"SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" (2021) Review

 

"SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" (2021) Review

I might as well put my cards on the table. I have not fully admired the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since the beginning of its third phase. Nor do I believe that its Phase Four had improved matters. With the exception of a handful of movies and television series. One of those exceptions proved to be the franchise's 25th film, "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS".

The 2021 movie is not an exact adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero, who had debuted in the comic books back in 1973. However, director-screenwriter Destin Daniel Cretton and his fellow screenwriters, Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, used elements from the comic books to create not only an interesting backstory for the leading character, but also a solid narrative for the film. "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" began with a warrior named Xu Wenwu, who discovers a set of ten mystical rings that gave him power and immortality. Utilizing the rings and his army, Wenwu (who acquired the name of "the Mandarin") created the Ten Rings criminal organization that conquered or toppled many governments throughout the centuries. In 1996, Wenwu engaged in a search for Ta Lo, a village said to harbor mythical beasts. While traveling through a magical forest to the village entrance, he was stopped by one of the village's guardians, Ying Li. The two fell in love, and when the Ta Lo villagers rejected Wenwu, Li chose to leave with him. They married and conceived two children, Shang-Chi and Xialing. Wenwu abandoned his organization and locked away the ten rings.

The Xu family's happiness did not last very long. Wenwu's old enemies, the Iron Gang, murdered Li in an act of revenge when Shang-Chi was seven years old. Wenwu used the ten rings to massacre the Iron Gang members and resumed leadership of his old organization. Then he forced Shang-Chi to undergo a brutal training in martial arts but prevented Xialing from being trained. When Shang-Chi was fourteen, Wenwu sent him to assassinate the Iron Gang's leader. After completing his mission, a traumatized Shang-Chi ran away to San Francisco, California and adopted the name "Shaun". During his time in the United States, "Shaun" learned English, and eventually became a valet at an exclusive San Francisco hotel along with his best friend, Katy aka Chen Ruiwen. While riding a local bus, Shaun and Katy found themselves under attack by members of the Ten Rings organization. Wenwu had ordered them to steal Shaun's pendant, given to him by his late mother. Despite a brutal fight that left most of the assailants unconscious and the bus seriously damaged; one Ten Rings warrior, Razor Fist, managed to steal Shaun's pendant. Suspecting that his father might also want the pendant given to Xialing; Shang-Chi and Katy travel to Macau to warn his sister. And the trio eventually found themselves swept into a situation in which a threat larger than Wenwu, loomed ahead.

Many fans have declared either 2022's "SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME", "BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER" or "SHANG-CHIAND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" as the best movie of the MCU's Phase Four. My choice? None of them. But I will admit that I enjoyed all three films. Especially "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS". The latter film struck me as a poignant family drama at the heart of a movie filled with humor, pathos, action and magic. In fact, it occurred to me that the movie reminded me of the STAR WARS saga's Skywalker Family Saga - at least the six films produced and directed by George Lucas. Seriously. The Xu Shang-Chi character is basically Luke Skywalker, his sister Xialing could be Princess Leia Organa (only not adopted) and his parents Wenwu and Li - Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Only the Xu family's family narrative differed . . . somewhat. Wenwu's inability to recover from his wife's death led to the family's breakup, and an even more dangerous Big Bad to exploit his grief. Sounds family? However, the poignant flashbacks of Wenwu and Li's courtship, those happy years before Li's death, along with the drama that surrounded Shang-Chi and Xialing's resentment and fear toward their father really cemented "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" as a family drama.

