Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings: Awesome Entertainment

Movie Review: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings (2021) on Disney+

Let me say from the outset that Sheng-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings is a great film with sweeping vistas, strong characters, great martial arts scenes magnified by magnificent artistry, and punctuated by that typical Marvel-universe humor that makes superhero movies so fun to watch. The cast is great! My only beef with it is how it was rolled out on Disney+. 

I believe the challenge is, if you watch the film in their IMAX version on Disney+ you may not see subtitles. They don't prepare you for this, and it is the recommended viewing. My nephew Rob watched it on the theatrical release widescreen and subtitles were included in the film. I went with the recommended IMAX version and it didn't. It took us three attempts to figure out how to select English subtitles on our own. Without subtitles, you don't get the backstory on the Legend of the 10 Rings, which is told in the film in Mandarin, and lots of the dialogue is in Mandarin. Many minutes into the story, when the setting switches to New York City, the dialogue switches to English. Later again it will switch back and forth between Mandarin and English. If you don't speak or read Mandarin (or English, for that matter), it's a challenge to understand the story. So be prepared, just in case.

That caution being expressed, I want to switch gears and say what a great film this is. It makes generous use of CGI and special effects to create an imaginative world with vivid characters in an incredible alternative world. 

Sang-Chi (played by Simu Liu) and his sister Xialing (played by Meng'er Zhang) unite to try to save their mother's legendary home world from attack by their villainous father Xu Wenwu (played by Tony Chiu-Wai Leung), who has been the master of the 10 Rings for hundreds of years, wielding them as tools to gain power. Shang-Chi has been living in New York City hiding in cheap urban centers with his best friend Katy (played by Awkwafina) until he is egged into battle by Xu Wenwu's minions, who force them into exposing themselves. Once brought to his father, Sheng-Chi is invited to join in his father's quest, which is to save his murdered wife who he believes is locked in a fortress in her home world. To do that, they need to get the aid of Shang-Chi's sister, who has come out of her shell and started a gang-fighting command center in Macau. But talking her into joining forces isn't easy and the father's story about where their dead mother is isn't so convincing, and Xu Wenwu's plans go awry.

Veteran martial arts film star Michelle Yeoh adds authenticity to the legend and battle scenes, not to mention the artistry of the fighting shots. Filling out the top-quality cast is Ben Kingsley, who plays a Shakespearean actor who...I don't understand the role of his character, really, but his roles in past films give him weight in any casting list, so he forms a bookend to solidify the bone fides of everyone else? Anyway, this is a great ensemble cast, who get into several major battles throughout the film, the greatest near the end, which is a battle between two mega-giant dragons. Pretty cool!

Shang-Chi becomes a solid addition to the Marvel Superheroes universe and I'd watch it again in a New York (or Macau) minute. I'd rate Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings a solid A for Awesome!

Collide: A Cheap Fast and Furious Ripoff and Disappointing

Movie Review: Collide (2016)
Version: Library borrow

Collide turned out to be the second of two bad movies of a double feature at home. I would call it a cheap Fast and Furious ripoff, with Nicholas Hoult as down-and-out American Casey Stein trying to reboot his life of poor choices in Germany, where he meets bar keep Juiliette (played by Felicity Jones). She isn't into this loser, but he inserts himself into her life and he promises to change his ways as an errand boy for East European Geran (played by Ben Kingsley), which he does by quitting that work and working in a metal reclamation center. Then Casey learns that Juiliette is seriously ill and as an American she isn't covered for the kidney transplant she needs to stay alive and requires six-figure money fast. So he rejoins Geran in a scheme to heist drugs and cash from money laundering kingpin Hagen Kahl (played exquisitely by Anthony Hopkins). From there, the story becomes a car chase movie with smoke and mirrors, but without the ensemble cast of a Fast and Furious.

I said that Anthony Hopkins is exquisite as Kahl. If there is a saving grace to the movie, it is Hopkins who, as ever, is the consummate professional actor giving depth and range to his character. There are hints of Hannibal Lecter from Hannibal as well as William Parrish from Meet Joe Black in this character. He is menacing in parts, elegant and patrician in others. Contrast him with Ben Kingsley who, fine actor as he has been, seems to have become stereotyped as these slimy accented characters with little dimension. In Collide, he plays a caricature of a character, almost a comic relief to Kahl. Geran could have been so much more dangerous, so much more threatening, so much more scheming. There is also not all that much depth to the Juilette character. Casey gets by as a schemer and it isn't until the end that we find out he's really much smarter than he lets on. And this is probably as much a scripting problem as an acting one. For an actor, it's in the portrayal, in the facial expressions, in the voice and pauses. In the script, it's the situations created and the dialogue provided. In Collide, the script certainly failed.

The big reveal at the end is plainly a cheat. Again, this is a scripting problem. Why wait till the end to surprise your audience? Why not give us hints along the way so we can say, "Ah, yes, now it makes sense!" Instead, we say, "Oh, thanks, now you tell us!" Perhaps the title Collide is about the collision between audience expectations and reality when you get to the end of a disappointing movie.

Viewer beware: Watch Collide at your own risk. Perhaps fast forward to the Anthony Hopkins parts and you will be just fine. Otherwise, I suggest you give it a skip.

The Jungle Book: Third Time Around's a Charm

Movie Review: The Jungle Book (2016)
Version: Library Borrow

There have been three film versions of The Jungle Book, including the 1967 animated Disney original and a 1994 live action version, so you would think making another wouldn't be a good idea. You'd be wrong. This newest version, once again live action and by Disney, using the music from the original animated film, does justice to the original and tells the story in an exciting new way.

Neel Sethi plays Mowgli, the boy raised in the jungle and befriended by the panther Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley) and the bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray), who must now flee his "home" because of the threat of the angry tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba). There's nothing worse than a tiger with unresolved issues, and that's just what Shere Khan is, hunting down Mowgli through the thick and the thin of the jungle as he tries to find safe passage to the more secure yet uncertain world of humans. It's Rudyard Kipling at his best.

The Jungle Book story hasn't really changed in this version. It's still a coming of age story set in the jungle. It's still the story of friendships and conflicts and seeking your inner strength when confronted by overwhelming odds. Even the music is the same. What has changed, however, is the darkness of the imaging, the danger encountered in nature, and the humanness of the main character, Mowgli.

When the film first came out, some families said younger kids were afraid of the film and couldn't recommend it for younger viewers. Perhaps it was seeing it on the big screen. With that in mind, you might not want this film for your youngest children, although it might be different seen on the smaller screens of TV.

This version of The Jungle Book does provide an opportunity for older viewers, who may not enjoy animated films, or who may not want to see the animated version another time, to see the story updated for their age group. Gone are the sweetness of characters often depicted in cartoons. Present are the more realistic characteristics of animals and the jungle environment, not that Hollywood doesn't have the ability or desire to amp those up for dramatic effect. Easily, this is a more adult-oriented film, although young teens and older can easily enjoy it, too.

This film won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects along with 21 other wins and 43 nominations from other industry and film-interest groups.

If you're looking for a movie to gather the family around over the weekend, I'd gladly suggest The Jungle Book. With younger family members, you might try watching it while there's still daylight rather than when it's darker. By all means, give this story one more watch.