Film Review: SHANG-CHI

Shang-Chi is a "master" of Kung Fu in the comic,
but he clearly is not in this Marvel film!


CLICK ABOVE IMAGES TO ENLARGE

STARRING

DIRECTED / WRITTEN / PRODUCED BY

EDITED / CINEMATOGRAPHY / ART BY

Simu Liu as Shaun / Shang-Chi
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung as Xu Wenwu
Awkwafina as Katy
Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery
Meng'er Zhang as Xialing
Fala Chen as Li
Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan
Wah Yuen as Master Guang Bo (as Yuen Wah)
Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist
Andy Le as Death Dealer
Paul W. He as Chancellor Hui (as Paul He)
Jayden Zhang as Young Shang-Chi
Elodie Fong as Young Xialing
Arnold Sun as Teen Shang-Chi
Stephanie Hsu as Soo
Kunal Dudheker as John
Tsai Chin as Waipo
Jodi Long as Mrs. Chen
Dallas Liu as Ruihua
Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon
Stella Ye as Yuchen
Fernando Chien as Gao Lei
Michael-Anthony Taylor as Bus Driver

Directed by
Destin Daniel Cretton

Written by
Dave Callaham
Destin Daniel Cretton
Andrew Lanham

Story by
Dave Callaham
Destin Daniel Cretton

Based on the Marvel Comic Book by
Steve Englehart
Jim Starlin

Produced by
Victoria Alonso, Executive Producer
Louis D'Esposito, Executive producer
Charles Newirth, Executive Producer Kevin Feige, Producer (P.G.A.)
David J. Grant, Co-Producer
Jonathan Schwartz, (P.G.A.)

Edited by
Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
Nat Sanders
Harry Yoon

Cinematography by
Bill Pope, Director of photography

Art Direction by
Jan Edwards
Laurie Faen (weapons Art Director)
Michael E. Goldman
Richard Hobbs (Supervising Art Director)
Blake Alexander Johnson
Rachel Robb Kondrath
Jacinta Leong

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Giant-Size
Master of Kung Fu
Volume 1, Number 2
Copyright © 1974
Marvel Comics Group
Source: Trip's Collection

THE STORY (BACKGROUND): Marvel Comics launched "Master of Kung Fu" (MKF) shorly after the death of the greatest martial artist ever, Bruce Lee, who died on July 20, 1973 at only thirty-two-(32) years of age. Bruce Lee established the "high standard" for martial arts in film, which was subsequently re-imagined or cloned by Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Jet Li, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Jimmy Wang Yu, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, and so many, many others. As you can see by the panel at left, MKF artist Paul Gulacy clearly used Bruce Lee's use of nunchaku as source material.

Again, just like Bruce Lee in the above video, MKF is supposed to be the undisputed "Master of Kung Fu," or at least a reasonable caricature. Get it? Well, that's not what "we" got.

Supposedly, Marvel Studios abandoned the extremely large canon of stories from the comic book, published from 1974 to 1983, because some people might find some of the racial themes of the source material offensive (pick one: "cancel culture" or "politically incorrect"), but that didn't stop Marvel from promoting the business-as-usual negative images of "urban" Black people (poor, criminal, gangs, etc.) in "Black Panther," or "Luke Cage," or the business-as-usual sexist images of women (leotard and spandex clad) throughout the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), or the perpetual promotion of Nazi's via Hydra and the Red Skull. Frankly, if the MCU's showrunner Kevin Feige had any guts, he would have "updated" Shang-Chi to reflect a contemporary China, which is exactly what Marvel did with many of its other film properties, such as Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, which included among other things casting a Black woman, Kerry Washington as Alicia Masters, Ben Grimm's love interest. Oh, the hypocrisy. Get it? So, to clairfy . . .

In the comic book,
Shang-Chi's father is Fu Manchu,
but Marvel could not acquire the
film rights for the character,
therefore . . .

In the film,
Shang-Chi's father is Xu Wenwu,
who's actually a stand-in for the
Marvel Comics character,
"The Mandarin"

UNIMAGINATIVE?

This story, which is not particularly imaginative, is ultimately about a pseudo-independent son's struggle against his very powerful and ruthless father, Xu Wenwu, holder of the ten rings (bracelets in the film). In his quest for even more power, Xu Wenwu meets a beautiful woman, Ying Li, who's guarding an entrance to an enchanted kingdom, Ta Lo, but Xu Wenwu quickly discovers Li's more than his physical and intellectual equal. Eventually they fall in love, and mutually agree to give up their powers, and start a family, with one son, Shang-Chi, and one daughter, Xialing. Although Xu Wenwu had retired from his evil ways, his victims sought revenge, and with Xu Wenwu away from home, the Iron Gang murdered Ying Li, but spared Shang-Chi and Xialing who were preadolescent.

