In Wen Wu's defense, he literally grew up and lived in a time of feudalistic warfare where conquest and violence was not an uncommon way of life. It could be argued that his training of Shang Chi was very much his way of ensuring that his son could protect himself against danger.

Everyone needs a friend like Katy. The fact that to her there was no question that she was going along to help is top tier friend energy.

Fun fact: these are the martial arts styles that they used to reflect each character. Shang Chi's mom and aunt as well as the village of Ta Lo use mostly Ba Gua Zhang and Tai Chi. These two styles are the opposite forma but the direct forms that inspired Airbending and Waterbending. Wenwu's style is Hung Gar kungfu which is the inspiration for Earthbending. Shang Chi and Xia Ling both use a mixed style but focus a lot on Xiaolin style kungfu which is what inspired Fire bending.

Wenwu was one of the best villains especially thanks to actor Tony Leung. He’s one of top actors in Asia so you can imagine the director’s disbelief when he heard that Tony agreed to be in this movie.

28:04 Grief actually does affect the mind like that. I know that firsthand as well. When my parents divorced, my dad also blamed anything else except himself. My older brother and I were often accused as the reason why our parents didn't stay together. Things are better now, but my dad really did have those terrible messed up thoughts. After seeing this film, I got a big apology from him that... just made everything so much better.

18:40 Trevor was the guy pretending to be “The Mandarin” from Iron Man 3. They brought him back as kind of Marvel’s acknowledgement of “Yeah, we didn’t quite handle that character properly, and we’re sorry. We’re going to try to handle the character better and even try to address the problematic name while we’re at it.”

I really love how they changed the rings for the MCU. In the comics they’re more like normal finger rings. Visually it would just be too similar to Thanos and the gauntlet if Wenwu had comic-accurate rings.

I loved the Mandarin's role in this movie. Yes, I know he's a villain and did horrible things. He not the best father to his son and especially his daughter. But I really felt for him. He was manipulated by his grief. Super complex villain. He was mourning for his wife and all he wanted was his family whole again.

It's hard to believe both Evelin (Michelle Yeoh) and Joy (Stephanie Hsu) From Everything, Everywhere, All at Once are both in this. Such an amazing cast all around. I really like Aquafina, who is amazingly funny!

That part where the women says “You aim nothing, you hit nothing" gets me everytime... I love this movie so much, that it's became one of my favourite MCU movies. It was very inspiring for me and the visuals were just stunning. Definitely one of the best project in the project in the phase 4 so far....❤️😍❤️

I loved it too. It's difficult if not impossible to make a bad movie with Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung in it. (Tony Leung is the most amazing part of this movie.) But I have to also call out newcomer Meng'er Zhang, (Shang-Chi's sister, Xialing) who I think really stole this show. I hope to see a lot more of her in the future. However the reason this is one of my favorite MCU movies is like the other great entries it has a believable, sympathetic villain. Tony Leung really made us feel the pain of Xu Wenwu, even though it was mistaken. And his redemption moment felt real. Top marks.

This was such a beautiful movie indeed. I'm only sorry i didn't watch it in the theaters. So glad Shang-Chi is now part of this universe and I'm anxious to see how he will interact with the Avengers and whatever threat they face together

16:21 Fun fact about this scene in the flashback. She's actually pranking Wenwu on this "date." He asked her to teach him some of her style of martial arts. She gets him into a horse stance. The audio of the date was lowered because Wenwu is narrating about the past but you can hear him actually ask (In Chinese) "Like this? Am I doing it right?" You can see she's trying not to laugh at him. She responds, "Yes, yes. Hey, look forward. Eyes front." Because he almost turned his head and was about to see her cheeky expression. 😂❤

This film is Marvel's take on a Chinese genre of movie called "wuxia," which is basically martial arts crossed with superheroes. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", starring Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, is probably the most famous example. However, there's another one to recommend called "Hero," starring Jet Li, which has a lot in common with Shang-Chi: strong characterization, a pretty good story, a fun revolving question about who's the good guy and who's the bad, some of the most creative and immaculately filmed fight scenes in the history of cinema... And Tony Leung, playing a character named Broken Sword in that one and Xu Wenwu in this one. Also, the fact that you're looking at Shaun and going, "We're the same age but he's made so much more of himself than me," just makes me cry, because I'm about to turn 40 and BOTH of you have done so much more than ME. I mean, you may only have 162,000 subscribers, but that's more than I have by, uh, 162,000, so... xD

I'm so glad you enjoyed this movie!! It was fun to watch someone who loved it as much as I did!

