Took me a minute to realize it all the dynamic, but Shang Chi uses his Mom’s fighting style to stop his dad, then uses his Dad’s to kill the dragon. Really is a product of both of his parents.
No even in this battle... He showed both combination of them He used her mother's technique and got the 5 rings And he used those rings whose his dad's through the whole battle
Xu Wenwu is a fantastic antagonist. He's not just some mustache twirling villan out for power. You can relate to his desire to rescue the woman he loved and who loved him. And topping it all off Tony Leung's performance is brilliant.
@@geoffreyprior8931 It's not actually. Making villains sympathetic is the oldest trope in the literary book. Disney just pushes them towards being more anti-heroes than outright villains. Because anti-heroes are easier to relate to. It's why you got idiots saying crap like "Thanos did nothing wrong."
While shang obviously won, wenu is easily one of the most formidable opponents in the mcu... they didn't ever make him seem weak or ruin him with humour.... he is plagued with tragedy and anger which is awesome to see. Such an amazing character
Yeah. Honestly, Shang only won because he seems to have a natural attunement to the rings themselves, like they seemed to choose him as their new champion, considering how easy it was for him to turn them to his side.
@@BossStar1995 Actually, it’s because of the dragon’s powers. Just like his mother, he basically “manipulated” the rings rather than “controlling” them. There’s a difference. He doesn’t fully control over them. Only when Wenwu gave him the rings and becoming the new wielder is the time he has control over the rings.
I love how Wenwu let's shang chi get used to the rings and feel them out, not only does he see his wife when they do but I feel like he's finally seeing his son take on his power and legacy. But then you see the rings float around Shang chi in a semi circle and then you realize he has to prove himself if he's gonna get the other half
Exactly. In each part of the fight it’s like Wenwu is testing his son. He tells Shang Chi that if he is to inherit the rings one day he is to prove to him that he can carry them. The final showdown is both a tragedy because Wenwu knows he will die but also a father blessing his son to carry on his legacy for good. Great writing.
Hardly that. He had no intention of Shang using the rings in the way Shang did. Shang only did so because of the power of his mother. Wenwu uses the style of Ba Gua, a water style corporating the style of hard as ice while his Mother used Wing Chun and Ying Yeung, a style of water involved in allowing things to flow and directing them under the flow of which you wish. Wenwu went to the village to seek out this power but it was something that was not going to be given to him of all people. But Shangs aunt had no trouble teaching it to her nephew as in the comics he is the spitting image of his Mother and her sister which was the only thing she loved more than her self. Wenwu in the end became more proud than any father could and thats only because he didnt use the rings in the same way he did, but rather the same way the woman he fell in love with did. Even after taking the rings from Wenwu and using their essence to create a force which wouldve obliterated Wenwu then and there... he released that power. That is what control looks like. The same thing his Mother did all those years before.
@@chinlongcham1017 When I first saw the bracelets, I was reminded of the character in Kung Fu Hustle who used iron bracelets to deliver devastating punches.
This fight scene is proof that live-action anime done right is possible. It plays out much like a shonen fight, minus the screaming. The choreography and over-the-top powers while still retaining a sense of grounded-ness is a staple of the genre. It even has flashbacks.
If nothing else, it shows that a live action Avatar can definitely work. Shang Chi's using tai chi (really a combination of a bunch of a couple different forms but mostly the tai chi) and Wenwu is using Northern Shaolin. Replace the ring and energy effects with water and fire and you basically have an Avatar fight right there.
This movie is so underrated, the fight choreography is incredible and the flash backs to Shangs mom teaching him the moves required to disarm the 10 rings is such a good connection and plot device.
Whoever re-invented the 10 rings as these versatile and formidable weapons deserves a raise. They're some of the best weapons I've seen in the MCU and visually stunning!
I love how creative the fight is choreographed. Shang Chi using the rings as platforms so he can kick from above is probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a Hollywood movie.
Shang chi is using skills passed down from his mother so he is graceful and provide hits that are actually lethal while Wenwu is the one who has anger running through him making the rings seem so violent and powerful
This scene even to this day will remain to my heart. Not only containing unique fighting techniques, but also when the rings lock shang chi's weapon reminds me of a mystical, soothing aura, while wen wu's weapon have electric sparks that surrounds the rings. To add, wen wu's ring is more active but scattered, while shang chi's gold rings have a more calm yet arranfed pattern. It probably symbolized wen wu's scattered and desperate desire to see his wife, while shang chi has a definitive desire- to stop his father from releasing the dweller in darkness. Nonetheless it was extremely fun watching this battle and probably the top 5 most hype battle in mcu imo
Yeah the duality most people have. Bad Dad/ Good Mom, Good Dad/ Bad mom. It's up to us to figure out who we really are and take what we learned from our parents to become who we really are. You might be mad at your bad parent, but you learned so much from them. You will find the bad parent sometimes sees the error of their ways in the end and makes a sacrifice for you.
The ring locking scene really shows how father and son each controls the rings. The energy flowing throung Shang's rings is flowing smoothly like a stream, while the power running through Wenwu's ones is turbulent, chaotic.
@@introvertedrobot3134 Not as outright powerful as the comic rings but these ones make up for it being hella versatile in comparison while still being decently powerful.
0:34 - 0:40 perfectly mirrors a similar sequence of choreography from Wenwu's fight with his wife at the very start of the film. Love that little parallel, shows that once again he is fighting someone who is superior to him.
