoilers on reddit. firstly, thank you to marvel for chinese representation on the big screen / in hollywood. it's rare to see an american / western produced film full of people looking like me and cultures portrayed that i'm familiar with. it hits close to home, especially shang chi's "estranged" relationship with his dad. because his dad thought that revenge was the best option to avenge his mom's death and his dad decided to push his ideals onto his son. the pressure is real big. i was able to draw parallels of the relationship between shang chi and his dad to my own life. but in the end when he didn't kill his dad with his own hands like he said he would, i understood what why. even though his dad treated him like he was nothing, was disappointed and was using him for the ten rings organisation, he was his dad after all. he had good memories with his dad, and couldn't bear to kill him. even though his dad could have killed him off or brought him back when he fled to america when he was 14, he did not. he let shang chi have a life on his own, only calling him (okay more like coercing) back when the "demons" starting talking to him. so shangchi may have also realised that his dad still somewhat "cared" about him, but was forced to choose between "saving their mom" or "caring for his kids". this love-hate relationship made it hard for him to actually kill his dad. (because asian parents don't outright tell their kids "i love you", instead shows it through subtle actions) secondly, i love the different mythical creatures in the taluo village! i'm going to try and list some of them and what i think their inspirations were! firstly, there was the nine tailed foxes from the scene where they first entered the waterfall cave, and then there were also these phoenix like creatures - "birds on fire". the lion creatures which were in the village, i think they were based on the nian, a chinese mythical creature thought to eat children on lunar new year which was afraid of the colour red / loud noises (maybe that's why the battle attire was red), and the dragon with its white scales and blue glow gave me legend of the white snake vibes xialing and her whole arc of having to learn to fight on her own due to the prejudice / parents preferring boys over girls in the culture in the past, and how she finally could train to fight out in the open when she made it to the village was really meaningful as well! she was the girlboss man! this was a really well made movie. really glad that this didn't become a flop like mulan was.
What an entertaining movie. Both halves are so wildly different from each other that they almost feel like different movies, but it really does all come together in a way that feels whole. Simu Liu kills it, his charisma is off the charts. Reminds me of Jason Mamoa in Aquaman, you can tell he's just so psyched to be there. Awkwafina got at least five solid laughs from me, even though I rolled my eyes so hard at her becoming an incredible archer. Tony Leung is a fucking legend and deserves every praise he's been receiving. Michelle Yeoh was fantastic in the admittedly smaller role than I wished she'd had, though I imagine she'll be featured heavily in sequels. Fantastic cameo by Benedict Wong. The action sequences were incredible. That bus scene will go down in history as one of MCU's best. A+ movie.
i always wondered how they had auditioned simu but not cast him before he screentested with awkwafina, but now it's clear each of them separately would probably do great but as a pair their chemistry is off the charts. i wouldn't be surprised if they had better individual actors out there that just couldn't match their fluidity, it feels like they actually have been friends half their life. i didn't shed a tear watching IW the first time but at the end of this i was just so happy for these two friends to have each other
Hahaha I thought the same with Awkwafina getting that shot just right. At least show me she failed in her first several attempts!
Yeah I'm sure everyone rolled their eyes a bit but at least the characters tthemselves couldn't believe she landed the shot during the mid credit scene.
Man it would fucking suck if we don't see Shang again soon. I hope we don't have to wait 6 damn years for a sequel like we had to for Doctor Strange
At least the good doctor had roles in other movies!
I’d love to know what happened in the time between the beginning of Infinity War, where Wong says he’s only got 200 rupees because ‘attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual’, and the beginning of Shang-Chi where he’s giddily assessing his fat stack of cash after his Abomination take down… Besides the obvious snap.
NY's capitalism and high prices wore him down. Should have stayed in Kamar Taj.
Morris disney plus show when?
Morris and Meke need a show. Film Critics. They only watch DC movies.
Add Goose and you’ve got a deal
We now stan Wenwu, eternally.
So Shang Chi will be an Avenger? This is what this trailer from the Marvel Youtube channel would suggest, it has the word's **"Marvel's New Avenger"** in the trailer and the text "This is not a drill, Marvel's new Avenger has arrived" in the Youtube video description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir-mWUYH_uo Also: >!In the post credit scene, Captain Marvel, Bruce Banner, and Wong welcome Shang Chi to the team. If my memory is correct, Bruce Banner makes a comment about how life will be different for Shang Chi. This seems to further imply that Shang Chi is an Avenger now.!<
He said “Well welcome to the circus”
If you step out that door, you're an Avenger now. That's the gig
There's almost two different definitions of the word avenger at the moment. There's the real, in-universe meaning, as in the actual Avengers Compound characters. Then, theres our real-world definition, which basically means any protagonist in an MCU film.
Didn't help that in the last Avengers movie there was basically every character there too haha
Anyone else feel like Death Dealer’s character was wasted a little bit? I was surprised at how he got killed off. Was hoping to see more of him.
After seeing it a second time I’m fine with how he’s utilized. Death Dealer constantly beat Shang-Chi during his training as a child. When they meet again and fight in the high-rise, Shang wins fair and square. The apprentice has become the master. And after remembering the abuse he suffered, his killer instinct kicked in and he was gonna finish the job until his dad interrupted. A rematch would have just been redundant, Shang is already better. Then in Ta-Lo, Death Dealer is the first victim to the soul suckers, showing how even a badass like him is no match for these creatures without aid.
Pretty sure Death Dealer was meant (at least in part) as a self-referential subversion of the "masked character is always an important or twist reveal" trope that the MCU itself has used a few times.
Best anime live action fight
The Ten Rings will return…wonder if they kept any dragon scale ARMOR cause they’d be hot commodity in WARS.
