Going to, perhaps, just an example, some poor Twitter user would just ask for “honest opinions on Shang-Chi,” and the replies came all over the place. Total cluster. Some really swear they really love it, some say it’s fine, and others really say they hate it. And these are all for gamers and for Marvel fans that usually have vehement critiques about this stuff.
Well, theoretically speaking, the reviews that have really set a ton of positive feedback would really have it all. Some of them have deemed it, or really regard it, as one of the best Marvel entries since Endgame and that says a lot, given the output of all that we have been provided lately. “The best post End Game/pre No Way Home film within the MCU,” declared a reasonable review. The action received an endless stream of praise, with the bus fight scene especially in a spotlight; the scene itself was as hyped up by responses as it was expected to be.
But there exists an opposite side. A huge number of people have cited third acts as a great deal of problem: largely some CGI dragon fight probably shouldn’t have occurred. There is some talk among a few about how it begins very well but kind of slips in the second half of the film; one of these even rated the first half 9/10 and the second half 5/10. That’s quite an interesting distance.
Village scenes from which lots of plot are dropped were just called boring by one user, who said it was the first instance where they had gotten bored during a Marvel movie. Ouch. Then there is also the motivation for the villain — people have pointed out how sending dozens of men to maybe die for bringing your kids home seems… questionable, at best.
That is really interesting: people are divided on whether this movie deserves more attention. Some say it is underrated and should have already had a sequel, while others are like, “Meh, not sure why we got Shang-Chi of all characters.” Somebody straight-out said, “I hate it. The worst comic adaptation ever made.” (That was written in Spanish, so I had to translate it for the readers.)
These aspects of culture were praised-one user said they’re into Chinese culture and learning Mandarin so they admitted they were probably a little biased-but they still loved the film. Another called it a “wonderful homage to Chinese mythology,” and I very much like to see that.
But here we come to the big moment for me-all these teams have declared-leading on the ground that Shang-Chi, as far as he is concerned, is the best hand-to-hand fighter in the MCU and has to see more projects with Shang-Chi. That sounds like a strong accusation with Cap and Black Widow and so many other martial arts masters running around.
Another off-topic reply to “What are your honest thoughts on Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings for instance?” was just, “Tony Leung 👍.” As he deserves to be praised. The following completely disregarded the Shang-Chi question and asked for trailers for Stranger Things: Season 5. Reader, read the room.
The above summary also touches somewhat how the movie fared internationally: fights were world-class (best in the MCU for several), emotional beats between Shang-Chi and his dad landed pretty well at least for some viewers, but those third-act CGI disasters coupled with some pacing issues won the hearts of a lot of viewers. From “absolute cinema” to “average at best,” it all depends on who you’re asking.
Wild in itself is the fact that the movie came out in 2021, and people are still so fiercely divided on it. You would expect that by now there would be an overall broad consensus, but no – the fandom of Marvel is still just as divided. Some want Shang-Chi as soon as possible; others are like “please, no more.”
What is interesting to me is how far the conversation has gone around these superhero movies. They’re not praising just blindly everything Marvel puts out anymore-they’re actively examining structural and storytelling choices. The bus sequence though? If what a fair number of comments say rings true, it is worth the price of admission alone.
Oh, and if you haven’t seen Shang-Chi, you need to see it for the fight scenes alone, then maybe set your expectations down for the third act. Or maybe not! Maybe you’ll adore that big, huge CGI dragon fight. These movies, really, who knows?
