Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Trailer

[BrawlMan]

It's not a kung fu movie though. It's a superhero movie, except the superhero uses magic kung fu powers.

Would you stop being a contrarian for 5 minutes? It's a kung-fu movie and superhero movie at the same time.

In a superhero movie the villain can be anything, and it could be much more interesting if it wasn't just kung fu man.

A kung-fu and superhero movie where the villain has the same skills or powers as the protagonists? In other news, water is wet, Mario is a plumber, and he's gotta fix giant leaky pipe. Can you at leas wait until the movie comes out? Because I have the feeling you're not gonna enjoy it nor do you want to like it. I'll be having the time of life when this comes out, so you have constantly complaining and not enjoying something, because of one little trope.

I'd agree that a villain with different powers would be more interesting.

Save that for the sequel.

 

[BrawlMan]

First review is up!

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[Johnny Novgorod]

Watching I was thinking how similar the movie was to Mortal Kombat, from basic plot structure and story beats and several scenes down to color-coding certain things the same way. Then I looked up the screenwriter and turns out he wrote both movies.

More than anything they also share the same kind of bland, gormless protagonist who spends the whole movie entirely in reactionary mode, getting scorned or lectured by absolutely everyone he meets - even the comic relief - and for the most part being lost, confused and late to the party. Shang-Chi is to protagonism what tofu is to dinner. He's weak, has no motivation other than following the plot, no real character flaw - it's stated he's immature but this is never shown or put into play - and is generally not as interesting or capable as anybody else. For the first time in any MCU movie I thought the villain was vastly more compelling. Hell, Awkwafina I don't usually like but here I couldn't have enough just because at least she brings some personality.

The fights are fine. I don't think they have anything on what Jackie Chan was already doing himself 40 years ago but it's nice for once to see a fight in the MCU where you can appreciate the weight and magnitude of the choreography amidst real people instead of watching stunt doubles pretend punch the air while a galleon of underpaid, overworked artists pen in a perfunctory alien/robot/monster later. At least until the ending, which is obligated to go over the top with a big CGI battle.

Other best thing I can say for this movie is that at least it stands more or less on its own and doesn't really cop from the MCU hype train (much) until after the credits.

And Ben Kingsley is hilarious.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

At least until the ending, which is obligated to go over the top with a big CGI battle.

A friend once told me that generally, MCU third acts are handled by a separate studio. Sort of like mass produced finales. I don't know how true that is, but it would explain the pretty weak finales across the latest movies. Black Panther's is very notably worse than the rest of the movie, I thought Black Widow's was pretty bad, I don't even remember Captain Marvel's.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

A friend once told me that generally, MCU third acts are handled by a separate studio. Sort of like mass produced finales. I don't know how true that is, but it would explain the pretty weak finales across the latest movies. Black Panther's is very notably worse than the rest of the movie, I thought Black Widow's was pretty bad, I don't even remember Captain Marvel's.

I believe that. I'm sure most of the movie is cobbled together by a second unit long before it's been fully written or even cast. The director mattered up until around Ultron, maybe.

Speaking of Black Panther, I think these LOTR style battles with bows and sticks - not even spears, sticks - are entirely out of their element at the end of these movies. It's bad enough that bows and sticks are supposed to be the good guy's best bet, but the bad guys also showing up with sticks and bows (the eeeeeevil version, electrified sticks and crossbows) is just so fucking dumb.

 

[BrawlMan]

but the bad guys also showing up with sticks and bows (the eeeeeevil version, electrified sticks and crossbows) is just so fucking dumb.

​

 

[MrCalavera]

And Ben Kingsley is hilarious.

They brought him back? As The "Mandarin"?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

They brought him back? As The "Mandarin"?

He's the same character as in Iron Man 3, just some loser actor, but he's imprisoned by the "real" Mandarin and essentially acts as his buffoon.

 

[happyninja42]

I believe that. I'm sure most of the movie is cobbled together by a second unit long before it's been fully written or even cast. The director mattered up until around Ultron, maybe.

Speaking of Black Panther, I think these LOTR style battles with bows and sticks - not even spears, sticks - are entirely out of their element at the end of these movies. It's bad enough that bows and sticks are supposed to be the good guy's best bet, but the bad guys also showing up with sticks and bows (the eeeeeevil version, electrified sticks and crossbows) is just so fucking dumb.

