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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Spoilers)


DaveSumm

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I really enjoyed it, I was starting to worry the MCU films needed to tie in to something larger or I’d lose interest, but this was a pretty straight forward origin story.

Fight scenes were awesome, cast were all great. Obviously a very CG heavy finale but if it’s gonna be a dragon fighting a … whatever that thing is, CG is the order of the day. I was a little disappointed in how Shang-Chi’s powers were depicted here though, the film seemed to be building toward him mastering both his father’s rings and his mother’s elemental manipulation, I was eagerly awaiting him unleashing both on the thingy. Which he sooort of did I guess? But it wasn’t at all clear what he was really doing. Was he floating there when he drove the rings into it? For such a crucial climax that needed to be clearer.

Any ideas on what the beacon is doing, who it’s for? The actual rings themselves get basically no exposition at all, we don’t know how they work (did his Dad ‘own’ them, are they bound to him? What’s involved in ‘claiming’ them like when Shang-Chi had half?) or where they came from.

And post credit, meh. Kinda preferred brother and sister being on the same side but I assume this positions her as the antagonist for future films.

Oh, and I sat through The Incredible Hulk this week to prep for what I thought was the Abomination’s return. Aaaand it wasn’t him. EDIT: Actually it was, he just looks different. 

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6 hours ago, DaveSumm said:

Oh, and I sat through The Incredible Hulk this week to prep for what I thought was the Abomination’s return. Aaaand it wasn’t him. 

Spoiler

It was.  Wong called him Emil, which is Blonsky's first name.  Tim Roth did some vocalizations for it too.  He'll return in She-Hulk.

 

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3 hours ago, SpaceChampion said:
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It was.  Wong called him Emil, which is Blonsky's first name.  Tim Roth did some vocalizations for it too.  He'll return in She-Hulk.

 

Really? He didn’t look right. He had like, fins that I don’t remember seeing in TIH. Looked generally a bit amphibian. Maybe he’s been experimenting since…

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17 hours ago, DaveSumm said:

Really? He didn’t look right. He had like, fins that I don’t remember seeing in TIH. Looked generally a bit amphibian. Maybe he’s been experimenting since…

I believe that's the actual comic book look, so you could say they rectified him.

I thought the movie was ok, but nothing that special. The fight sequences were indeed great, and the highlight of the movie. I also liked the music. There was way too much CGI, but I did like the magical world in other dimension, especially the dragon. The evil creatures were largely uninspired, though.

The movie is a bit misnamed, as the Ten Rings are hardly at the center, and barely get any exposition. Also found it head-scratching in the mid-credit scene that the sorcerers hadn't known about a guy who's been running around for the past thousand years with magical rings, toppling governments, sacking cities, etc. I suppose they really are obsessed only with other realities and dimensions.

 

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I enjoyed this movie more than Black Widow. Shaun and Katie were fun protagonists to go on an adventure with. It definitely benefits from being tied into a larger cinematic universe, but fun none the less.

And no love for Trevor? I figured he'd be in this since Disney+ added All Hail the King last week. Maurice was mix of all kinds of disturbing and cute.

I will say that Banner's sling threw me at first in the post-credit scene. I was like "What happened?". Apparently, having not rewatched Endgame since it came out made me forget the Unsnap did permanent damage....

Also curious about the origin of the rings. Ten were given to the race of Man, who above all things, desire power. 

Regarding the Sorcerers not being aware of the Mandarin Wenwu, they seem to be focused on forces outside the Earth. Why? Because it's convenient for them not to know about overpowered rings, Eternals, Mutants...

 

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5 hours ago, Myrddin said:

Shaun and Katie were fun protagonists to go on an adventure with.

I forgot to mention it in the first post, but I was pleased that Katy wasn’t the clumsy comic relief the trailers indicated she might be. It bugs the crap out of me when actors are brought in purely to lighten the tone all by themselves, and come bumbling into frame with some trombone music or some shit. She blended into the plot quite well, and got a pretty pivotal role in the climax. The only thing that distracted me was that she had no opportunity to let her family know she was Ok for the entire film…

5 hours ago, Myrddin said:

I will say that Banner's sling threw me at first in the post-credit scene. I was like "What happened?". Apparently, having not rewatched Endgame since it came out made me forget the Unsnap did permanent damage....

I thought this at first, and then thought “wait why was that my first thought … he’s not Hulk anymore!”

Regarding the final battle; I have no clue why they made that door just a big circle and a flat bit of cliff. The bus fight and the scaffolding were waaaaay better scenes, and that setting for the fight with his Dad could’ve been literally anything - a big staircase, a tunnel, a series of platforms, take your pick. I don’t understand why they went with flat and grey.

MCU threads are usually busier opening weekend, I guess a lot of people still aren’t comfortable at the cinema yet?

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2 hours ago, DaveSumm said:

MCU threads are usually busier opening weekend, I guess a lot of people still aren’t comfortable at the cinema yet?