In the comics the Ten Rings were actual rings that go on your fingers. Each ring had a different stone in it that had a certain power. I think Marvel thought that it was to much like the Infinity Stones and it might confuse the none hard core comics readers so they changed them. They were similar to the Infinity Stones but not as powerful.

"ABC" is "American Born Chinese". It's great that Shang-Chi and Katy are really just besties. No romance, no matter what Katy's family wants. :p Probably the best film of Phase 4. I'm not sure what controversy you're talking about, but if someone knows, please let me know.

Tony Leung played their father. He is considered one of the greatest and successful asian actors! He's awesome

Loved your reaction! We saw this in the theatre at release, and I turned to my friend mid-bus-fight-scene and said WE NEED TO SEE THIS AGAIN! This movie brought a whole 'nother vibe to the MCU, plus I enjoyed that he and Katie were just friends, no romance needed.

This movie was such a surprise to me. I went into it with very little expectations and boy was I wrong. Absolutely blew me away and is definitely in my top 5 MCU movies.

Tony Leung is one of my favorite actors. He helped make this an incredible movie. And it is one of the best movies of the 21st century. Thank you for watching this. Ive seen it at least eight times so far in the last year and a half.

Wenwu's line about names being sacred, connecting us to ourselves and all those who came before, really resonated with me, because I had nearly forgotten that I too, have a Chinese name. After seeing the movie, it inspired me to ask my mom how to write it out and what the origin of it was.

The fact that they filmed this wuxia style, especially with Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh, makes it even better. I love the themes of discord vs harmony, which is something you see quite a bit in these type of films. If only the rest of phase 4 had been this good :/ You'd really love other films in this style like The House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I know we lost 3 original Avengers and they cannot be replaced but Shang-Chi is the one I'm most excited about to join the new Avengers team. We've only seen a fraction of how powerful he is with those rings l can't wait to see him wherever he pops up next

I agree Many Western cultures show dragons to be powerful but ultimately savage beasts. With the mentality of violent predators, but Eastern cultures show them to be sensitive, intelligent beings on par with Gods. Sometimes as being spirits, sometimes as actual ancient beings that lived millennia before the dinosaurs. It's only in fantasy worlds such as Dungeons & Dragons or Lord of the Rings, or other similar type worlds where Dragons are actually more than just predatory beasts.

This version of the Mandarin is one of the most underrated and sympathetic MCU villains

Such a good marvel movie. So many blink and you miss it moments at the sisters fight club. There were black widows, Extremis soldiers (from Ironman 3), and of course Abomination from Hulk. Great reaction!

27:16 when Wenwu says "I've lived ten of your lifetimes," he's actually saying "I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice." As a Chinese-American who could understand most of what they were saying, I was thinking "who the hell translated this dialogue" lol

I'm not ashamed to say I'm a die hard MCU fan and I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't getting MCU fatigue but my god was Shang Chi a breath of fresh air when it came out. Everything from the characters, cinematography, action etc just didn't feel like what we were all used to when it comes to the MCU.

The best part of this movie beside the other pase and comedy that it brings that makes it feel so good as "not another Marvel movie" is that the father is a bad guy for the good reasons and a good guy for the bad reasons.. in his heart he's doing a good thing and is blinded by his love for his lost wife. You can understand him and see how human he is. Thanos is in another way doing the same thing but the humanity in him is harder to grasp.

As much as I love Winter Soldier, I have to say this is the best MCU movie to date. Glad you enjoyed it too. Very sorry to hear you're going through a rough time. Wish I could do something to help, but I'll just keep my fingers crossed it evens out for you soon. Stay strong! You got this.

I saw this movie on an IMAX screen. That fight on the scaffolding gave me SO MUCH anxiety and vertigo!

I loved Shang-Chi so much. I have loved every re-watch. It is like such a wonderful mix of Marvel and wuxia, a true martial arts action movie wit a great story, and I love the fantasy elements too. I love all these things, and masterfully mixed like this? It's probably one of my favorite films to come out in recent releases. I'm so happy you covered it, Vicky. And I'm so happy you enjoyed it so much. Can't wait for the next one.

