If Star-Lord Was Good at Martial Arts
Shaun is just an ordinary guy that wants to make money and chill in a post-blip San Francisco. When he is randomly attacked, he is dragged into a world that he tried to leave behind. His father is seeking the hidden village of Ta Lo, where he believes that his now-dead wife is being held captive. It’s up to Shaun to stop him from unleashing horror during his tirade.
After delays, global pandemics, and controversies, Shang-Chi is finally here to reclaim his place in kicking off the cinematic side of the MCU’s Phase 4. Excusing the character’s problematic past in the comics, it is great to see a predominantly Asian-cast and more importantly, Asian-lead. Although we did get to this milestone in popular culture, the film missed a big opportunity to show audiences something about the group. We had a few instances of the culture at the beginning, but then it was abandoned to tell the story of the Village of Ta Lo and the main character’s individual ideologies. Black Panther did a good job of tying its characters into real world problems, but it was missing here, especially with the problems revolving around the Asian population today.
Best Known for his role in Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu is a welcome addition to the MCU. Liu brings charisma and plenty of comedy to the role. He is pretty much the Starlord of this era. He nails the comedy with his great comedic timing, but can flip the switch on a dime. I also commend his effort in doing a number of his own stunts, even going as far as to suffering an injury as a result. That effort helps more than make up for the MCU’s previous attempt at a martial arts hero. This is up there with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, for me.
Although Shang-Chi was the titular character, Tony Leung’s Chiu-Wai shined bright in his own way. It’s arguable that this movie is about Leung’s character, and everyone else is just living in it. The events surround the real mandarin, but even that name is dealt with early on. He acts circles around most of the cast, and whether he’s got a double or not, holds his own in the action scenes.
***Warning: Spoilers***
Being a big fan of martial arts movies, I was excited for their official big-screen entrance into the MCU. I was ecstatic for the first few action sequences. The bus and scaffolding sequences were great and I wanted more! After all of the cosmic level events, I was happy to get street level adventures like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. When the newest marketing campaign prances out on screen, the movie takes a hard left turn. Morris is cute and all, but with mystical creatures entering the picture, my expectations for raw martial arts flew out the window. I understand that we need to get Shang-Chi up and running to enter the bigger picture, but I was bummed out a little by the end.
With mysticism in play, it’s obviously time for the big 3rd act spectacular, for better or worse. Not only do we get pretty creatures that inhabit the landscape with Ta Lo’s population, but big ugly monsters that can be interchanged with ones in any other monster movie. I would have been satisfied with the fight between Shang-Chi and Chiu-Wai as the last note, but they just had to include a cgi fest at the end. It was a little hard to follow the action with frantic cuts and jarring camera angles. I guess I’m just happy that there was no big blue beam that shot into the sky. I’m also not too sold on the huge part that Awkwafina’s Katy played in the final fight. Out of all of the trained warriors, the one who trained for a few days was able to be the turning point?
With the likes of Awkwafina and Simu in the movie, you think that you’d be in store for comedy, but like the drama, this was stolen away from another cast member. When Ben Kingsly’s Trevor shows up, he takes the comedy baton and runs with it. Whether it's playing dead during the last battle, or recounting crazy stories, Ben was definitely a highlight. Awkwafina’s character was a little dialed back compared to her appearance in Crazy Rich Asians. It felt like the comedic timing wasn’t lining up for her jokes, or I may just not be into her humor anymore.
With the world of the MCU shifting dramatically, this was a great entry of world and characters. This was a monumental achievement for films to have this Asian cast, but I feel like there was a big opportunity that was missed with it. Although the ending scenes were a disappointment, it’s bolstered by great action and comedy throughout the rest of the film. I would love to see the cast return before a big team-up event in the MCU, to learn more about this world and its inhabitants.