[Marvel Movie] Shang-Chi

what the **** did I just watch

 

Basically the 2nd half of Shang Chi

 

I'm shakin bakin cookies turning rookies into vets.

 

I saw Shang Chi on the flight to Amsterdam. Generally liked it and was entertained but I’m surprised there is any debate about how much it is made for the Chinese market.
OF COURSE IT WAS MADE FOR THE CHINESE MARKET.
Pretty much from the opening scene it’s flat out pandering it the PRC with shots almost exactly like recent PRC period pieces about China’s early dynasties. It also stars several big name Chinese stars who outside of Michelle Yeoh have gotten little exposure outside of Asia but are instantly recognizable to Chinese audiences. I’m not even sure that Meng’er Zhang even speaks English.

The look and setting of the movie also matches many Chinese Wuxia movies far more than the 70’s Golden Harvest or Shaw Brothers movies that most Americans think of. It’s almost as though director Destin Crettin channeled a lot of Zhang Yimou and Tsui Hark for this movie.

These aren’t complaints though as those are also good directors to channel and I’m almost surprised that they didn’t hire a Chinese director for this movie.

In general I liked it and wasn’t even as annoyed with Awkwafina as I expected to be. That said her role seems kind of ambivalent and I don’t think she’s a love interest. She strikes me as being more of a gay friend. I’m also glad to see Tony Leung getting more exposure. He’s a great actor and brought a lot of deep emotion to the role. While he’s a huge name in Asia he should be getting global recognition and I would put him up there with Hollywood contemporaries like George Clooney for acting ability and charisma.

Don’t want to spoil things too much but loved Ben Kingsley. He’s another great actor who gets far less exposure than he should.

 

No, it's not.

It's weird that you think everybody has Disney+

This movie is not even 6 months old and you think it's past spoiler territory? If in doubt spoiler that **** it does not take that much time.

 

You should stay away from threads like this, then. The majority of people who actively post in here / want to talk about Shang-Chi, will most likely have seen it, and don't really want to construct their posts as if they haven't.

 

Thanks. Just killing time stuck in a hotel room in Amsterdam as all of the bars are closed.
Some thoughts about the fighting styles.
In the movie there is a mix of fighting different Kung Fu styles and non Kung Fu thrown in for effect. A lot of Shang Chi's early fights use more acrobatic martial arts similar to what Jackie Chan and a mix of Kung Fu with modern gymnastics. When the main Chinese characters face each other and take particular stances they are using specific fighting styles that actually have meaning to those who follow the Wuxia genre. This is why the movie is meant to appeal to Chinese audiences and might have more meaning to people familiar with the arts used and what they represent.
Not going to spoiler this as I think a lot of these scenes were in the trailers.

This is very clear when Wenwu meets their mother. He is using what is considered a "hard style" Hung Ga while she is using a mix of Tai Chi and Baquazhang which are more "soft styles". You can see it in how Wenwu takes a very aggressive rigid stance at the beginning of the fight with closed fist while Ying takes a flowing stance including tracing out a circle with her feet and has open hands. This is later mirrored by Shang Chi when he faces his aunt. In some senses these are interpreted as more masculine styles (Yang) versus feminine (Yin). It's only when Shang Chi learns to incorporate the techniques used by his mother and aunt that he becomes a complete martial artists and masters his power. This is a frequent theme in Wuxia stories where the hero, usually male, has to learn to use feminine techniques in their Kung Fu before they can win.

One side note is that they frequently use Wing Chun, which was the style of Ip Man and what Bruce Lee started with some of the characters taking very specific Wing Chun stances. That style started as a more female style and Michelle Yeoh did a famous Hong Kong Movie in the 90's called "Wing Chun" about that.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the Wuxia genre but liked the fight scenes in Shang Chi here are some recommendations for other movies:
Hero, this movie is a masterwork of director Zhang Yi Mou and whether intentionally or not can see his influence in many movies including Shang Chi.


Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; The movie that introduced Wuxia to Western art house audiences. Again you can see the influence in Shang Chi

Green Snake / White Snake. There are multiple versions of this movie as it's a famous folk story but Tsui hark's is probably the definitive, and risque. This is from the Jet Li version. For those who have seen Shang Chi this might look familiar.

The Once Upon a Time in China series. Some of the best work from Jet and Tsui Hark

These last two are parodies of the genre but actually help to explain the signifigance of the stances and techniques used and can see where some of the ideas in Shang Chi came from.
Shaolin Soccer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzyJFrOVlo4
Kung Fu Hustle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GQs5pniZSA

 

Off topic, anyone else considering ignoring @Xerobull until they see Spider-Man so they don't actually click on the Spider-Man thread or another Marvel thread with someone spoiling the movie.

 

CCP didn't care and banned it anyways

I'm thinking Tony Leung would be more menacing if they didn't pander to Chinese censorship bureau, but who knows...

 

I have not watched the film but yeah, wanted to chime in a bit.

There are 2 Tony Leungs in Hong Kong Cinema, both are immensely talented, the other one does play the mentor and professor type more often.

For sure, Toney Leung Chiu Wai's corroboration with Wong Kar Wai was phenomenal.

Also people overlooked that the Departed was an adaptation of the Cop drama "Infernal Affairs", hugely successful. (Duel with the Giant Andy Lau)

Enjoy! PS: Maggie rules!

Spoiler

The other Tony Leung

Classic

 

I watched it. I thought it was decent. Maybe middle of the pack as far as Marvel movies go. Better than Black Panther.

 

I have no idea and it does not take away from the point that it takes minimal effort to spoil relevant plot points.

I am not getting disney+ any time soon and like I said it has been 6 months since it came out even if I had + I might not have watched it yet.

 

Not proven.

 

I don't agree it's not time anymore especially with how many things have become exclusive to different services.

A lot of people don't have the time or the inclination to watch every new thing I have WW1984 and the new Kong movie on my DVR and have not watched them yet because I am trying to catch up on other stuff and need to be in the mood to watch a 2 plus hr movie.

I just think since it's not that hard to spoiler stuff so you should do it especially with a movie that has not even been out for 6 freakin months.

If it was me I would spoiler things always because its just that easy and you never know who has a blind spot or just has missed stuff but that's just me and I realize

 

Once Upon in China part 2 is the best out of all of them. So many epic fights scene in that one and Donnie Yen was a straight menace in that one. I believe that was his only role where he played a villain.