I think you may have forgotten that Trevor Slattery was "The Mandarin" in Iron Man 3. The Mandarin is who Shang-chi's dad actually is. That's the connection. You should watch the Marvel short called "All Hail the King," which happens after Iron Man 3.

I love this movie--I don't know why it doesn't get more love in the fandom.

Fun comic book facts! The Mandarin was one of Iron-Man's greatest foes and is actually, in part, responsible for Tony's injury and imprisonment (the comics was Vietnam era). The rings were alien technology he learned how to harness and each ring had a different power (worn on each finger, as opposed to bracelets on his arms). In the movies, the Ten Rings organization are the ones that were working with Obidaih Stane and the ones that supplied Whiplash with the files at the beginning of the second Iron-Man.

I loved the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Dragon Ball Z, Jackie Chan's filmography, the Ip Man series, Tai Chi Master, Kung Fu Hustle, The Matrix, Speed, anime, and video game influences in this movie. RIP Brad Allan. In 1996, I was just 12 years old.

I absolutely plotzed seeing that you reacted to this! Absolutely one of my favorite things to come out of Phase 4.

It’s a wonderful thing when you watch a movie, a tv show or listen to a song that resonates for you personally. Glad you found something that does that for you.

I really liked this movie as well. It is definitely in my favorites. Plus, the action was great and the story. He's may favorite out of the new Avengers.

I was not sure what to expect with this film but it ended up becoming a fave

What's crazy is when you realize that when his parents fought at 4:03, his mother actually took the rings from his dad and gave them back.

i'm so happy you loved this one!!! it became one of my absolute mcu-favourites the moment i saw it in the cinema :D

I'm really happy with this movie. It surpassed all my expectations. I'm still leery about the MCU, post-Endgame, but this one really impressed me. Wakanda Forever was another one that really hit me in all the feels. It's like the writers really knew that they had to step up their A-game.

The leader of the village at the end was the landlord's husband in Kung Fu Hustle, and Katie mentions Jeff Gordon, a Nascar Driver but Richard Petty has 200 wins and 7 Championships but he retired in the early 1990s so guess Katie wouldn't have known too much about him

The reason the choreography is so good compared to the other marvel movies is because this actor actually has martial arts experience. So he could do the fights in 1 take

This movie is the example to give a unknown movies a chance! I watched it at the first day in the cinema and i'm so glad i went there and watched it. I wasn't that common with Shang-Chi and The Ten Rings, even in the comics and i said to myself that i will go and watch this movie no matter what. Well, i was surprised at how good and beautifull this movie was. Definetly top 10 marvel movie in my opinion. I enjoyed it so freaking much. Can't wait to see Shang Chi more in the future and also to see his second movie!

Definitely one of my faves. As someone who grew up on Marvel comics in the 70s, they did a great job of staying close to the spirit of the best of the comics while ditching the worst (especially some seriously racist elements). Also, I found the fight scenes to be much better than most Marvel films & shows (they often leave me cold). Hope things improve for you soon!

Glad you loved it at its emotional core....a lot of people say phase 4 did not live up to expectation but this movie somehow dismisses that logic...i love this so much❤

11:01 "Is that her?" That, my dear, looks like a feared and fearsome BLACK WIDOW! If you've seen the Black Widow Movie, yet, you'll know that Natasha wasn't the only graduate of the Red Room. Which raises the question, what's a Black Widow doing fighting for money? Fun? Is there an update on Yelena's mission? Yes, I have seen the Hawkeye miniseries. I hope we don't have to wait for the Thunderbolts movie for an update. You noticed daddy's sandals? I didn't, until you pointed it out. I'm impressed. Also, you've been calling a lot of plot developments right. Loved your reactions.

The Aunt is Michele yeoh..she is a proper legend in cinema..I love her

They had to bring back Trevor as he literally played the Mandarin in Iron man 2 which was Wunwu's nickname and impersonating Wunwu

Great seeing Michelle Yeoh in this, even if only in the last third of the movie. And Wong really gets around.

Fun Fact the Stunt coordinator of this movie (sadly past away) was part of Jackie Chan's stunt crew, that is way some of the fights particularly the one the the bus has a very Jackie Chan-ish flair to it on the almost cool/comedic style on not just fight but use whatever is in your surrounding to aid you.