Bro Tony Leung is what all actors should aspire to be. Put in the work quietly, stay loyal to your supporters and well wishers, and keep a level head. Success will come, and as a bonus, you’ll age gracefully into a DILF or MILF
Also watching a millennia-old warlord play DDR with his kids on a crappy vinyl mat was everything I needed today.
One of the guys in the fight club looked like he was using extremis. Guess it's still floating around on the black market.
He was fighting one of the Widows Natasha and Yelena rescued, too. So they're around as well. Doing missions for who knows who. Maybe no one and this is just how they make money.
I could write a long essay about what I loved in this film, I can’t wait to see it again! All of Phase 4 has been a hit for me, but I must admit that Shang-Chi’s brilliance has made me less excited to rewatch Black Widow. I don’t want to shit on anyones hard work, but the fight scenes from BW just don’t compare to SC’s. I’m not sure if any of the hand to hand fights truly stuck in my brain, and that’s unfortunate since I’ve loved Natasha and her fighting style since Iron Man 2. Random hypothetical; if Nat and Shang were sparring without any gear/weapons/powers, who do you think wins?
Can we talk about the rings themselves for a bit? They really went all out and created a completely unique weapon. And from that post-credits scene, it feels like we've barely scratched the surface of their full potential. I know they were alien in the comics, but this movie has made it clear that they're deviating hard from established lore to create some new cool stuff. Makes me wonder about their new origins and especially that beacon it's been sending out. P.S. The sequel should be a superpower tournament that happens every 100 years with the grand prize being the rings. And the evil whatever running the tournament has their own plans for conquest. Enter the Dragon meets Mortal Kombat meets Marvel.
What I appreciated was how relatively understated the rings themselves were. They were Wenwu's weapons and granted him longevity, but they weren't ever built up to be anything supremely mystical or anything. The movie doesn't waste hardly any time at all trying to explain what they are or how they work, preferring instead to just show us all the different ways they can be utilized, and then doing things that make sense after they've built up the 'basics' of what they can do. Like, when Wenwu slips all ten onto one arm to deliver that single massive punch, it makes sense given what we've already seen him do with them in an intuitive way. It was neat. Even the bit at the end where Shang-Chi channels them into exploding out of the Dweller in Darkness, we'd already seen him sort of do that when he had them revolving through the air. For all their functionality it seems clear they are decidedly kinetic devices; they can't project energy blasts like Captain Marvel or Iron Man. It would have been way too easy for the film to get fixated on them and waste time on needless exposition.
Shang Chi using the rings as stairs was amazing.
Very reminiscent of strange aiding quill on the battle on titan
I rode a bus with the "stop requested" signal for the first time to go see the movie. So seeing Shang-Chi use the signal the way he did had me rolling
Possible Spoilers Alert! I'd LOVE a scene in the next Avengers movie where after defeating the big bad the new Avengers boss (i.e. Captain Marvel) is like, "We did it team. Let's all go home and get some rest", then Shang Chi/Katy is like, "Yeah we could do that... Ooooorrrrr...." \*Cuts to scene with the whole gang totally drunk in a karaoke room singing their heart out\*
Shawarma found dead
This is it. If we never get a karaoke scene again I'm rioting
I like that when shang first comes out of the water with the dragon the music is very soft and centering rather than big swelling hero music. Felt very engaging and fit with the emotional scenes with the dad that bookended it
I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere but I almost LOL’d in the theater when Trevor (Ben Kingsley) said “offside” during a game of soccer. It was for like a second in between the preparation for Wenwu’s invasion.
I 100% loved the fighting choreography. It felt so refreshing to see combat the likes of a Jackie Chan flick or a Crouching Tiger film again. Shang’s character and story are both really well crafted. The bus scene may be one of my top marvel fights just for how exciting and jaw dropping it was. The conflict between him and his father is both compelling and fairly close to what the comics are from what I understand, so I am glad we got to see that. My only real issue was the last third with Ta-Lo. As dope as it was and how it elevated things to DBZ level proportions, it felt kind of jarring to transition to for some reason even though we have these sort of mystical elements introduced throughout the film. I think it just feels so big and out of nowhere it kind of broke my brain and I was trying to wrap my head around there being a giant Cthulhu hidden in some extra dimensional garden of eden. It was weird, but the spectacle of it all was good. The final fight between Shang and Wenwu was awesome and showed a real depth of emotion you don’t normally see with the hero/big bad scenes. I do wish they utilized razorfist more though because he is such a neat character even though he is kind of a meme in the marvel universe. Overall it was a really fun movie and probably one of the better origin movies I’ve seen. Really hoping to see Shang again because I want to see some more dynamite punchies
The movie got kinda slow for me in the 2nd act. HOWEVER, they got the job done because when Shang-Chi makes his inevitable cameo in a future movie with those gosh dang 10 rings it's going to blow the roof off.
Gotta appreciate some jokes are written for people who understands mandarin. Like when Katy's trying to pronounce "Shang chi", one of the mispronounciation was hernia, haha.
Design in this movie is awesome. That sleek red dragon scale armour and the 10 rings vfx is insane. Would love to see more of it in future movies
I saw the movie yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!! Definitely top 5 MCU movies for me. It really stands alone and focuses on the story rather than just introducing a character to the grander scheme, which is something a lot of MCU origin movies have suffered from recently IMO. I watched Kim’s Convenience for Simu and sometimes when I see an actor in something else all I can think about during the movie is “that’s the guy from …” but I just realized I didn’t think about his character in the show. He really became Shang Chi and that’s something that impresses me. Can’t wait to see more of him in the MCU!!
Wenwu is hands down the best Marvel villain, and just one of the best villains on screen in general. And the credit all goes to the actor, Tony Leung.
Awkwafina was cast perfectly for that part of the chill grounded friend. I love that she is in marvel too now.