SHANG-CHI: Breaking Down The Role [SPOILER] Plays In The Next Phase 4 Movie

Good movie. It’s a fun ride. Wasn’t nearly on the same level as Gunn’s The Suicide Squad but it’s the 2nd best cbm This year. The rings weren’t interesting in the slightest, just a boring power source. But the martial arts stuff was fire. Xialing deserved more characterization as she was a force in the film. Loved water dragon. Hated soul sucker monster. Wenwu didn’t do much for me to be honest. I’d give it an 8/10

Mild Spoilers

8.5/10

The good:
Great performances. Tony Leung may have given one of the best performance in any cbm I’ve ever seen. The way he emotes with subtly and gravitas is something else. He was so smooth too. He felt threatening without hamming it up and he had such conviction




Liu was so likeable. A standout was his scene toward the end when he recalls his father taking him to find his mother’s killer. Awkwafina was surprisingly fine.

Action is beyond excellent. The bus scene was INCREDIBLE. The trailers really didn’t do it justice. As was the scaffolding fight. The first half you can see echoes of everything from “Rumble in the Bronx” to “House of Flying Daggers” There is some Tsui Hark and Shaw Brothers vibes in there too. They really tried to pay homage to a lot of different Chinese classics.

The bad:
The latter second half brings a lull. The third act becomes full on Chinese fantasy which is understandable but the beautiful execution of the first half as this blend of 80s Jackie Chan action with a little wuxia sprinkled in was way more appealing than everything turning into a Xianxia spectacle.


Trevor was fine initially but they kept him around too long.

I did enjoy the last bit. Felt very anime and a love action dbz movie is now possible lol.

That first half and some change is just so well done though. As a fan of classic martial arts and wuxia films, they did an exceptional job paying homage to all of that.

As a day one Trevor Slattery fan I was very pleased to see him return. I always hoped to see him again in a court jester role, should we ever get the actual Mandarin. Didn't expect his role to extend beyond the compound and become an actual part of the story.

This Jackie Chan movie without Jackie Chan

I thought this movie was great. I did not expect to like it as much as I did. Tony Leung was in there acting circles around everyone. What a guy!

My theater cheered when Trevor appeared and laughed at almost every one of the jokes involving him. I thought he was utilized rather well and I did get some laughs out of him. That Planet of the Aprs bit had me dead. I would have liked to have seen him share the screen with Wenwu. The real Mandarin alongside the impostor.

As for the movie, I enjoyed the hell out of it. The action choreography was great as well as the humor. Simu Liu is a natural and I hope he gets more roles outside of Marvel. Awkward s was enjoyable as well. Like many, I enjoyed the first half a little more than the last half. I liked getting to know the characters and their conflict. The whole Ta Lo section of the movie was fine but it felt like a completely different movie. The climax was awesome and was pretty much a live-action DBZ. The two stingers in the credits do make me excited for what’s next.

I loved what they did with Trevor. The moment I hear the growls I knew it was him, what I DIDNT expect was how long he’d be in it. I busted out laughing when they lined up for the final stand and he was there in dragon armor ready to fight. Him playing dead was also a really great touch. This movie was awesome

So two things about the movie that tie in to comments I’ve made here before.

1: I am VERY happy to say that I was wrong about the turnout for my showing. Although there were only 10 tickets sold last I checked the theater was about 70% full and that makes me really happy. It still might not break any records but I think it will do ok

2: My girlfriend is Vietnamese American and was really looking forward to this movie from a representation standpoint and she absolutely loved it. She cried literally like 5 times and was looking at me with the most excitement she’s ever shown for a Marvel movie throughout it. It seemed like exactly the same feeling I had watching Black Panther for the first time and that’s a beautiful thing. We are exited to get to show her nephew who is obsessed with Spiderman to see how he reacts to a hero that looks like him!