I watched this movie alone a while ago, after watching this with you I had forgotten how great it was. Almost forgotten the love I had for martial arts.

One of my favorite MCU films!! I enjoyed some classic kung fu/martial art movies with my dad growing up. This was the first MCU movie my dad and I watched together and both enjoyed immensely

Lmao those sandals are a staple in the East. Not wearing sandals is like a western idea lmao. But China, India mostly you see people wearing sandals with everything.

It was fun watching your reaction. Pretty obvious you were digging the vibe on this one. I wish they would hurry with his return.

So glad you enjoyed this one, V. You're absolutely right, it is top tier. All of the creatures depicted in Ta Lo are based on Chinese folklore and mythology. Morris, as I understand, is called a hundun. The weird 'horse' creatures that crossed in front of the heroes' car were qilin, known to the Japanese as 'kirin'. The Dweller in Darkness, on the other hand, isn't a dragon. It's more of a demonic being. And yes, dragons in Asian folklore are generally considered good, and manifestations of the divine.

Awesome reaction video, thanks for sharing! I agree some of the best cinematography and choreography in the MCU! ❤🙌🏽

This movie blew my mind when I watched it! The bus fight is still in my top 5 best MCU fights of all time. This movie is so good! I can't imagine Proga Merash using the Ten Rings....he would be unstoppable!

I just saw this for the first time over the weekend with my friend! We bith enjoyed it a lot glad to see you loved it so much!

Glad this movie spoke to your soul and that you enjoyed is so much. Eastern Dragons are very different than Western, protectors rather than destroyers.

This is definitely one of my favorites from phase 4, glad you liked it too

Yep. It is an unabashedly inspiring and familial and loving movie. Sorry to hear youre going through some stuff. That sucks. Don't let the bastards grind you down.

I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would. This may be my favorite phase 4 film of the MCU.

@5:40 she is the daughter from everything everywhere all at once, i just noticed 😮

27:38 , yes, he is pray for her , at Asian culture.The term is used for either the material or the aroma.Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony.For what that showing in movie is religious worship , for deceased lover.

One of my favorite MCU movies. Crazy MCU Asians. Several crossover cast members. I love Michelle Yeoh. I believe she had a cameo as a different character at the end of Guardians 2. Awkwafina basically played similar characters in both this and Crazy Rich Asians, but it worked for both. Has anyone seen a Morris doll/toy anywhere? Loved Morris.

I had never heard of this when it showed up on Disney+. I put off watching it & when I finally did I really liked it. Idk what I expected but it was not this. Such an enjoyable movie!

Can you imagine if this team of people made the last airbender movie? This movie was so amazing

I agree! Glad you loved it. It is in my top five MCU for sure!

Ben Kingsley is actually half Indian and half British which is why he portrayed Gahndi. But most people don't know he's half Asian which is why when iron man 3 came out people got upset because they thought they were white washing the actual mandarin. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Yeah. Shang Chi is pretty damn cool. The fight scenes are fantastic as they should. They were choreographed by Jackie Chan's stunt team.

It works pretty well as a standalone movie, even if it wasn't in the MCU. Its a cool mystical martial arts movie. And Wong and Abomination stop by.

11:00 Actually, if you go back and look closely, the girl that is named Helen is a Black Widow from the Red Room. The glowing red Extremis soldier is an Iron Man 3 reference as well as bringing back Ben Kingsley as Trevor but Helen is a reference to Black Widow. Look carefully and you'll see she's wearing the same outfit of the Black Widows with the Red Room hourglass emblem on her belt. Not only that, but she also was in the big fight scene among the Black Widows that got ready to gang up against Natasha in that film. You can see Helen among the Widows in that scene too. Same actress and same character that had a minor appearance in both films. ❤

The sandals with outfits like Wenwu's is definitely a cultural thing from countries with hot climates. My dad's from the Philippines and it's super common to see outfits like that there, and like the Philippines, southern China is pretty tropical too.

The single most inspirational film I know of is the 1959 Ben Hur, it is also one of the greatest films of all time winner of 11 academy awards including best picture.

The best quote from this movie is "Be careful how you speak to me, young man" 🤣

RIP Stunt Coordinator Brad Allen An amazing talent responsible for so many iconic fights. This film was his final film before his death.

Man.. I loved this movie so much. Went in not knowing what to expect. The fights, the big monster end. The music. The scenery. *Chefs Kiss*.