However, the movie did have its share of action sequences. I had nothing against Shang-Chi's reunion with Xialing, which resulted in a funny fight scene inside her Macau fight club; or the siblings' attempt to prevent the Ten Rings from taking her pendant on the construction site outside of her club (a scene that produced memories of another from the 2001 movie, "RUSH HOUR 2"). Also, Shang-Chi's fight against Wenwu in the movie's final action sequence struck me as pretty solid. But I had to choose two sequences that really impressed me, they had to be the one in which Wenwu and Li first met, when she prevented him from entering Ta Lo; and Shang-Chi's fight against the Ten Ring operatives aboard a San Francisco bus. What I really enjoyed about Wenwu and Li's fight is that it started out as a serious confrontation and slowly developed into a sly, yet romantic dance between two people who had become attracted to one another. I believe Tony Leung and Fala Chen's performances made this transformation both believable and very entertaining. For me, the movie's most thrilling fight scene - hell, action scene - was Shang-Chi's fight against some of the Ten Rings operatives aboard a moving San Francisco bus. I would say it was one of the best action sequences I have ever seen in a MCU film. Not only did leading man Simu Liu and the fight choreography team led by Andy Cheung and the late Brad Allan created an exciting fight, but leading lady Awkwafina and cast of supporting performers, cinematographer William Pope and especially director Destin Daniel Cretton all contributed to the sequence's action, thrills and some very sharp humor.

I certainly do not have any complaints about the performances in "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS". The latter featured solid performances from Randolph Fields, Charlotte Leonie, Jodie Long, Jayden Zhang, Arnold Sun, Wah Yuen,
Kunal Dudheker, a very imposing Florian Munteanu and Stephanie Hsu. The movie also featured cameos from the likes of Benedict Wong (as Wong), Tsai Chin (whom I have not seen since the Marvel series, "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D."), Tim Roth (or perhaps I should say a CGI image of Abomination aka Emil Blonsky), and a surprising and funny Ronny Chieng. It was nice seeing Michelle Yeoh, who portrayed Shang-Chi and Xialing's aunt Ying Nan. But if I must be honest, I found her performance solid and serviceable - nothing else.

The performances that stood out for me came from the likes of Meng'er Zhang, who portrayed Xu Xialing, Wenwu and Li's only daughter. I thought Zhang did a first-rate job of conveying Xialing's anger and resentment toward both her father and older brother. She also did an excellent job of revealing how the Xu family's break-up had affected her family. Not many people approved of Ben Kingsley's return as Trevor Slattery, the actor who had been hired to impersonate the Mandarin in 2013's "IRON MAN 3". I had no problems seeing Kingsley in the role again. He was funny as ever and it felt nice to see Slattery express remorse for his false portrayal of Wenwu and come out of his situation as a better man. Fala Chen gave an elegant, yet slightly sly performance as Ying Li, whose warmth and strong will kept the Xu family together, while she lived. Awkwafina proved to be as hilarious as ever with her portrayal of "Katy" Chen, Shang-Chi's somewhat witty best friend. Not only was Awkwafina funny, I thought she did an excellent job of conveying Katy's difficulty in finding a solid direction in her life and reactions to her friend's past and the world of the Ten Rings and Ta Lo. If I had to give the award for the film's best performance, I would hand it to Tony Leung's portrayal of Xu Wenwu, Shang-Chi's father and leader of the Ten Rings. Leung did a masterful job of portraying a complex man, whose decisions led him toward a path of a loving family man, feared parent, villainy and convenient tool for a bigger villain. More importantly, I found Leung's performance skillful, subtle and worthy of a major acting award. You know, looking back at Leung's portrayal of the "Mandarin", I found myself wondering why Marvel Films/Disney had originally thought that casting an European actress was the only way to avoid any Asian clichés of the Ancient One character in 2016's "DOCTOR STRANGE".

Some film critic had expressed disappointment that actor Simu Liu's portrayal of Xu Shang-Chi was not as charismatic as his true self. I found this criticism rather ridiculous, if I must be honest. Since when was Shang-Chi supposed to be a "charismatic" or extroverted personality in the first place? I certainly did not get that impression of the character as a young boy. Following my viewing of "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS", I came away with the impression that Xu Shang-Li was a reserved child forced to tap into his aggression by a grief-stricken father, obsessed with revenge. I also came away with the impression that Shang-Chi's time in the U.S. and his friendship with Katy gave him an outlet to forget his past and just enjoy life. But the return of Wenwu and the Ten Rings in his life forced him to realize he had to face his past. THIS is what I came away with Simu Liu's portrayal of Shang-Chi. And I thought he did an excellent job in conveying every emotional beat of the character's adult life through most of the film.

