Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs
1. The Disappointingly Generic Third Act
By far the worst part of the entire movie is its third act, which undeniably succumbs to the MCU's often-mentioned "third act problem."
After 90-or-so minutes of awesome, mid-scale action and meaningful character work, the third reel explodes into a frenzied, overly-busy collage of visual effects-driven mayhem, much of it touting a rather video game-y aesthetic.
Given the intimate nature of Shang-Chi's conflict with his father Wenwu (Tony Leung), a smaller-scale final fight would've been more appropriate, but instead Marvel apparently feels the need to justify their huge budget spends with a massive CGI schlock-fest that's ultimately a bit of a bore.
It feels like it belongs in a different type of superhero movie, honestly, and while not bad as such, brings an otherwise highly entertaining film to a bit of a typical, tedious conclusion.
These gripes aside, though, there's a lot that Shang-Chi gets right...