Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

 

Year: 2021

Genre: Comic Book 

So 'Avengers Endgame' happened. Then the Coronavirus pandemic happened. 

The dust is slowly settling on what has been an incredibly unsettling couple of years. I've visited the cinema a couple of times since the end of lockdown, and both were mediocre outings at best. I was beginning to loose faith in the big screen experience, but that was until today when we went to watch 'Shang Chi' at the Light Cinema in Walsall. Let me explain why. 

'Legend of the Ten Rings' is the first real phase four Marvel film that's been released that isn't a prequel set prior to the events of 'Avengers Endgame'. 'Black Widow' felt a bit limp. You already knew the fate of the protagonist, and the vehicle Scarlett Johansson was given to drive home the plight of her character felt like it was permanently stuck in second gear. Here however, we have a film that is set post Endgame, honestly an era I thought I had very little emotional investment in or desire to learn about. People know of Thanos. People know half of the population dissapeared.I felt like Marvel was done and dusted, and that was it. Today however, I felt an uncanny connection with the characters who talked about 'the time before', as they referenced their lives before Thanos and I remembered how I watched 'Endgame' before the pandemic happened. Yes, a bit melodramatic I know, but only being honest here. 

This film honestly restored my faith in the popcorn cinema experience and the Marvel universe post Covid-19. Where can I start? 

Well, the first thing I want to mention are the fight scenes of the first and second act. As an observation of modern cinema, authentically choreographed martial arts films seem very much a product of the 1970's and early 1980's. Here we have the first big screen Marvel outing post Corona. About half an hour into the film, the audience are gifted with one of the best actions sequences I've seen in a very, very long time sat in a cinema chair. It was at that moment the film sucked me in, and I knew Marvel studios were back to their best. They're once again injecting fresh content into their films whilst not straying too far from their tried and tested formula of big screen spectacle blended with characters you actually care about. 

'Shang Chi' is the Asian audience members 'Black Panther'. Honestly, I cannot emphasize that enough.  Throughout the film, there were themes I have noticed that are specific to Asian film making, in particular that of the overbearing parent and the pressure to succeed in life from your elders. Not only were there socialogical themes, visually the film contained so many references to Chinese popular culture at one point the protagonist rides around on the back of a dragon lifted straight out of your local takeaways 2021 calendar. I kid you not. 

I have mixed emotions regarding the films final act. The choreographed fight scenes take a back seat, and Marvel goes down the smashy crashy CGI laden final big battle, much as in 'Endgame' but on a lot smaller scale. While at the time I realised on an emotional level this is something I had REALLY missed about the cinematic experience, looking back on it I wish they had toned down the CGI at bit, and kept the emphasis on the fight scenes. They felt incredibly fresh, like something you don't get to see very much of these days with so much CGI in modern popcorn cinema. 

Characterization is also a mixed bag, but I'm only nit picking at this point. Both Simu Liu, and Awkwafina are honestly excellent in this film, I couldn't fault their roles. Liu provides the melancholic moments and his costar provides the comic relief. When they are both on screen, it's the perfect package. For some reason however, there's this really awkward shoehorn of a character (I won't mention who it is) that's REALLY shoehorned in for extra comic relief, and it doesn't work. It really doesn't. But that's nit picking. The rest of the casting is perfect. 

Overall, an exellent return to form for Marvel studios, and it felt good to once again experience proper popcorn cinema after such a long draught. Five stars. 

A Quiet Place 2

 

Year: 2021

Genre: Horror

For me, John Krasinski's 'A Quiet Place' was a genre defining horror film. Never before had I been in the cinema and witnessed a whole audience go completely silent within ten minutes of a film starting. It was a film that simply HAD to be seen as a cinematic experience. The dramatic effect of the films core theme of silence would have been completely lost in a viewing at home. Everything about the film was the completely opposite of the 'quiet quiet BANG' jump scare approach mainstream horror seems to have adopted nowadays and at the time, this was new territory. 

It would have been so easy for Paramount to jump on the bandwagon and release this film on streaming platforms, but I am so glad they didn't. Originally slated for a March 2020 release (I even remember buying tickets in advance) the film has been released over twelve months later, and it was the first film I've seen at the cinema post pandemic. I'll be honest, walking through those doors and up the stairs to my seat definitely felt nostalgic and almost felt surreal. 

'A Quiet Place Part 2' opens with a bit of back story explaining where and how the aliens from the original came to be. Although this satisfies the curiosity of the audience, it immediately takes away the 'where and how' element they had in the original. We now know where they came from, and as a result, they kind of loose the element of mystery associated with them that we felt watching the original. 

After a small amount of back story, the sequel then fast forwards back to where the original ended. With Krasinski's character dead, Emily Blunt is left to fend for her children on her own, and the film seems to borrow heavily from themes of AMC's 'The Walking Dead' with Blunt and her family hoping to track down remaining survivors and ultimately find a possible utopia where humans have settled and live in peace. 

So how does the sequel compare to the original?

Don't get me wrong, this is an excellently directed film and clearly shot on 35mm. The performances from all involved are nothing short of stellar (in particular Millicent Simmonds character of Regan Abbott.) I can't fault the CGI, I can't fault Marco Beltrami's soundtrack, I cannot fault any of the set pieces. 

The question I have to ask myself, is did I feel the same level of suspense I felt watching the original? 

Well, the short answer is no. The feeling of isolation the family unit felt is gone. The unknown origins of the aliens are gone. The sheer helplessness tone of the original, is gone. 

That's not to say this by any means a bad film, but in trying to move the plot forward, in my opinion Krasinski has forgotten about many of the themes that made his original so successful. The element of staying silent is still very much at the forefront, but there were other subtle facets of the original that made it work so well for me that are not present, sadly. 

This was good, but I won't remember it as fondly as I did the 2018 original. 

3.5 stars.