It set records for a Labor Day weekend opening.  :dunno:   My son and I went today (Monday - Labor Day) at a matinee.

I enjoyed it for the most part.  Felt odd that it went from a Jackie Chan movie to Godzilla vs Mothra near the end; but I had fun.

As others mentioned, it is odd fitting it into the larger MCU.  Heck, even fitting it into this year’s MCU… how does the Ten Rings tie in with a world where the Widows were about to take over? :dunno: Coulda been a nice touch if a couple of the freed Widows were there with Xiang at the second post credit scene.

Overall, I agree that Shaun and Katie were good characters.  And the visuals of some of the fights were absolutely stunning.  (Are skyscraper scaffolds in China seriously made out of bamboo?!!?) I did enjoy seeing Trevor.  I wonder if some of the fanboys that were so angry “They ruined the Mandarin!” a decade ago have been assuaged?  Loved the line about how the US was “scared of a chicken recipe.” :lol: 

I’m still iffy on Eternals but I’m sure it will be just as good as this.  Spider-Man has me legit excited though.

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7 hours ago, Myrddin said:

And no love for Trevor? I figured he'd be in this since Disney+ added All Hail the King last week. Maurice was mix of all kinds of disturbing and cute.

Trevor and Maurice lended just the right kind of comic relief. 

Also I really enjoyed Tony Leung even though Wenwu's choices didn't always make much sense (to be fair, he was being manipulated at his must vulnerable emotional point). 

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16 minutes ago, Rhom said:

It set records for a Labor Day weekend opening.  :dunno:   My son and I went today (Monday - Labor Day) at a matinee.

I enjoyed it for the most part.  Felt odd that it went from a Jackie Chan movie to Godzilla vs Mothra near the end; but I had fun.

As others mentioned, it is odd fitting it into the larger MCU.  Heck, even fitting it into this year’s MCU… how does the Ten Rings tie in with a world where the Widows were about to take over? :dunno: Coulda been a nice touch if a couple of the freed Widows were there with Xiang at the second post credit scene.

Overall, I agree that Shaun and Katie were good characters.  And the visuals of some of the fights were absolutely stunning.  (Are skyscraper scaffolds in China seriously made out of bamboo?!!?) I did enjoy seeing Trevor.  I wonder if some of the fanboys that were so angry “They ruined the Mandarin!” a decade ago have been assuaged?  Loved the line about how the US was “scared of a chicken recipe.” :lol: 

I’m still iffy on Eternals but I’m sure it will be just as good as this.  Spider-Man has me legit excited though.

My understanding is that one of the Widows who fought Natasha at the end of Black Widow was in a scene. Either at the end or at the club. 

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43 minutes ago, Quijote Light said:

My understanding is that one of the Widows who fought Natasha at the end of Black Widow was in a scene. Either at the end or at the club. 

Interesting.  Looking over the IMDB page for Shang Chi, there is a listing for actress Jade Xu as “Widow.” 

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7 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Interesting.  Looking over the IMDB page for Shang Chi, there is a listing for actress Jade Xu as “Widow.” 

Huh. She was in both movies. Good catch.

ETA: A little Google-fu reveals she was the one fighting the Extremis dude in the fight club, in the video below around :35

 

Nice one, Helen!

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17 hours ago, Rhom said:

...(Are skyscraper scaffolds in China seriously made out of bamboo?!!?)...

Yes, they are.  Bamboo supports almost all construction scaffolding, and the scaffolding erection is often wrapped in a tough basket-weave plastic material to provide "safety" so that the workers who fall off get caught in the wrap.

Of course, this means that any Typhoon coming through picks the entire arrangement off the building under construction like it was a giant kite, as the wind catches in the wrap and the wrap pulls away the scaffolding.

Any construction in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, or the coastal mainland cities is a serious danger during a storm.

As a kid, any time we were in Hong Kong during a storm, we were always warned not to go outside lest we be struck by one of these things coming down the street like the world's biggest set of numchuku.

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19 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Yes, they are.  Bamboo supports almost all construction scaffolding, and the scaffolding erection is often wrapped in a tough basket-weave plastic material to provide "safety" so that the workers who fall off get caught in the wrap.

Of course, this means that any Typhoon coming through picks the entire arrangement off the building under construction like it was a giant kite, as the wind catches in the wrap and the wrap pulls away the scaffolding.

Any construction in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, or the coastal mainland cities is a serious danger during a storm.

As a kid, any time we were in Hong Kong during a storm, we were always warned not to go outside lest we be struck by one of these things coming down the street like the world's biggest set of numchuku.

But the advantage is cost in comparison to metal scaffoldings.

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Have not read up on any outside speculation, forgive me if this is widely known/speculated; but could the signal in the mid credits scene be what triggers the Celestial interest that apparently is the plot of The Eternals?

