10 Things – SHANG-CHI and the Legend of the 10 Rings

Friends and family know I’m a loyal and loving fan of the MCU! But often when it comes to writing about the incredibly successful franchise, I feel too lazy to do it justice. Having seen all 25 films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (most at least twice) and the 3 Disney+ series, I should be able to hash it up like a fanboy, point out inconsistencies, bring attention to through lines, shed light on Easter Eggs, weigh in on the direction Phase 4 is taking thus far. And dig into a passionate review of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. But I’ve lost my Mojo. It used to be so much fun when after screening a Marvel movie, The Black Tribbles would include me in an on-the-spot podcast “Spoiled Tribbles” taping, where 7 or 8 of us would just jabber on about what we’d just seen, in real-time, the energy would be high flying and I felt like a part of something…

On a brighter note: I do think Shang-Chi is a top notch addition to the MCU. The Martial Arts aspects are gorgeous and choreographed to perfection. The fight sequences in the bus and on the scaffolding – What!!! I think they did a very good job of balancing Asian American culture, Chinese culture, myth and fantasy.

I enjoyed the Kaiju and “Fantastic Beast” aspects (except maybe the thing with no face, Morris, was pandering a little too hard to the younger demographic). What Marvel does best is simmer down a large concept into the small and personal. Remove the criminal immortality of the Mandarin and the power of the 10 Rings, and basically the crux of the plot rests on the fact that a family was torn apart at the loss of an incredible wife and mother.

T&T @LAMB rating: 4.5

NOW HERE’S 10 MISC SHANG-CHI THINGS I FOUND INTERESTING:

Morris “The thing with No face” may actually be a Dijang, a birdlike creature from Chinese mythology.

2. This is not only Tony Leung’s first Hollywood role, but his first as an antagonist. But in approaching the complicated relationship between Wenwu and Shang-Chi, he says that he didn’t do so from a villain’s standpoint.

“Rather, I tried to explore the reasons that led him to become who he is. He’s a man with a history, who craves to be loved,” Leung explained. “He is also human, and he has a family. As I read [the script], I began to consider the many reasons why he’d turn out the way he is — a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot.” – Yahoo

3. Costume Designer Kym Barrett hasn’t posted even one Shang-Chi post on her Instagram feed, why not?

4. While an actual date wasn’t confirmed, former President and CEO of Marvel Productions Margaret Loesch revealed that Stan Lee had attempted to get Shang-Chi made into a live-action movie or TV show, believing that the character was one of the best options to tackle both the big and small screens.

Lee even went so far as to meet with Bruce Lee’s widow Linda and their son Brandon Lee, who was beginning his own career in entertainment. An adaptation of Shang-Chi didn’t go anywhere at that time, and Brandon fatefully died on the set of 1994’s The Crow – CBR.com

5. writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton was home-schooled by his Christian mother as a kid and lived in Haiku in a two-bedroom house with his five siblings until he was 19. – Uselessdaily.com

6. In the Comics Shang-Chi has worked with a number of heroes over the years and established close friendships with a few ground-level heroes in New York like Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. Heroes-For-Hire felt like the next logical place for the Netflix Marvel series to go before their cancellations – CBR.com

7. Michelle Yeoh Interview:

“I’m very blessed. I started my career in Hong Kong and I come from Malaysia where I grew up seeing my face being the superhero or the romantic lead or part of real stories on the silver screen, on TV and everything. But once I got to America, I was like, I’m really a minority here and I have no representation,” she said.

“I think the turning point really came when I did the James Bond movie… It was a proud moment because here is a Chinese woman who is standing side-to-side, toe-to-toe with the greatest spy in the world, James Bond. – Time 100 Talks

8. This from Benedict Wong

9. Production Designer Sue Chan worked on one of my favorite films Colossal. In addition to that, she’s also been involved in Gone Girl and 300: Rise of an Empire.

10. Simu Liu Interview:
CHIENG: When you were cast as Shang-Chi, there was some debate online about whether or not you’re ugly. End the debate: Are you ugly or not?

LIU: That’s a great question. I will answer by saying that I found myself at the center of a massive debate between Eastern and Western beauty standards that’s being blown out of proportion. It’s coming from a general sense of unease that Chinese audiences get whenever they see a Hollywood movie about Asian people… I was at a point where I was like, “I don’t deserve this role. What about me makes me worthy?” And ultimately, what I came to was that my self-worth doesn’t come from my appearance. It comes from whatever is going on underneath, whether you want to call it personality or charisma—that was going to be the thing that won me the role. Interview.com

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast:
Simu Liu – Shang-Chi
Awkwafina – Katy
Tony Leung– Chiu-wai/Mandarin
Fala Chen– Leiko Wu
Michelle Yeoh – Jiang Nan
Florian Munteanu – Razor Fist, Secondary villain
Tim Roth – Abomination
Dallas Liu– Ruihua
Ronny Chieng – Jon Jon
Ben Kingsley – Trevor Slattery
Benedict Wong – Wong