I wish I could end this review with a declaration that "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" was a perfect movie. Or even one of the best in the MCU franchise. But I believe the movie possessed enough flaws for me to not come to that conclusion. My first complaint centered around the Wong-Abomination fight at Xialing's fight club. What on earth were they doing there? Why did Wong break Abomination/Blonsky out of prison for a match in the first place? The Disney-Plus series, "SHE-HULK: ATTONEY-AT-LAW" actually provided an answer and it proved to be pretty lame in my eyes. However, I believe most of the film's problems had materialized in the film's second half - when Shang-Chi, Katy, Xialing and Slattery arrived at the mystical realm of Ta Lo. At this point, the film into the typical MCU film finale. The major protagonists prepare for a fight against a deadly foe. A battle ensues - first against the Ten Rings and later, against the film's real Big Bad. And yes, the battle had its moments of the usual MCU humor - especially from Ben Kingsley and Awkwafina. I am only thankful that audiences were spared the usual Marvel wit. There is the issue of Katy's participation in this battle. The movie had hinted her talent as a skillful driver. But can someone please explain how she had become a talented archer within a space of a few hours (or days)? You know, a part of me wishes Wenwu had turned out to be the film's main villain. Unfortunately, the "the Dweller-in-Darkness" (which had originated in Marvel Comics) was no Emperor Palpatine. Instead of a demon, the Dweller-in-Darkness turned out to be a mystical soul-consuming dragon that used Wenwu's grief and ten rings to break free and enter Ta Lo. And the battle between Dweller-in-Darkness, the main protagonists and another dragon called the Great Protector. Needless to say, I was not impressed by this final action sequence. I found it clumsy, overwrought and at times confusing. You know . . . the typical MCU grand finale.

I would never regard "SHANG-CHI AND THE TEN RINGS" as one of my favorite comic book movies or MCU films. But I still believe it was definitely better than average, thanks to director Destin Daniel Cretton. After all, the film did feature some top-notch action sequences, a decent narrative and first-rate performances from a cast led by Simu Liu.

"SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" (2021) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from the 25th Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, 2021's "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS". Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the movie starred Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi:




"SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" (2021) Photo Gallery

"SILAS MARNER" (1985) Review

"SILAS MARNER" (1985) Review

I have seen a handful of television and movie adaptations of novels written by George Eliot. But the very first adaptation I ever saw was "SILAS MARNER", the 1985 version of Eliot's third novel published back in 1861. My recent viewing of the production led me to reasses it.

"SILAS MARNER" begins with an English weaver living with a small Calvinist congregation in Lantern Yard, a slum street in a Northern England city. His life falls apart when he is framed for stealing the church's funds, while watching over the congregation's ill deacon. Worse, his fiancee leaves him for his so-called best friend, the very man who may have framed him. Shattered and embittered, Silas leaves Lantern Yard and arrives at a rural village in the Midlands called Raveloe. Although he resumes his trade as a weaver, Silas' traumatized past leads him to achieve a reputation as a miser and a loner in the community.

Silas' move to Raveloe eventually leads him to cross paths with the community's leading citizens, the Cass family. The head of the latter is the elderly Squire Cass who has two sons - Godfrey and Dunstan. Godfrey, who is the squire's heir is secretly married to one Molly Farren, a lower-class woman and opium addict from another town, who has given birth to his young daughter. Godfrey is also engaged to a young middle-class woman named Nancy Lammeter. Dunstan is a dissolute wastrel who constantly loses money via excessive gambling. One night, a drunken Dunstan breaks into Silas' cottage, steals the gold coins that the latter has been hoarding and disappears. Through a series of events, Molly plots to expose her marriage to Godfrey and their child during the Cass family's New Year party, but dies in the snow before she can reach it. Silas, who is emotionally upset over the loss of his coins, finds both the dead Molly and the child. Although he informs the partygoers of Molly's death and the child, he assumes guardianship of the latter (renamed Hephzibah "Eppie"), much to the relief of Godfrey, who can now legally marry Nancy. All goes well until Godfrey and Nancy's failure to have children threaten Silas' newfound happiness as Eppie's father years later.