Yeah I've always found, even the idea of "high tech primitive weapons" to be really dumb, in most cases. ESPECIALLY when it's an advanced culture like the Wakandans. I mean come on, the rest of the world learned how effective things like rifles are to apply threat downrange, there's no reason not to make those as well, especially when you have such advanced tech. The only justification I can think of, in the case of the Wakandans specifically, is since they were still playing the whole "we're pretending to be a savage, bronze age tech culture, as a disguise" So I GUESS you can say they needed to make their weapons LOOK setting accurate, but also still be super effective. But...eh, I still dislike it overall. I mean now that they are officially OUT, why don't they make guns, and body armor, and the whole works? When they made fucking airships with cloaking devices, they didn't make them look like primitive versions of their old school wagon carts or whatever. They look straight out of Bladerunner.

But, I wasn't a big fan of BP as a whole, so...*shrugs*

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Yeah I've always found, even the idea of "high tech primitive weapons" to be really dumb, in most cases. ESPECIALLY when it's an advanced culture like the Wakandans. I mean come on, the rest of the world learned how effective things like rifles are to apply threat downrange, there's no reason not to make those as well, especially when you have such advanced tech. The only justification I can think of, in the case of the Wakandans specifically, is since they were still playing the whole "we're pretending to be a savage, bronze age tech culture, as a disguise" So I GUESS you can say they needed to make their weapons LOOK setting accurate, but also still be super effective. But...eh, I still dislike it overall. I mean now that they are officially OUT, why don't they make guns, and body armor, and the whole works? When they made fucking airships with cloaking devices, they didn't make them look like primitive versions of their old school wagon carts or whatever. They look straight out of Bladerunner.

But, I wasn't a big fan of BP as a whole, so...*shrugs*

Up to a point I could handwave it from a super isolated society that makes martial arts the centerpiece of its culture and also has magic on its side... It looks dumb, I'm sure even deep jungle Amazon tribes are packing at this point, but ok. You wanted a big bloodless PG-13 skirmish in your family movie, so you gave them sticks.

But to have the bad guys - a millennia-old warmongering undefeated cult that takes pride in shifting global balance at its whim, seen clearly bombing the shit out of the opposition in the first few minutes of the movie - show up with nothing but tasers is just dumb.

 

[meiam]

I believe that. I'm sure most of the movie is cobbled together by a second unit long before it's been fully written or even cast. The director mattered up until around Ultron, maybe.

From what I understand, they make a very rough outline of the movie very early in production with specific action setpiece in mind (X fight Y in setting), the VFX department then work on the big setpiece while the writer hammer the detail of the story without being able to deviate from the setpiece. They then do a few pickup shoot at the end to make sure all the details line up.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

From what I understand, they make a very rough outline of the movie very early in production with specific action setpiece in mind (X fight Y in setting), the VFX department then work on the big setpiece while the writer hammer the detail of the story without being able to deviate from the setpiece. They then do a few pickup shoot at the end to make sure all the details line up.

This is why I can never connect with any of these movies. They have too much of a bottled-up assembly line look and feel to them. Most of the movie is already made (developmentally or even physically) by the time they fill in the blanks like it's a game of mad libs.

 

[Hawki]

Yeah I've always found, even the idea of "high tech primitive weapons" to be really dumb, in most cases. ESPECIALLY when it's an advanced culture like the Wakandans. I mean come on, the rest of the world learned how effective things like rifles are to apply threat downrange, there's no reason not to make those as well, especially when you have such advanced tech. The only justification I can think of, in the case of the Wakandans specifically, is since they were still playing the whole "we're pretending to be a savage, bronze age tech culture, as a disguise" So I GUESS you can say they needed to make their weapons LOOK setting accurate, but also still be super effective. But...eh, I still dislike it overall. I mean now that they are officially OUT, why don't they make guns, and body armor, and the whole works? When they made fucking airships with cloaking devices, they didn't make them look like primitive versions of their old school wagon carts or whatever. They look straight out of Bladerunner.

But, I wasn't a big fan of BP as a whole, so...*shrugs*

Frankly, tactics in the MCU (and most superhero media) seem to operate differently than the real world. It isn't just the Wakandans - we have a setting where a man clad in spandex (second Cap guy) is assigned to a counter-terrorism unit, armed with a shield, a pistol, and a uniform that'll make him stand out. This also being a setting where a guy with a bow and arrow is able to beat aliens with energy-weapons.

