KeatonTarantino’s review published on Letterboxd:
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the newest entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was very excited for this one, not only due to the positive reviews but also just because it looked like something that the MCU hasn’t tried before. Now having seen it (twice actually!), I can confidently say that some things were far better than I was expecting, while others actually disappointed me a fair amount.
Starting with the good, I’m pretty much just gonna hop on the bandwagon and say the action was absolutely insane. Two sequences stood out to me in particular; one involving a bus, and another with scaffolding. Both of these could potentially be some of the best action I’ve ever seen in a Marvel movie. The exhilarating choreography, vivid use of color, smooth camerawork, and creative utilization of locations set these apart from anything we’ve seen before. This was without a doubt my favorite aspect of the film.
I also appreciate the new direction the movie took, even outside of the action. Don’t get me wrong, it still checks all the boxes for a high-budget blockbuster, but it actually had quite a bit more to offer. I’m amazed that even over a decade in, the MCU can still build new worlds and do it in a way that remains interesting. I was very immersed in the whole Ten-Rings spectacle, and of course the new characters, let alone the cultural representation.
I would say the film held-up in terms of technicalities, too. The visual effects were expectedly very satisfying. I also thought the film was edited better than I would’ve thought for this mainstream of a movie. And finally I wanted to mention the score as well, which added a great deal to both the epic battle sequences, and even the quieter scenes too.
Unfortunately, I can’t really say that I loved this movie the way a lot of people are appearing to. My first issue was actually with the pacing of the story. I was completely invested in the first 40-50 minutes, featuring some great character moments, well-placed humor, and some killer action. However, the middle act was honestly fairly slow for me. Even though I liked the world-building, I thought it spent too much time on the exposition and didn’t leave much time to do anything with it. I won’t argue with the finale being exciting, although even that had some problems in my opinion.
I already talked about how the film’s unique style of action set it apart from other MCU movies. I can’t express how much I loved seeing it early on in the film. Sadly, that’s why the climax just didn’t really work for me. It had all the right set-ups, but instead it opted for a wide-scale battle with tons of visual effects which we’ve seen a million times before. I was basically underwhelmed because of how overwhelming it was, if that makes sense. I know there’s certain expectations for a Marvel movie and I can respect that, but I was just really hoping it would stick the landing and it just wasn’t that, if you ask me.
That’s not to say Shang-Chi was a bad movie though! I was still very pleased with the film, and could absolutely see it growing on me with more rewatches. I think it has enough potential that even non-Marvel fans might have something to enjoy.
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