What can I say about "SILAS MARNER"? I can honestly say that it was not one of the best adaptations of a George Eliot novel. Then again, I do not consider the 1861 novel to be one of her best works. I realized that Eliot had set the story either around the end of the 18th century or around the beginning of the 19th century. It was her prerogative. But both the novel and the movie seemed to reek of Victorian melodrama that I found myself feeling that Eliot or any adaptation could have set the story around the time it was originally written and published - the mid 19th century. The story is, at best, a good old-fashioned Victorian melodrama. I would never consider it as particularly original in compare to the likes of "MIDDLEMARCH" or "DANIEL DERONDA".

"SILAS MARNER" tries its best to be profound on the same level as the other two Eliot stories I had mentioned. But I had a few problems with the narrative. What was the point behind Dunstan Cass' disappearance and theft? Yes, he stole Silas' hard earned money before he disappeared. I got the feeling that the stolen coins seemed to serve as a prelude to Silas' emotional attachment to Eppie. But why have Dunstan take it? How else did his disappearance serve the story . . . even after his dead remains were found close by, years later? In Eliot's novel, the discovery of Dunstan led brother Godfrey to form a guilty conscience over his own secret regarding young Eppie and confess to his wife. But in the movie, it was Godfrey and Nancy's inability to conceive a child that seemed to finally force the former to confess. Unless my memories have played me wrong. Frankly, Dunstan struck me as a wasted character. Anyone else could have stolen Silas' money.

I also noticed that Giles Foster, who had served as both screenwriter and director for this production, left out a few things from Eliot's novel. I have never expect a movie or television to be an accurate adaptation of its literary source. But I wish Foster had shown how Eppie's presence in Silas' life had allowed him to socially connect with Raveloe's villagers. Eliot did this by allowing her to lead him outside, beyond the confines of his cottage. The only person with whom Silas managed to connect was neighbor Dolly Winthrop, who visited his cottage to deliver him food or give advice on how to raise Eppie. I also noticed that in the movie, Silas had never apologized to another villager named Jem Rodney for his false accusation of theft. And Jem had never demanded it. How odd. I also wish that Foster could have included the segment in which Silas had revisited his former neighborhood, Lantern Yard. In the novel, Silas' visit revealed how the neighborhood had transformed into a site for a factory and its citizens scattered to other parts. Silas' visit to his old neighborhood served as a reminder of how his life had improved in Raveloe and it is a pity that audiences never saw this on their television screens.

Yes, I have a few quibbles regarding "SILAS MARNER". But if I must be really honest, I still managed to enjoy it very much. Eliot had written a very emotional and poignant tale in which a lonely and embittered man finds a new lease on life through his connection with a child. Thanks to George Eliot's pen and Giles Foster's typewriter, this story was perfectly set up by showing how Silas Marner's life fell into a social and emotional nadir, thanks to the betrayal of a "friend" and the easily manipulated emotions of his neighbors.

Once Silas moved to Raveloe, the television movie did an excellent, if not perfect, job of conveying how he re-connected with the world. It was simply not a case of Silas stumbling across a foundling and taking her in. Even though he had formed a minor friendship with Mrs. Winthrop, having Eppie in his life managed to strengthen their friendship considerably. The movie's narrative also took its time in utilizing how the Cass family dynamics played such an important role in Silas' life in Raveloe. After all, Godfrey' secret marriage to Molly Farren brought Eppie into his life. And Dunstan's theft of his funds led Silas to re-direct his attention from his missing coins to the lost Eppie. And both Godfrey and Nancy Cass proved to be a threat to Silas and Eppie's future relationship.

