***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE 10 RINGS SPOILER THREAD ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***

[lorddemaxus]

11 minutes ago, Dominic Draper said:

So what or who were the rings signaling to?

Watch the next Marvel movie to find out!

[CJohn]

13 minutes ago, Dominic Draper said:

So what or who were the rings signaling to?

Some people online think it is Fin Fang Foom.

[RRA]

They were signaling their true owner

 

 

[RealLyre]

best action in a marvel movie in a while, the dragons at the end almost ruined the film for me but everything was saved with that Captain Marvel Cameo at the end. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by RealLyre

[Menor the Destroyer]

I'm liking the score on first listen. I like that Shang-Chi's theme is a blend of his father's and mother's. It's a good theme too, I was able to hum it as I walked out so it has some memorability at least.

[RichWS]

Can't believe I didn't zone out until the very end when the two dragons were fighting and the sister was hanging off, yelling "LET ME GO!" At that point, I was like okay that's enough of this.

 

Up till then, I thought this was one of the more enjoyable MCU flicks. Tony Leung kicked ass, Simu Liu and Awkwafina were both quite likable. I mean, Ben Kingsley doing his Trevor killed me in IM3 and it works here. 

 

That mid-credits scene feels like they had Larson and Ruffalo for about 15 minutes. "Just throw any wig on her!"

Edited September 7, 2021 by RichWS

[RRA]

Ten Random Things I LIKED about this:

 

(1) Tony friggin Leung. Just think of how many new fans of him have been created because of his first Hollywood gig who'll get to explore a treasure trove of work (many being gems of world cinema.) It's nice when both casual moviegoers and movie buffs win when a legend does good work.

 

(2)  Benedict Wong/Ben Kingsley. Sure it's MCU connection obligation time, but it's cool how Wong is becoming this cool fan-favorite Hoss in the MCU. Always delighted when he appears. Sure many fans still haven't gotten over IRON MAN 3  and the Mandarin twist, but I get a kick from Kingsley's character as a likeable fool. Kingsley is having fun. His PLANET OF THE APES story is a highlight gag from this.  

 

(3) Awkwafina. Latest example of the MCU trope that is "hero's normal ally/friend who gets in the middle of this spandex mayhem circus and do their part," she reminds me of a young coked-up Robin Williams as a giant ball of comic energy that dominates scenes. Her reaction to Liu revealing himself to be the love child of Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba, wouldn't that be most of us? 

 

(4) This movie reminded me of THE WINTER SOLDIER in how it felt like tonal-wise this is a good G.I. Joe movie come to life in regards to how the Ten Rings is depictured. Modern paramilitary outfit, yet it's traditionally costumed ninjas and stuff everywhere. This is the tone of verisimilitude with comic book-y fantasy touches which many films trip in trying to pull off, but here it's organic and effortless. 

 

(5) The action. Well-praised for a reason, though not mentioned enough for my taste is that because we see Simu Liu clearly doing the fights himself this actually gives some credibility to when he goes into superhero movie CGI antics. I know it's not real, but dammit I want to believe he did ride that dragon. Really appreciated that POV shot on the side in the tunnel during the bus fight, emulating a comic book panel and an old school beat-em up 2-D scroller video game. 

 

(6) Could it have been executed? Sure but I liked the idea of the Ta-Lo villagers and the Ten Rings stop fighting and start working together out of self-preservation. I'm a sucker for the "villains going good because crap got too evil/bad" trope. 

 

(7) I'm whiter than sour cream, but I've been appreciating reading how Asian/Asian-American folks online have mentioned stuff they've noticed and appreciated which the rest of us might've missed. Whether it be the "I know ABC" line (paraphrasing it) from the club dude to Awkwafina. I thought that was him saying he knows English, but it's a reference to her being ABC (American-Born Chinese.) There's even an intriguing argument that Shang-Chi being called "busboy" is a callback to the sort of stereotypical parts Asian-descent actors played in Hollywood and him being a valet is a stab of inverting that background guy in a blockbuster, except this is his story.  Maybe a stretch, but it's interesting. 

 

(8) I'm not anal about CGI as much as some folks are because I focus more on the acting/framing/writing/cutting, crap like that. But I do appreciate good CGI when I see it, and it looked dope on the big screen here. Certainly contrasts quality-wise with what we saw in BLACK WIDOW's climax. 

 

(9) Loved how Leung voluntarily gives the rings to his son as he's defeated and dying, knowing his race has finally been run and his son has proven himself. 

