Monday 18 April 2022

Shang Chi and the Eternals

Two separate Marvel movies.

Eternals

In 5000 BC, a band of human-looking aliens who never age, the titular "Eternals", arrive on Earth to defend the planet against a band of alien-looking aliens, who possibly also never age? The Eternals, who for some reason each have a different power, are so good at their job they focus on it exclusively while ignoring other Marvel Universe threats like Thanos. I quite like the fact that it is them being too good at their mission that is the problem plot wise, and indeed when the main villain explains what's going on I was thinking "damn, that is excellent".

Alas, that excellent plot line is burdened by rather shitty and stupid side plots that just highlight the excess and poor judgement of the writers or producers. As usual, the movie would have been much better with a greater named character death count but no. Even the excellent CGI can't save the film from this which ruins it from being a good movie to just an ok movie. If you have nothing else to watch, sure - give this a try. It doesn't even inspire me to watch a sequel if one is ever made.


Whoever designs the outfits does a good job.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


Born from two powerful parents, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) tries to run and hide from who he is but is soon made to face it. The story is good and the action scenes are great - at least the ones that involve martial arts. Towards the end it becomes the usual MCU CGI fare which is ok but not really unique at this point. This is heavily set with an Oriental theme too (the name should have been a hint) so unless you understand Mandarin expect to be reading subtitles for 40% of the movie.

I also found it to be quite funny, but humor is subjective so your mileage may vary. Ultimately, even though the main plot wasn't as "epic" as the Eternals main one, this fit together much better and thus was more enjoyable. Recommended for superhero or action fans. It's a better watch than the Eternals.

2 comments:

  1. I fell asleep during the Eternals and haven't bothered to try to watch it again.

    i rather enjoyed Shang-Chi though. As you say, it was simply entertaining.

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    1. Don't worry, Eternals is so average you aren't actually missing anything. :P

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