Just go with it I guess. 0_0

 

[happyninja42]

Frankly, tactics in the MCU (and most superhero media) seem to operate differently than the real world. It isn't just the Wakandans - we have a setting where a man clad in spandex (second Cap guy) is assigned to a counter-terrorism unit, armed with a shield, a pistol, and a uniform that'll make him stand out. This also being a setting where a guy with a bow and arrow is able to beat aliens with energy-weapons.

Just go with it I guess. 0_0

Oh I'm not saying it's the only example of this, far from it. And I don't even mean only in the MCU. I just found it especially annoying in BP. Again, considering they were pretending to be a tribal group with nothing but spears, in THAT film, I can still kind of get it. Ok fine, you're working covertly, make super tech spears, and tech...robes I guess, I dunno, the flaps of fabric they used as shields. But, come on, there are MUCH better ways to build defensive/offensive weapons, with ANY material. Modern design gear, with Wakandan level tech, would be ridiculous. So in IW and Endgame...they should've been using more conventional stuff.

And yes, the same goes for Hawkeye. I usually try to be forgiving, and have a hefty suspension of disbelief but, some things just bug me. I get it, comic books, goofy shit is SOP. But...just, ugh.

 

[BrawlMan]

Frankly, tactics in the MCU (and most superhero media) seem to operate differently than the real world. It isn't just the Wakandans - we have a setting where a man clad in spandex (second Cap guy) is assigned to a counter-terrorism unit, armed with a shield, a pistol, and a uniform that'll make him stand out. This also being a setting where a guy with a bow and arrow is able to beat aliens with energy-weapons.

Just go with it I guess. 0_0

Oh I'm not saying it's the only example of this, far from it. And I don't even mean only in the MCU. I just found it especially annoying in BP. Again, considering they were pretending to be a tribal group with nothing but spears, in THAT film, I can still kind of get it. Ok fine, you're working covertly, make super tech spears, and tech...robes I guess, I dunno, the flaps of fabric they used as shields. But, come on, there are MUCH better ways to build defensive/offensive weapons, with ANY material. Modern design gear, with Wakandan level tech, would be ridiculous. So in IW and Endgame...they should've been using more conventional stuff.

And yes, the same goes for Hawkeye. I usually try to be forgiving, and have a hefty suspension of disbelief but, some things just bug me. I get it, comic books, goofy shit is SOP. But...just, ugh.

Dudes, I am playing a game where an Otaku Assassin went from fighting other assassins to fighting super powered aliens that call themselves "Superheroes". You tell me.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Frankly, tactics in the MCU (and most superhero media) seem to operate differently than the real world. It isn't just the Wakandans - we have a setting where a man clad in spandex (second Cap guy) is assigned to a counter-terrorism unit, armed with a shield, a pistol, and a uniform that'll make him stand out. This also being a setting where a guy with a bow and arrow is able to beat aliens with energy-weapons.

Just go with it I guess. 0_0

It's one of the two. If I embrace the stupid I'm not gonna take the movie seriously when it wants me to.

Anf everything feels more and more replaceable and less special the more of these come out. Wakanda doesn't feel that special when there's another ultra secretive retrofuturistic utopia over in China. Vibranium suddenly isn't the most amazing thing ever when dragon scales are just as awesome for forging impenetrable armor. Black Widow is now just as special as the legion of other Black Widows who all share the same blueprint backtory. And of course nobody stays dead, and those who do have a successor lined up, the multiverse multiplies everything, and if you go down every Wikipedia page for all these heroes everybody shares the same broadstrokes powers (strength, speed, heals up nice). Like the Ten Rings from the title are just... You shoot them like bullets that won't even penetrate the target because you want PG-13 scuffles, so in practice they do what every other superpower does in these movies: throw people around.

 

[SilentPony]

Just got back, and Im surprised. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, the reviews I've read don't do it justice.
But jeez Marvel, how many secret shadow organizations have been secretly infiltrating Governments of the world? Between Hyrda, the Winter Soldier, the Red Room, Wakanda's wardogs, the Eternals and now the Ten Rings, does anyone in Government NOT work for a dark secret organization?! Fuck, Shield you guys were really bad at this.
I struggle with the fantasy tone too. Like I know, Marvel, its all fantasy, but I dunno...Iron Man in a robot suit or Captain America just being a buff guy feels different from literal magical dragons and dragon scale weapons and soul eaters. I dunno, I just can't see other Marvel heroes doing much cross over. This felt more like a Warhammer Fantasy or Lord of the Rings movie than modern day/future because of the time jump in Endgame, movie. And I know the new roster of characters need their own movies and to stand apart, but they're pushing pretty big scale events that the Avengers are ignoring. Giant soul eater dragon escapes hell to end the universe and no one bothered to show up?