 

(10) Sure the ending sets up Shang-Chi being in the Avengers' orbit, but I like the concept that in the period before that and after saving the world...he and Awkwafina apparently went back to their boring dead-end jobs and apparently none of their friends believe them. 

 

Ten Random Things I HATED about this:

 

(1) For a movie that well-shot action up to the finale...why was the final battle shoddily staged that felt like it was shot in somebody's backyard? Man the people who gave Black Panther grief over its battle should apologize after seeing this. It looked like 20 extras, split between both sides. 

 

(2) Yeah the "Expositional City Dump" jokes write themselves, but this only annoyed me was how this movie dealt with the hero's confession that he did murder somebody...why? I think back to BATMAN BEGINS (which SC took notes for it's non-linear flashback structure for a spandex film from) where that beautiful montage of Bale throwing that gun into the river, without words you know Batman won't use guns or kill for a reason. Imagine if Nolan had directed a scene where Bale just says all that instead? Wouldn't be as powerful. 

 

(3) Awkwafina. She reminds me of a young coked-up Robin Williams in the best and worst way. I know many people nostalgic for Williams forget this, but as funny and charming as Williams could be...sometimes his heavy manic improv nature can be overbearing and obnoxious, sometimes to a movie's detriment. Sometimes it's just too much. 

 

(4) They really could've done a better job in tying together narrative/theming that our hero seeing his mom gets mob murdered made him in part the man he would grow up to be. Again I bring up BATMAN BEGINS again but (1) still so good which emotionally evokes something in me (2) it's a good role model to emulate in this spectrum. Maybe I would've been more invested beyond the MCU boilerplate of a decent afternoon diversion?

 

(5) They could've designed a cooler looking "superhero" costume for Shang-Chi, right? I think back to Anthony Mackie's Captain America costume (which looks like a Rob Liefeld wet dream) and that was splendid. This? I just go "eh." 

 

(6) Simu Liu is a likeable presence, his comic charm shines through many times. Yet they give him brooding/reflective scenes which handcuffs him. I'm reminded of how MCU did this to Chris Hemsworth for his first few movies, the noble heroic (bland) Thor who's always serious. When THOR RAGNAROK let him be silly, people loved that "new" Thor. If SC gets a sequel, embrace Liu's asset more. 

 

(7) Always floors me in the MCU (well this applies to general comic books too) when characters play the "I don't believe it, that's too fantastical" card in a lifetime when they've had alien invasions, Norse Gods, Hulks, galactic genocide (and return), you name it. At this point, wouldn't you just buy something insanely far fetch just to be on the safe side?

 

(8) Not really something in *this* movie I hated, but I liked that Liu and Awkwafina weren't a couple, just buddies. Platonic friendship between the sexes is rare for major roles in spandex films, which I appreciated instead of a trite obligatory romance angle. Yet (perhaps just me) I noticed steps towards them becoming a couple in a sequel which doesn't exactly interest me. But hey if they can make it work, cool. 

 

(9) Why specifically set this post-blip? I hope it was more than simply to excuse for that post-ENDGAME era Banner cameo. 

 

(10) I hate the Eagles, I'm in the same boat with The Dude from THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Yeesh. 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by RRA

[iHeartJames]

16 minutes ago, RichWS said:

Can't believe I didn't zone out until the very end when the two dragons were fighting and the sister was hanging off, yelling "LET ME GO!" At that point, I was like okay that's enough of this.

 

Up till then, I thought this was one of the more enjoyable MCU flicks. Tony Leung kicked ass, Simu Liu and Awkwafina were both quite likable. I mean, Ben Kingsley doing his Trevor killed me in IM3 and it works here. 

 

That mid-credits scene feels like they had Larson and Ruffalo for about 15 minutes. "Just throw any wig on her!"

I thought I was the only one that thought this

[Valonqar]

Whoever did marketing for this should be fired. Hiding the money shot earned them the pathetic 90M 4 day when they could've opened with 174M 3 day like IM3 that knew what put butts in seats and flaunted it across promos:

 

 

 

The trailer alone would have obliterated NWH with fans going

 

 

 

But marketing decided to go full JJ Abrams mystery box and 100M was shaved off OW. 

[4815162342]

1 hour ago, Valonqar said:

Whoever did marketing for this should be fired. Hiding the money shot earned them the pathetic 90M 4 day when they could've opened with 174M 3 day like IM3 that knew what put butts in seats and flaunted it across promos:

 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

 

The trailer alone would have obliterated NWH with fans going

 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

 

But marketing decided to go full JJ Abrams mystery box and 100M was shaved off OW. 

 

You are 100% wrong. Spoiling Trevor being in the movie would have reduced the fun of his appearance by a metric ton. It worked far better as a surprise.