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11 hours ago, Rhom said:

Have not read up on any outside speculation, forgive me if this is widely known/speculated; but could the signal in the mid credits scene be what triggers the Celestial interest that apparently is the plot of The Eternals?

Could be related, but they say in one of The Eternals trailers that that it's the energy from half the population of Earth returning that's causing "The Emergence" to occur. 

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I watched it earlier today. I enjoyed it a lot, I thought the martial arts film influences helped it feel different to all the other Marvel films and meant it had some of the best action sequences that mostly felt a bit more grounded in the reality than some of the more CGI-heavy films. Obviously the final battle is an exception to that but it's hard to complain about a dragon. As attempts at combining martial arts and Marvel superheroes go it's definitely no Iron Fist.

I thought Tony Leung was good as the villain, particularly in the early years the villains were often quite weak in the MCU, although it's maybe a bit unfortunate that they've yet again killed off one of their more interesting antagonists.

Did they ever explain who sent Shang-Chi the postcard with his sister's address since she says she didn't do it?

Ben Kingsley's return had some amusing moments and Morris was cute although it was very convenient plotting that they just happen to run into the two people who can tell them a secret way to the village.

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12 hours ago, williamjm said:

Did they ever explain who sent Shang-Chi the postcard with his sister's address since she says she didn't do it?

The Dad did to get them together.

I liked most of it till it was taken over by the usual marvel garbage at the end.  Although the Ten Rings people when invading a mystical village using net crossbows to "burn it down" was incredibly stupid.  I mean the Ten Rings doesn't have access to guns and explosives?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Finally managed to see this last night, and tbh I was a little disappointed.  I didn't dislike it by any means, but maybe it was a little too much hype for me.  I guess my main issue is that the "backstory" didn't make much sense, and I'm not sure how it fits in the larger MCU.

By "backstory", I mean the story about how Wen Wu gained the rings and then became uber-powerful.  It made it seem like he became an invincible warlord, and talked about "toppling empires", even going out of their way to show his army striking at "western" powers like the British.  But...wouldn't he be more well known, then?  The backstory said something about him wanting to conquer Ta Lo because he had conquered everything else.  But clearly...he hadn't actually conquered the rest of the world.  Again, he's essentially unknown...maybe a regional warlord at best.  And if the Ten Rings themselves are so powerful...why wouldn't at least Wong and the rest of the Sorcerers be aware of them?  I was a little irritated that they didn't really explain the history of the actual rings, but based on the mid-credits scene, they're setting that up for a future movie.  

And then there's the issue that every MCU movie introducing a new hero is going to have - what happened when Thanos snapped away half the population?  Did he Wen Wu use the rings to shield against that?  Did the snap affect Ta Lo?  I mean, I suppose it isn't really relevant to this story, but any time they introduce a new powerful faction (like the residents of Ta Lo) the question is going to be "hey, we could have used your help against Thanos..."  (Looks like they're going to directly address that in "The Eternals")

And then the big bad that was the CGI monster at the end.  *Another* creature that could end the Universe?  It's a little bit eye-rolling.  Especially since they managed to defeat it in 15 minutes or so.  

Lastly...I'm glad we're getting some diversity in the MCU.  But is every Asian-derived Marvel hero connected to a "hidden city"?  Iron Fist had Kun Lun, and now we get Ta Lo.  Maybe Kun Lun is one of the cities Shang-Chi talked about in her info-dump about fighting the demon-thing?  And do all the bad guys have their secret army of assassins (Ten Rings vs. The Hand)?  I guess that's not a lot different than other MCU bad guys - there's Hydra, the Black Widows, etc.  Just seems very samey for the two Asian influenced MCU entries we've got (I know Iron Fist isn't exactly well-received).  

That's it I guess...I certainly thought it had a lot of fun moments...just wasn't quite as amazing as I anticipated based on reviews.

 

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1 hour ago, HokieStone said:

By "backstory", I mean the story about how Wen Wu gained the rings and then became uber-powerful.  It made it seem like he became an invincible warlord, and talked about "toppling empires", even going out of their way to show his army striking at "western" powers like the British.  But...wouldn't he be more well known, then?

I think it's more secretly manipulating events on a global scale to suit his interests. Some of the things he's done would be well known, but not that he was responsible for them.

1 hour ago, HokieStone said:

And then there's the issue that every MCU movie introducing a new hero is going to have - what happened when Thanos snapped away half the population?  Did he Wen Wu use the rings to shield against that?  Did the snap affect Ta Lo?

I doubt the rings could have done anything, but I suspect Ta Lo would have been outside the area of effect.

1 hour ago, HokieStone said:

And then the big bad that was the CGI monster at the end.  *Another* creature that could end the Universe?  It's a little bit eye-rolling.  Especially since they managed to defeat it in 15 minutes or so. 

The idea was that it would get increasingly powerful the longer it was free, so they had to take it down relatively quickly. The dragon riding came across as a bit silly, though.

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