The production values for "SILAS MARNER" proved to be solid. But if I must be honest, I did not find any of it - the cinematography, production designs and costume designs - particularly memorable. The performances in the movie was another matter. "SILAS MARNER" featured solid performances from the likes of Rosemary Martin, Jim Broadbent (before he became famous), Nick Brimble, Frederick Treves, Donald Eccles, Rosemary Greenwood; and even Elizabeth Hoyle and Melinda White who were both charming as younger versions of Eppie Marner.

Angela Pleasence certainly gave a memorable performance as Eppie's drug addicted mother, Molly Farren. Patsy Kensit not only gave a charming performance as the adolescent Eppie, I thought she was excellent in one particular scene in which Eppie emotionally found herself torn between Silas and the Casses. Freddie Jones gave his usual competent performance as the emotional Squire Cass, father of both Godfrey and Dunstan. I was especially impressed by Jonathan Coy's portrayal of the dissolute Dunstan Cass. In fact, I was so impressed that it seemed a pity that his character was only seen in the movie's first half.

I initially found the portrayal of Nancy Lammeter Cass rather limited, thanks to Eliot's novel and Foster's screenplay. Fortunately, Nancy became more of a central character in the film's second half and Jenny Agutter did a skillful job in conveying Nancy's growing despair of her inability to have children and her desperation to adopt Eppie. I thought Patrick Ryecart gave one of the two best performances in "SILAS MARNER". He did an excellent job of conveying Godfrey Cass' moral ambiguity - his secrecy over his marriage to Molly Farren, the passive-aggressive manner in which he "took care" of Eppie through Silas and his willingness to use Eppie as a substitute for his and Nancy's failure to have children. Ryecart made it clear that Godfrey was basically a decent man . . . decent, but flawed. The other best performance in "SILAS MARNER" came from leading man Ben Kingsley, who portrayed the title character. Kingsley did a superb job of conveying Silas' emotional journey. And it was quite a journey - from the self-satisfied weaver who found himself shunned from one community, to the embittered man who stayed away from his new neighbors, to a man experiencing the joys and fears of fatherhood for the first time, and finally the loving man who had finally learned to re-connect with others.

Overall, "SILAS MARNER" is more than a solid adaptation of George Eliot's novel. I did not find its production designs particularly overwhelming. I did enjoy Eliot's narrative, along with Giles Foster's adaptation rather enjoyable . . . if not perfect. But I cannot deny that what really made this movie work for me were the first-rate performances from a cast led by the always talented Ben Kingsley. Victorian melodrama or not, I can honestly say that I have yet to grow weary of "SILAS MARNER".

"SILAS MARNER" (1985) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "SILAS MARNER", the 1985 television adaptation of George Eliot's 1865 novel, "Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe". Directed by Giles Foster, the movie starred Ben Kingsley in the title role:



"SILAS MARNER" (1985) Photo Gallery

"HUGO" (2011) Review

"HUGO" (2011) Review

To the surprise of many, the top two contenders for Best Picture of 2011 featured on the history of film in the early 20th century. One of them was the Oscar winning "silent" film, "THE ARTIST". The other turned out to be Martin Scorsese's latest endeavor called"HUGO". 

Based upon Brian Selznick's 2008 novel, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", "HUGO" told the story of a 12 year-old boy named Hugo Cabret, who lives with his widowed father, a clockmaker in 1931 Paris. Hugo's father, who is a fan of Georges Méliès's films, takes him to the theater on many occasions. When Hugo's father dies in a museum fire, the boy is forced to live with his alcoholic Uncle Claude, who is also a watchmaker at the railway station, Gare Montparnasse. After teaching Hugo to maintain clocks, Claude disappears. His body is later found in the Seine River, drowned. Hugo lives between the walls of the railway station, maintaining clocks, stealing food and doing his best to avoid the attention of the tough stationmaster to avoid being shipped to a local orphanage. 