From this point on the script is formulaic and very predictable: With the murder of Ying Li, Xu Wenwu takes up the rings and kills every member of the Iron Gang; Shang-Chi and Xialing become proficient (but not masters) in martial arts as assassins but eventually leave home; Xu Wenwu wants his children back home, because they each possess "shiny objects" that are the key to bringing their mother back to the living; add a bunch of useless fight scences where Shang-Chi routinely gets his butt kicked thereby proving he's NOT the "Master of Kung Fu," and of course, there's the obligatory appearane of CGI sequences involving "water" and one or more "dragons," because again, this is Disney, and as in "Raya and the Last Dragon," Disney must pander to the stereotypical use of ethnic symbols, and in many Asian cultures "water" and "dragons" are extremely dominant, which is why this story is not particularly imaginative. "Shang-Chi" had a budget of $150 to $200 million, but with a budget of only $44 million the special effect and CGI used to create the dragons in the 2020 film, "Monster Hunter" were much better, more lethal, more believable. Eventually, good (Shang-Chi) triumphs over evil (Xu Wenwu), while Xialing's fate is uncertain as she takes control over her father's criminal empire.

Instead of being imaginative, here again, Marvel uses yet another "shiny or unique object" as the "MacGuffin" to drive the story, for example: in "Avengers: End Game" it was the gem stones sought by Thanos; or the "Pym Particles" in Ant-Man," or Thor's enchanged hammer, Mjölnir, and so on. In this film, it's ten "bracelets," and not rings, that give the holder "immortality and godly powers." Although the film never detailed the functionality of each ring (bracelet), Marvel Comics provides the following explanation:
https://www.marvel.com/items/mandarin-s-rings	ORIGIN: Discovered by the Mandarin in China’s “Valley of Spirits,” the Ten Rings of Power are actually the product of the dragon-like race Axonn-Karr (or Makluans) from the planet Maklu-IV. The Axonn-Karr utilized them mainly as the power source for their interstellar craft’s engines. The rings’ functions currently cannot be explained by modern Earth science. The Mandarin learned how to utilize the rings for own personal use and make them respond to his personal commands. Over the years, the Mandarin’s mind has actually come to inhabit the rings so that now no one else can make use of them. The Mandarin can also now control the rings over large distances. The functions of each of his original set of rings are as follows: LEFT HAND: Pinky: Ice Blast. Freezes the air in its path and can lower an object’s temperature to almost absolute zero. Ring Finger: Mento-Intensifier. Magnifies the Mandarin’s psychic energy enabling him to mentally control a person. Only effective at short range. Middle Finger: Electro-Blast. Emits quantities of electrical energy determined by the wearer (Mandarin). Upper limit of output is unknown. Index Finger: Flame Blast. Emits infrared radiation and can cause air to incandesce by igniting its molecules. Maximum out is unknown. Thumb: White Light. Emits many different types of energy from the electro-magnetic spectrum. Frequently used as intense visible light and laser beams.
RIGHT HAND: Pinky: Black Light. Creates area of “absolute blackness” where all light is absorbed. It is believed that this ring accesses the “Darkforce” used by people such as Darkstar and the Shroud. Ring Finger: Disintegration Beam: Destroys bonds between atoms and molecules causing an object’s cohesion to fall apart. Needs 20 minutes recharge time between uses. Middle Finger: Vortex Beam. Causes air to swirl about in a vortex at high speed. Can levitate objects, propel wearer (Mandarin) in flight and be used as a weapon. Index Finger: Impact Beam. Projects concussive force of approximately 350 lbs. of TNT. Can also cause intense sonic vibrations and create magnetic waves. Thumb: Matter Rearranger. Can rearrange atoms and/or molecules of substances or speed up/slow down their movements to result in various effects. Cannot actually transmute elements.

Again, MKF is supposed to be the undisputed "Master of Kung Fu," and not a wearer of multidimensional other-worldly sparkling bracelets, which were actually finger "rings" worn by the Mandarin in Marvel Comic books. So, given the aforementioned, this film clearly has absolutely nothing to do with the robust canon of stories published in the Marvel Comic book, "Master of Kung Fu," and must stand on its own. So, in the genré of CGI-driven fantasy/super-hero/martial arts films, how does "Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings" compare? Oh, and should we make such comparisions? Yes, we should make such comparisons, because filmmakers do not make films in a vacuum. They are immediately aware of other films in the genré, such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "House of Flying Daggers," and "Hero," and "The Grandmaster," all of the aforementioned "genré" films are significantly better written, with better acting, better martial arts, better editing, better cinematography and art direction, and better direction than "Shang-Chi."

