Agreed. As a huge wuxia fan and martial arts geek, I felt let down with Shang-Chi and Ta Lo as a whole. Now, Xialing? She stole the movie IMO and I would happily watch a series or solo film with Meng’er’s feisty little sister. I like Simu and think SC could ultimately be a solid character, but I agree with you. I am glad there will be a sequel, but I hope they can give me a reason to care about SC and please, please make the rest of the Ta Lo beasties as believable as Morris and his Dijiang kin.
I totally loved Xialing, too, and really look forward to see what they do with her in the future, she's now in charge of the Ten Rings so that ought to make things interesting. Guess I didn't have any problems with Shang-Chi himself in that he's very much the archetype of the reluctant hero who feels he eventually has to make up for his father's sins. In some regards he is a lot like Luke Skywalker.... the call to adventure came out of the blue, he had a father who had been a very menacing villain who did a lot of bad things, yet ultimately he felt he could not strike him down and sought to redeem the old man in some way - but it was too late. Like Vader, WenWu is ultimately too late to save himself, but his last act is to try to save his only son. Also like Vader, WenWu probably regretted going down the wrong path but maybe in his last moments, ardently hoped his son would follow a better path than he did. Like Luke, Shang-Chi must ultimately embrace his problematic legacy and become the hero he was meant to be, one who will stand for what is right, and use the awesome powers handed down by his father in a way that would make his ancestors proud.
BTW- the film hit BD a week or two ago. Just picked up the 4K combo. Won’t have time to go through the extras for another week or so, though. Well, the DCEU didn’t have much of a chance of telling their sustained storytelling due to early interference after only 2 films. ZSJL was clearly heading in a direction and, from what we know, would have had the potential for long-term possibilities to be explored (debate over the actual choices being implemented aside).
Oh, I know! Totally - I definitely followed all the behind-the-scenes drama. But I wasn't talking only about their efforts in the last 10 years or so... I mean, the larger issue being that WB has never seemed interested in really building a huge franchise like the MCU despite having had huge hits with their Superman and Batman movies in 1978 and 1989, respectively. They could have been the first to do it, but for whatever reason they didn't.
In their defense, they tried at least something like 5 times before they got to the DCEU Man of Steel: -90’s Schumacherverse/Superman Lives -Early-00’s Batman vs Superman -Mid-00’s Superman Returns/Batman Begins (before Man of Steel went from sequel to reboot and The Dark Knight took things in a non-crossover-compatible direction) -Late-00’s Justice League by George Miller -Late-00’s attempt to clone Iron Man as a launch point with Green Lantern.
Yes, but you brought up the notion of a lack of interest on WB’s part, which those multiple attempts clearly show to not be the case.
This was such a fun, and the best MCU film of the year so far. I'm excited to revisit as I continue my MCU TV/movie watch through.
Finally got around to seeing this and man was it a lot of fun. Great stuff! Loved the cast, the action, and how somewhat surprisingly funny it was. Looking forward to seeing these characters again.
I think I miffed Bernard by publicly saying this should have been the cover art for the blu ray or included as a poster at the very least. Not everyone has a printer at home and this artwork is beautiful. I hope Bernard does a poster for the sequel.
Spoiler Given what we know of Dr. Strange's and Wong's statuses in Spider-Man No Way Home, that could explain why Shang-Chi met with Wong in the end credits scene and not Dr. Strange.
I feel stupid for it taking this long to register with me but I love that Katy’s strategy to defeat bullies is exactly the one Quill used against Ronan to save Xandar.
So I thought about this earlier today. I wonder if Kamala Khan’s amulet shares a connection with the Ten Rings. Given that they’re both artifacts that seemingly grant powers to whoever puts them on perhaps they have a shared origin. Maybe related to the Eternals or something.
Doctor Strange spoiler question Spoiler That was the aunt answering the call for aid in the beginning, right? They didn’t kill her off, right?
Spoiler I think the energy colours are diferent, wich in the MCU means a lot. Colour wise they look more like Agatha/Harrow purple while the rings colours remind Eternals magic.
Spoiler Don't know, but the MCU has a habit of killing off teenagers/young adults guardians, and did just kill off one Aunt in a recent MCU film.
Spoiler No, Michelle Yeoh was not in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She can, however, be found as the lead in this year's other major multiverse-themed release, Everything Everywhere all at Once.
Spoiler Correct, that was the guardian in charge of the Hong Kong sanctum (alongside the London guardian), not people from Ta Lo (who wouldn't be considered sorcerers among Kamar-taj.