Marvel gets mystical in this mashup of the plucky, familiar MCU character and the more stoic, legend-heavy air of wuxia films. It's a fresh mix, effectively breaking the gravity of its more serious moments with a well-timed jape while lending credence and lore to a lesser-known corner of the comic kingdom, but these crossover moments sometimes test their limits. I could see more grounded viewers being turned off by the dragons and soul-sucking demons (far cry from the feasible reality of the first Iron Man, that) while serious fans of Chinese fantasy are bucked by the constant injection of loose wit and slappy one-liners.
When it's rolling, Shang Chi does manage to toe that line and deliver something appropriately new and versatile, a good reflection of both worlds. It benefits from a tight pair of central performances (Simu Liu and Awkwafina as a team of underachieving twenty-somethings) and several big, powerful action sets (the articulated bus fight might be one of the best combat scenes Marvel's ever put out) while tying in a dangling thread or two from earlier films to provide a sense of greater connection. On several occasions, however, it's guilty of being too self-indulgent and losing the narrative. It's great to see Ben Kingsley again, adding nuance to his part in Iron Man 3, but his scenes are the main offender here; excessive and distracting and way too cute.
The action is strong, the dialogue (mostly) works, the scenery looks great, but in the big picture, Shang Chi feels small-scale and disposable. Non-completionists won't miss anything crucial if they choose to skip it.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2022-01-03T14:17:27Z
Marvel gets mystical in this mashup of the plucky, familiar MCU character and the more stoic, legend-heavy air of wuxia films. It's a fresh mix, effectively breaking the gravity of its more serious moments with a well-timed jape while lending credence and lore to a lesser-known corner of the comic kingdom, but these crossover moments sometimes test their limits. I could see more grounded viewers being turned off by the dragons and soul-sucking demons (far cry from the feasible reality of the first Iron Man, that) while serious fans of Chinese fantasy are bucked by the constant injection of loose wit and slappy one-liners.
When it's rolling, Shang Chi does manage to toe that line and deliver something appropriately new and versatile, a good reflection of both worlds. It benefits from a tight pair of central performances (Simu Liu and Awkwafina as a team of underachieving twenty-somethings) and several big, powerful action sets (the articulated bus fight might be one of the best combat scenes Marvel's ever put out) while tying in a dangling thread or two from earlier films to provide a sense of greater connection. On several occasions, however, it's guilty of being too self-indulgent and losing the narrative. It's great to see Ben Kingsley again, adding nuance to his part in Iron Man 3, but his scenes are the main offender here; excessive and distracting and way too cute.
The action is strong, the dialogue (mostly) works, the scenery looks great, but in the big picture, Shang Chi feels small-scale and disposable. Non-completionists won't miss anything crucial if they choose to skip it.