geezer cinema: shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings (destin daniel cretton, 2021)

Watching Shang-Chi, I was torn between the thought that Tony Leung was the greatest actor to ever feature in a Marvel movie, and thinking he was the greatest actor of his day, period. I loved his work in John Woo movies like Red Cliff, Bullet in the Head, and Hard Boiled, and have said more than once that In the Mood for Love is the best film of the 21st century. It's fascinating to see him in a superhero movie. Shang-Chi is his first English-language film (he has always been fluent in English) and his first American movie. Credit goes in part to writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton and co-writers Dave Callahan and Andrew Lanham for giving us a villain with depth, but ultimately we can thank Leung for embodying the part of Xu Wenwu in such a compelling way. He is never not a villain, but he has believable motivations, and we have sympathy for him in ways we never felt for the likes of Thanos.

If Shang-Chi doesn't quite reach the heights of Black Panther, that's not a reason for dismissal ... few films in any genre are as good as Black Panther. But in giving us a different kind of Marvel universe (i.e., one that features Asians at its core), Cretton et al do make a Marvel movie that is a cut above the norm, Tony Leung is the primary reason for this, although it doesn't hurt that Michelle Yeoh pops up. There's something about Awkwafina that annoys me, but she certainly manages to be in some good movies. And Simi Liu as Shang-Chi is a proper hero, good looking, adept at the stunts, and a solid actor.

The latter parts of the movie are filled with CGI, when the film until that point had demonstrated the characters were what mattered. Still, it's good CGI, and I'm sure there are plenty of people who go to Marvel movies primarily for the action. This movie makes me anticipate the inevitable sequel, although I assume Tony Leung won't return, and he will most definitely be missed. In the meantime, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the best Marvel movie since Black Panther.