I loved Shang Chi. I can't wait to see more of these characters.

This was the best of the phase 4 movies along with No Way Home. They hired Jackie Chan's team to do stunt work on this.

So in the fight club, the reason they focused so long on the one female fighter was because it was a Black Widow. In fact the actress was from the film Black Widow, one of the ones Natasha and Yelena rescued from Drekov's ship. Also I don't know if you noticed the monster Wong was fighting was Blonsky. From The Incredible Hulk film. And yes, the growls were Tim Roth actually reprising his role from 2008. File that away for later, Phase 4 and 5 are finally gonna start pulling in Hulk references. Highly recommend you rewatch that movie when you have time :) Why they brought Trevor back: So in the comics there's a real Mandarin, and he's a real terrorist with magic rings. But they've sort of phased him out over time, he's kind of what they used to call a "yellow peril" type of character. Shang-Chi's father in the comics is a separate character, but he's also an insensitve "yellow peril" type -- he was actually the novel character Fu Manchu when Marvel had the rights to that novel .. .when they lost the book rights, they changed the character's name and said "Fu Manchu was an alias." So to eliminate a lot of the racist tropes, they combined the comic Mandarin and Shang-Chi dad and used the Ten Rings as a terrorist group made the whole thing more palatable... and having Trevor in Iron Man 3 be a phoney Mandarin ties it all together and make fun of the old racist tropes of the past instead of attempting to adapt them wholesale. And yes this one is my favorite from Phase 4 too although Wakanda comes really close. And I love Wong in Phase 4. No spoilers but you'll see, he's almost the new Nick Fury in a weird way.

This is one of my favorites, too. It’s certainly the most beautiful and captivating.

Yeah, this movie is fun as hell. I'm in love with Michelle Yeoh ever since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

I feel like this is a criminally underrated Marvel movie and it doesn't get the credit it deserves. The fact that they were able to utilize Eastern culture and mythology into a film and present it in a way that Western commoners can appreciate and enjoy it is nothing short of spectacular. Also I'm a huge sucker for some good dragon on dragon violence, which that last fight scene certainly qualifies.

I was not thrilled about seeing this in the theater. But dam, I'm glad that I did. It is an amazing movie.

The Mandarin was originally an Iron Man villain who was a straight Fu Manchu ripoff, and he wore the rings on his fingers; each with special power. A lot of comics fans were upset that Marvel made the Ten Rings a terrorist outfit in Iron Man. Iron Man 2 gave us "the Mandarin" and Trevor as a comic character. BTW you can watch Wenwu's people break him out in the Marvel Short All Hail The King. Later Wenwu explained that he was the genuine owner of the Ten Rings. "They named me after a chicken dish!" Ying Li (their mother) reminded me of the goal scene from Shaolin Soccer in how she moved. Wong also appears several times in the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series, as well as Emil Blonsky/The Abomination.

Easily the best standalone MCU film. What an absolute gem.

I feel like this one got an undeserved luke-warm reception on release. Of the movies outside the scope of The Infinity Stone Saga, this one that has best hit the mark for me. I wasn't sure at first but it's really good, there's a lot to like about it. Emotional beats are good, action is great and it's a lot of fun. Glad you liked it.

I watched Shang-Chi on IMAX and was amazing!

glad you loved the movie so much! I had a lot of fun watching this for the first time too!

Tony Leung who plays The Mandarin is a prolific actor known for his impressive eye acting. So much so, that you truly believe his emotions. His most famous roles are with legendary director Wong Kar-Wai. In The Mood For Love, Chunking Express, and The Grandmaster are movies you should check out by Wong Kar-Wai. Infernal Affairs, the 3 part saga which was remade into the vastly overrated The Departed in America is also worth checking out. All these movies have Tony Leung in it.

Glad you loved this film as much as I did. That said, I hope that your hard times change soon. Life as a human is full of woe and fear, but stay strong and carry on. You got this.

It's an amazing film you get the crouching Tiger vibes from this film. Love the content as always

22:27 Michelle Yeoh! 🙏🏽💪

This is easily a great movie, and one of the best MCU, and I am so glad our representation was done well.

As an Asian man, I appreciate that Marvel has a super hero who resembles my race.

This is the only Marvel film I didn't see in the cinema and it really deserves to be great story and characters.