Also Dr. Strange and the Sorccerer Supremes of old are really bad. Like Jedi Council levels of stupid. Didn't know who Thanos was, didn't know about the Wakandas, didn't know about the gate to the secret hell dimension in this movie, didn't help Wanda in Jersey, didn't stop Loki from breaking open the multiverse. For someone who is "protecting your reality, douchebag" Strange is really bad at protecting reality.
And I guess Abomination is a good guy now?

Everything else I thought was fine. Consider this praise by exception, in that everything I don't talk about is just fine and works. Also Nora Lum stole the movie. Every scene with her was great, even if some of the jokes were a little predictable.

Also sidenote the bad guy doesn't make much sense. He's an immortal, invulnerable, super powerful all but-God king super warrior with unbreakable magic rings of death, and his goal for a thousand years has been world domination. In the movie they even say he was Genghis Khan. They show him conquering tribes, cities, fight the plains people, fighting the Romans, the French during the Napoleonic wars and then it just smash cuts to like 1994, and he's the head of a shadow organization of ninjas. And its like what? Dude, you're all but the God Emperor of Mankind. Why did you stop the whole world conquering thing? Why aren't you sitting in a palace of pure gold and diamonds with the entire world under your rule? His whole thing was conquering the world, and it seems at some point he just stops. And not because of his wife, he stopped long before that and just accepted being just another Hydra, just without the excuse of Captain America blowing up his base.

 

[BrawlMan]

But jeez Marvel, how many secret shadow organizations have been secretly infiltrating Governments of the world? Between Hyrda, the Winter Soldier, the Red Room, Wakanda's wardogs, the Eternals and now the Ten Rings, does anyone in Government NOT work for a dark secret organization?! Fuck, Shield you guys were really bad at this.

You know the saying, evil never rests. Or as long as there is evil. Dude, it's a comic book movie. Most of these organizations were in the comics, so it makes sense they would be here too.

Saw it earlier this afternoon and the reviews that went in negative or were "mixed" are full of shit. The movie gave me everything that was advertised when some nice surprises and I went away more than satisfied. Also, there's nothing "generic or boring"/non-character about Shang. What movie was everyone else watching? That goes for you too Double Toasted! Shang has clear motivation and guilt. His character arc is about not running away and expecting his past to build a better future. If you're expecting a personality like Iron Man or the more recent Thor, you came to the wrong movie. The action scenes are an A, though I do feel the part with the tower building and bamboo sticks were a little too dark. Marvel always seem to have this issue in many regards. It's now one of my top favorites up there with Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Ragnarok. Another thing, this is the best live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender ever made with the later action sequences they pull off in the second half. That is how the "official" adaption should have done it.

BTW, Disney and Marvel, can you please make a Shang-Chi game? It does not have to be following the movie, and be it's on stand alone story. Just a huge suggestion.

 

[laggyteabag]

Yeah, I really enjoyed this one.

It was funny, the characters were likable, the action was good, and it was performed really well. Aside from WandaVision, this was the best MCU thing that we have seen since Endgame.

I do have a few gripes, though. The biggest and most glaring is the third act. I was invested in the conflict between Shang Chi and his father. I absolutely did not need a massive CGI battle between a dragon and a squid demon, with the fate of the world at stake. It wasn't setup until the last act, and it came out of nowhere.

Ben Kingsley returning was great, but he completely overstayed his welcome. I would have enjoyed his appearance as a cameo in the prison, but I absolutely did not need him tagging along for the rest of the journey.

Other than that, though, really a solid time, and well worth the watch. Surprisingly stand-alone, too, this late into the MCU.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Ben Kingsley returning was great, but he completely overstayed his welcome. I would have enjoyed his appearance as a cameo in the prison, but I absolutely did not need him tagging along for the rest of the journey.

I didn't mind him tagging along, though I was disappointed the character didn't really pay off once they got to the magic kingdom. I figured the movie would make a brief show about him finally feeling at home or something like that.

He's also the only other character with a personality in the movie, apart from the lady driver and the bad guy. Shaun's a flat tire and the sister is your average angry no-nonsense super serious Marvel lady fighter.