There are people who don't watch super-hero films on principle. I can
understand them. There have been good super-hero films in the past, but in
recent years Marvel's films have become progressively worse. As a dedicated
Marvel fan I go to see every film in the cinema and buy it on Blu-ray a year
later, but I'm not blind to Marvel's faults.
However, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (I prefer to shorten the
title to "Shang-Chi") is a masterpiece. And do you know what makes it so good?
It doesn't look like a super-hero film. It's a martial arts classic, complete
with fantasy creatures. If someone sat down to watch it after the opening
credits, he wouldn't even recognise that it's a Marvel film.
It's a tragic film. Shang-Chi's father is a ruthless warlord, and he doesn't
want to follow in his footsteps. His father tries to change and become a good
man, but after his wife's death he reverts to his old ways. He has an
organisation called The Ten Rings that supports or topples governments. But
his greatest wish is to get his wife back from the dead. He hears her calling
to him, telling him she's trapped in a cave in her home village of Ta Lo. What
he doesn't know is that it's really a monster imitating her voice, a monster
that wants to devour the world. Shang-Chi has to fight against his father to
stop him. Father versus son is a tragic conflict in any culture. Tony Leung is
an incredible actor, and the look on his face is heart-breaking when he
finally realises he was wrong.
A second Shang-Chi has been promised. Can it be as good as the first? I hope
so.
Success Rate: + 0.9
 |
Order from Amazon.com |
| Order from Amazon.co.uk | |
| Order from Amazon.de |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tick the box "Notify me" to receive notification of replies.