Should you spend Labor Day weekend with Shang-Chi or the Candyman?
Two franchise pictures beckon American viewers back to the multiplex.
Film Features Shang-Chi
Labor Day is traditionally thought of as the unofficial end of the summer movie season. It’s also generally a dead zone for new Hollywood releases, with the studios accepting the conventional wisdom that many Americans want to spend the holiday outdoors, not seated in a movie seater. Nonetheless, this strange year brings at least two major options for those feeling comfortable enough to head for the multiplex right time. On a brand new episode of Film Club, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife discuss these franchise competitors: this week’s addition to the Marvel canon, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, and last week’s reboot of a ’90s horror sensation, Candyman.
Here’s what Katie Rife had to say about Shang-Chi in her written review:
In some ways, Shang-Chi is a mixtape of martial-arts movie genres: An early scene pays tribute to the balletic, graceful films of Zhang Yimou, while a dramatic bus chase later on apes the derring-do of an early Jackie Chan vehicle. Shang-Chi’s reunion with his sister takes place at an underground fighting ring with a ’90s raver, Mortal Kombat type of vibe, and later on, father and son will walk into a grimy, fluorescent-lit gangster hangout straight out of an ’80s John Woo movie. But where those films (Mortal Kombat excepted, of course) emphasized practical effects and the amazing skills of highly trained stunt people, Shang-Chi insists on either interrupting or burying the stunt work—spearheaded by Chan protege Brad Allan, who tragically died earlier this month—with mountains of blatant CGI.
This isn’t always the case. Although Shang-Chi cuts away from a punch as often as it lands one, an extended fight sequence set in a half-built skyscraper observes Liu and Zhang from above in longer takes that allow for at least a few seconds of unbroken fight choreography. And while the climax of this film is as chaotic and unintelligible as any other MCU movie, at least Shang-Chi has benevolent dragons and brave lions instead of the ugly metal detritus of Black Widow.
Listen to the podcast above, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, and give us a five-star rating to help other listeners find us. And while you’re there, check out The A.V. Club’s other podcasts, Push The Envelope and Dial M For Maple.
12 Comments
Granted I’m saying this from UK, but….
I mean, these are fine and all, but what about the white people movies?/s
Sorry, nothing but home streaming for the foreseeable future here.
I dont know why anyone thought Shang Chi would be anything but the usual marvel crap. Im not even against marvel, i like their movies, but come on, its formulaic crap. Which is fine. When I eat a bag or oreos and a pint of Haagen Daaz, im not telling myself its health food.
Shang Chi kicked ass literally and metaphorically. One of the best solo origins they’ve done
Neither of these movies are my cup of tea — I’ll probably watch at least some of the Marvel on streaming someday — but they are literally setting records for deaths and infections around me, so even if I were their target audience and had been anticipating them since they were announced, there is no way I would sit in a theater right now. Two months ago, I let one my kids go to a movie with a bunch of his friends, but a lot has changed here locally over the past several weeks.
I would love to see Shang Chi but not interested in the three way with Delta. Staying the fuck home.
Saw Shang-Chi last night. Not great, but quite good. It had a different vibe from other MCU movies, which was refreshing. The action was sometimes hard to follow, but the cameos and callbacks to other MCU properties were well done and unexpected.
I think the headline is severely overestimating the runtime of either movie
I don’t know…is either one worth getting covid?
I’ve finally got the day off tomorrow, and my local mom-n-pops theater’s showing both. I’m leaning hard towards Candyman, but I’m not sure about watching it as a matinee. Shang-Chi looks interesting, and I’m finally caught up on the MCU canon.Either way, it’s going to be my first foray into a movie theater since before the pandemic hit, and after having been vaccinated and being the only employee testing negative after an outbreak at work, I’m confident going back to the movies and these both look pretty fun.BTW, any reason I was sent back to the Greys? I don’t remember saying anything on here in-particular that would have necessitated such a thing, though I understand I have a tendency to say some stupid shit from time-to-time. Meh.
Right now I’m watching both of the Lawnmower Man movies.