He also becomes obsessed with repairing his father's broken automaton - a mechanical man that writes with a pen. Convinced the automaton contains a message from his father, Hugo steals mechanical parts in order to repair the automaton. However, he is caught by a toy store owner, Papa Georges, who takes Hugo's notebook from him, with notes and drawings for fixing the automaton. Hugo follows Georges home and befriends a girl close to his age named Isabelle and the latter's goddaughter. When Hugo is finally able to repair the automaton, it produces a drawing straight from a Georges Méliès film. Thanks to the drawing and a film historian, Hugo and Isabelle discover that the latter's godfather is the famous filmmaker, now financially strapped and forgotten.

When I first learned about "HUGO", I heard that it was based upon a children's book. And I found it unusual that Martin Scorsese would make a film for children. As it turned out, "HUGO" is more than just a story for children. It eventually turned out to be a peek into another chapter in film history, slowly focusing on the work of Georges Méliès, who was responsible for early silent films such as"A TRIP TO THE MOON" (1902) and "THE IMPOSSIBLE VOYAGE" (1904). I noticed that Scorsese utilized his usual formula in unfolding the movie's plot. As in most of his other movies, he slowly introduced the characters - both major and minor - before setting up his plot. And while this formula worked in such films as "GOODFELLAS", "THE AGE OF INNOCENCE" and"CASINO", it did not quite work for "HUGO".

For me, "HUGO" suffered from two problems. One, the movie lingered just a bit too long on the introduction of all the characters - especially those who did not have any effect on Hugo's situation or with the discovery . And because of this, the pacing in its first half dragged incredibly long. In fact, it dragged so long that I almost lost interest in finishing the film. It was not until Hugo managed to repair the automaton and continue his and his father's love of films when life finally breathed into the film. From the moment the automaton produced the drawing of the moon from "A TRIP TO THE MOON", I became increasingly interested in the film."HUGO" soon became a interesting trip into the world of early French filmmaking. And it ended as a poignant story about how a boy's love for his father and movies allowed a forgotten artist to be remembered by a new generation of filmgoers. I found myself practically on the verge of tears by the last frame.

If there was one aspect of "HUGO" that truly impressed me was the movie's production design. Thanks to the legendary Dante Ferretti, it is truly one of the most beautiful looking films I have seen in the past few years. The movie's visual style was enhanced by David Warren's supervision of the movie's art direction, and cinematographer Robert Richardson's recreation of the Multicolor process - which he also used in the first half of "THE AVIATOR". Although I was mildly impressed by Sandy Powell's costume designs, it was Francesca Lo Schiavo's set decorations, especially for the re-creation of the Gare Montparnasse station circa 1931, which really impressed me. In the end, the movie almost conveyed a Jules Verne visual style that I suspect seemed appropriate for a film about Georges Méliès. I could comment on Howard Shore's score. But if I must be honest, I have no memories of it.

The film's other real strength came from the cast led by young Asa Butterfield's poignant portrayal of Hugo Calvert. He was ably supported by Chloë Grace Moretz, who gave a charming performance as Hugo's friend Isabelle, and Helen McCrory's skillful portrayal of Méliès's supportive wife. Performers such as Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths gave solid, yet brief performances. But aside from Butterfield, the most impressive performance came from Ben Kingsley, who was superb as Méliès. Kingsley conveyed every aspect of Méliès's personality and life experiences. I am still astounded that he was never given any kind of acting nomination for his performance.

I cannot deny that "HUGO" is a very beautiful looking film. And I also cannot deny that I was mesmerized by the film's second half - especially when it focused on Hugo and Isabelle's discovery of Méliès' past as a filmmaker. The movie also benefited from a first-rate cast and especially from superb performances from Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley. But Martin Scorsese tried to create a small epic out of a story that was part children's tale/part film history. Which is why I believe "HUGO" fell short of becoming - at least in my eyes - one of the better movies of 2011.

"HUGO" (2011) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Martin Scorcese's adaptation of Brian Selznick's 2007 novel, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". The movie stars Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz and Ben Kingsley: 

"HUGO" (2011) Photo Gallery