Edited September 7, 2021 by 4815162342

[Valonqar]

4 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

 

You are 100% wrong. Spoiling Trevor being in the movie would have reduced the fun of his appearance by a metric ton. It worked far better as a surprise.

 

I was making a joke but it crash landed flat on its face it appears. 

[Cap]

 

[Noctis]

On 9/4/2021 at 3:23 PM, CoolioD1 said:

honestly i might be trash but i thought the cgi mess at the end was the best action setpiece of the movie. the hand to hand stuff was a little overhyped (except the opening tony leung fight that was gorgeous). the dragons looked pretty cool.

 

Might?

 

But yeah, the dragons were definitely a highlight for me. 

[Krissykins]

I loved the hand to hand fight choreography but thought the film fell apart with the dragons and questionable CGI (especially when anyone is riding a dragon). Some of that last fight gave me Mortal Kombat (2021) vibes unfortunately. 
 

First third of the movie was fantastic. But it all fell apart a bit for me as soon as they went to visit the aunt. 

[Valonqar]

Also, as far as dragon and other creature flights go, we've seen better on GOT, Harry Potter and Avatar. Flights should stand out and be awe inspiring not have people go "that SFX sucks ass".  I mean, it may be the first dragon flight for Marvel but it isn't the first in cinema so it was always going to be compared to (in tags to avoid gif overload):

 

 

 



 



 



 

 

I also think those flights had a better set up and story leading to a flight and, of course, nothing beats the majestic Blood of the Dragon theme. 

[Menor the Destroyer]

1 hour ago, Valonqar said:

Also, as far as dragon and other creature flights go, we've seen better on GOT, Harry Potter and Avatar. Flights should stand out and be awe inspiring not have people go "that SFX sucks ass".  I mean, it may be the first dragon flight for Marvel but it isn't the first in cinema so it was always going to be compared to (in tags to avoid gif overload):

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 



 



 



 
 

 

 

 

I also think those flights had a better set up and story leading to a flight and, of course, nothing beats the majestic Blood of the Dragon theme. 

It was better than the Harry Potter examples you posted. Well, better than the Hallows scene and the Goblet of Fire dragon, at least. Buckbeak's flight is a different type of scene entirely. Not better than Avatar's creature action (but that is an extremely high bar, Avatar had exceptional effects). Haven't seen GOT to compare. Also the CGI on the dragons was good. I had heard there was some issue with the third-act CGI and was pleasantly surprised that they actually looked nice. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by Menor

[Valonqar]

nah Potter and Buckbeak gave goosebumps and freeing the tortured dragon resonated. Felt really good when the dragon turned on the goblins. 

 

For you the GOT scene with context explained

 

 

 

Dragons are Daenerys' sons and this one, Drogon, is her favorite son. She never flew on a dragon before but this was the only way to save him so she took the risk. If you are worried about Drogon's fate, he lives all the way through the show and beyond! The music theme here is always used when Dany and her baby boy fly.  

[iHeartJames]

🤣

[Menor the Destroyer]

6 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

nah Potter and Buckbeak gave goosebumps and freeing the tortured dragon resonated. Felt really good when the dragon turned on the goblins. 

 

For you the GOT scene with context explained

 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dragons are Daenerys' sons and this one, Drogon, is her favorite son. She never flew on a dragon before but this was the only way to save him so she took the risk. If you are worried about Drogon's fate, he lives all the way through the show and beyond! The music theme here is always used when Dany and her baby boy fly.  

 

I think I still need to actually see to appreciate the context though you explained it well. I went back and rewatched the Gringotts dragon scene, which confirmed my memory, I didn't find it all that amazing, though it was a functional action scene. Buckbeak's flight was really good but was a very different type of scene. 

[Valonqar]

20 minutes ago, Menor said:

I think I still need to actually see to appreciate the context though you explained it well. I went back and rewatched the Gringotts dragon scene, which confirmed my memory, I didn't find it all that amazing, though it was a functional action scene. Buckbeak's flight was really good but was a very different type of scene. 

 

I think that Gringotts had a prolonged mayhem (aka CGI Crap) that didn't advance that part of the story but just served as action for the sake of it. I remember I was "just get the dragon out already". But the idea still resonated cause

 

 

it starts with the sad chained subdued dragon

 



 



 

but ends with a triumphant escape 

 



 



 

Bonus: he gets sweet revenge too! 

 

 



 
 

Not gonna lie, very happy this movie and thread revived the dragon flight discussion. Love such scenes.

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by Valonqar