The script, written by Dave Callaham who also wrote the lousy script for "Wonder Woman 1984," has several "common sense" problems, for example:

1. Even after Shang-Chi and Xialing left home, Xu Wenwu always knew where his children were; so why didn't he discretely, very quietly, and without their immediate knowledge simply drug them, take the amulets from their necks, which would have eliminated the gratuitous, never-ending fight scenes for a better written script?

2. Michelle Yeoh as Ying Li's sister, Ying Nan, clearly shared her sister's physical and intellectual prowess, so why wasn't she pitted directly against Xu Wenwu to prevent his entry into Ta Lo?

3. Given Disney's pseudo-commitment as a Johnny-come-lately social justice warrior company, why was Florian Munteanu cast as Razor Fist, Xu Wenwu's token "White" henchman with a machete blade for his right hand?

4. The inclusion of Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery (as the fake "Mandarin" from Iron Man 3), Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (The Hulk), Brie Larson as Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel), Abomination, and Benefict Wong as Wong (from Dr. Strange) in an attempt to connect this film to the "bigger picture" of the MCU is totally disingenuous, and only functions to lead the audience to the next sequel. As with the prolonged pursuit of gem stones sought by Thanos in multiple films over the past 10+ years, has the MCU established the 10 rings as yet another "shiny or unique object" as the "MacGuffin" to anchor Phase 4 of the MCU? Do you really care??

In the fighting scenes, Xu Wenwu (Leung) fought with confidence, while his son Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) fought with only hope. The best thing about this film is the acting of Tony Chiu-Wai Leung as Shang-Chi's father, Xu Wenwu. As with his performance in the 2002 film, "Hero," Leung gives every character he protrays a great sense of importance, believability, a seriousness that makes films watchable. In contrast, the buffoonery of Awkwafina only continues to typecast her entire career as comedic and let's the audience know not to take anything in this film seriously. Simu Liu, in the lead role as Shang-Chi, was miscast. Philip Ng Wan-lung, star of the 2016 Bruce Lee bio-pic, "Birth of the Dragon," and an expert martial artist in "real life," would have been better cast. Simu Liu delivered a paint-by-numbers performance as Shang-Chi, and given his lack of any real proficiency in martial arts, pretty much anyone could have performed just as well.

Direction by Destin Daniel Cretton was equally by-the-numbers. Editing was occassionally crisp (some fight scenes) but often laborious (transition and establishing shots). Cinematographer Bill Pope did much better with his work on "Alita: Battle Angel," and "The Jungle Book" and "The Matrix Revolutions."

RACIST? Do "we" really have to go there?

If Disney was truly concerned about being "politically correct," it would stop using incorrect and/or derogatory references of people who are not White. For example, "Chinese" is NOT a language!!! Nevertheless, it remains the practice of most western nations and companies (translation: nations and companies owned and/or controlled by White people) to continue to promote the blatantly false narrative that Chinese people speak a language that does not exist.

The two-(2) dominant languages in China have consistently been Mandarin and Cantonese. Yes, the majority of people in England speak "English," and the majority of people in France speak "French," but the majority of people in the "United States of America" do NOT speak, "American," they speak "English!" "American" is NOT a language. Get it? So, stop with the Whitewashing of Chinese culture to supposedly make it "palatable" to "American" audiences.

China is the largest market for the sale of U.S. theatrical films, so it's important for the U.S. to respect Chinese values and culture. The failure to respect Chinese values and culture is typcially why China has banned U.S. films.

Soon after the release of "Monster Hunter" in China on December 3, 2020 the film was pulled from theaters because a scene featuring a banter between MC Jin's character and his military comrade was considered racially offensive by local audience, despite the Chinese subtitles interpreted it differently. Jin jokingly said:

"Look at my knees!" which is followed by the question "What kind of knees are these?" He then answered, "Chi-knees!"

Some Chinese viewers interpreted this as a reference to the racist playground chant "Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees", and therefore as an insult to China. The subtitles, however, interpreted as there is gold under a man's knees, so man should not easily kneel.

"Monster Hunter" was removed from circulation, and Chinese authorities censored references to it online. Tencent Pictures, which is handling local distribution and is an equity partner in the film, is reported to be remedying the situation, but it remains unclear if the movie would then be re-released. Source: *Wikipedia*

I hoped "Shang-Chi" would showcase the absolute highest caliber of martial arts ever seen on screen better than anything from the plethora of "martial arts action heroes" who followed Bruce Lee, but no, what we got was highly choreographed martial arts no better than the April 23, 2021 release of "Mortal Kombat." If you're going to release a movie based on a comic book that was a ripoff of Bruce Lee's "talent and likeness," then this film failed miserably. RECOMMENDATION: Watch "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "House of Flying Daggers," and "Hero" and "The Grandmaster."