My "gut feeling" score is a 7.5, but I've rounded up since this site doesn't have half stars.
Shang-Chi is the best Phase 4 MCU film by a long shot. First, the bad: like other MCU films and TV shows, it suffers from CG-Itis. The final act is one big green screen show.
Aside from that one complaint, this movie has heart! It's a buddy adventure movie (Awkwafina is fantastic, as always) that doesn't fall back on the Marvel patented "quipping" and shallowness that so many other MCU films starting around Phase 3 seemed to fall prey to. It reminded me a lot of the heart that Black Panther had. These are both movies where you really care about the characters instead of just "laughing at their antics."
And the stakes seem higher too, unlike other MCU films where the story seems predictable from beginning to end.
The MCU is a mixed bag these days, with some some content being sub-par, most being average at best, and some standing out. Shang-Chi absolutely falls into the latter camp and stands as one of the best MCU films to date.
Shang-Chi is the best Phase 4 MCU film by a long shot. First, the bad: like other MCU films and TV shows, it suffers from CG-Itis. The final act is one big green screen show.
Aside from that one complaint, this movie has heart! It's a buddy adventure movie (Awkwafina is fantastic, as always) that doesn't fall back on the Marvel patented "quipping" and shallowness that so many other MCU films starting around Phase 3 seemed to fall prey to. It reminded me a lot of the heart that Black Panther had. These are both movies where you really care about the characters instead of just "laughing at their antics."
And the stakes seem higher too, unlike other MCU films where the story seems predictable from beginning to end.
The MCU is a mixed bag these days, with some some content being sub-par, most being average at best, and some standing out. Shang-Chi absolutely falls into the latter camp and stands as one of the best MCU films to date.