@@eroilya Zara liang is his daughter's name lol, I think his name is Chang xing Liang And I thought brad Allen was the one who choreographed the fight? Otherwise it wouldn't make sense why they wrote Brad Allen's name in the credits scene like a tribute since he passed away
This whole fight scene is so choreographed so smoothly and epic. The rings, the father and son protagonist and antagonist fight scene, and the rings rotating around Shang-Chi is just so epic. The Ten Rings are my second favorite MCU weapons, behind the Infinity Stones, of course.
A really cool detail about this is that Shang immediately recognizes Wenwu's first attack to be a proper kill-shot. Idk he looked kinda betrayed by the fact that his dad wasn't trying to incapacitate him. His own father tried to actually catch him off guard and kill him off the bat.
Finally someone else who noticed. He looks calm and ready to stop his father using his mother's less-than-lethal soft tai chi esque style but his dad just glares at him and RIGHT OFF THE BAT goes for a killing headshot and when he turns back around he's taken aback at how merciless his dad is being
I was so hype when Shang Chi finally got the rings. I think that's an epic idea for a power/weapon. I mean they're so versatile. You can shoot them as individual projectiles, use them to make sort of a power punch, use them as a chain/whip weapon, charge them up to do a sort of energy blast. They're epic.
In the comics, each ring has a name and each has a different power. Would've been cool too if they adapted this into the big screen, but I get that it would take a lot of work, and might be complicated.
Is it weird I like how the rings are done in the MCU more than the comics? They’re just so versatile, and still insanely powerful. The fights with Shang Chi in the future are going to be amazing with his rings.
thing is, they still had the dialogue that was needed, "Thing you are looking for isn't here" "I think it is, so let me in" "No" All the setup for why the fight happened
@@justanaveragedragon831 yeah a lot of anime fights can get a little draggy but maybe that's because my generation has the attention span of five year olds
@@adamizham3319 most animes fights are just spectacles which isn't a bad thing but It can get really repetitive, and when they actually have good choreography it just gets overshadowed by the effects.
What I like about Wenwu is that he doesn't try to get back the rings when his wife and son are controlling it. He's not greedy of its power. I love that detail.
The father once said Shang Chi can have the rings if he strong enough... this moment already told us that he can give up the Ten Rings anytime if his son is ready.
These rings and how they work makes for one of the most unique weapons ive ever seen in a movie. It opens up completely new possibilities for fight choreography that were never possible before. And its awesome.
Am I the only one who feels sad watching them fight each other? Wenwu is broken because of the death of his wife. Shang Chi just want to have his father back. Both of them just want to have their family back.
It really what makes the emotions in this movie and the fights click so well. Wenwu is such a fleshed out villain and his motives are understandable that we would feel the same way if we were in his shoes. And Shang Chi wanting him back from being deceived really hits and leaves an impact.
Can't wait to see what sort of team Avengers combos they come up with with Shang-Chi in the mix! I could see Doctor Strange, Wong and him doing some cool team-ups.
@@nahor88 Assuming the Rings are metal, they can probably conduct electricity. Imagine Shang-Chi surrounds an enemy with a spinning circle of the Rings, while Thor brings thunder down on them, creating a deadly circle of lightning that electrocutes and disintegrates everything inside it.
Nah it think it was better to have Wuwang's plan succeed, have him witness what he's done, and in his last moments give his son the rings to stop what he unleashed alongside his sister. Ending it here wouldn't have made too much sense narrative wise. Also you can't tease a giant monster and then never show it, that would be such a letdown
@@racool911 I like the idea but the execution was bad tho.The last fight should be Shang chi vs his dad. Maybe extend that for a bit I don't know just don't do a last minute cgi dragon. Anything but that
@@imnotakingimnotagodiam..ab9455 I think the execution was amazing. Shang's moment with his sister was perfect and him using the rings his father gave him to pin down the monster his father unleashed in the most badass way possible gave me a dopamine rush. The fight between son and dad wasn't the very last thing that happened but it didn't have to be, it was still a big part of the movie's ending.
I think having him fight his dad when he did is perfect. It sorta redeemed his father, especially when he let go of the rings. Really came through as a father who wanted what he'd lost back.
I love when the rings resonate with Shang-Chi's positive energy, it emits a warm color and the connection effect between the rings seems to be calm and peaceful.
@@faeznaem1801 not only the colors but the effects we see when they were intertwined and chained to each other’s rings. Shang Chi’s has that fire like effect on it, very smooth, flowing, and warm. While Wenwu’s is an electrical effect, jagged, unstable, and cold
Is it just me who got the impression that when Shang Chi took control over some of those rings and began using them his dad had a mix of anger amazement and pride for his son?
Notice how at 2:11 Wen Wu performed a pose that shot the underground rings upward. Shang Chi used the same pose/move at the very end against the Dweller to cause the explosion. It was a pretty good nod at how Shang Chi acknowledged that he is the product of both his mom (flowy taichi motion as he fell from the sky) and dad (finishing move to explode the demon)
Yeah, he realized at that moment that Shang reached at the same level as him if not more considering the fact that now he learned both fighting styles from both of his parents. This guy is now for sure one of my favorite top 5 Marvel heroes.
I Love the Symbolism, Choreography and Visualization of The Characters via their Interactions with the Rings. Wenwu = Electric Heartbreak ⚡ Shang-Chi = Fiery Passion 🔥
I like how he lets the rings flow freely it’s almost like they’re breathing and have a life of their own unlike his father who keeps them close and tied to him it’s like he’s forcibly binding them to himself and only uses them with brute force when they actually are so much more than that
no, it's because his father still hasn't officially gave the rings to Shang so he can't wear it but he can use it's power, after his father officially passed down the rings to him, that time Shang can now wear it
Maybe it depends on the fighting style of the rings' user. Shang-chi being calm and fluid while his father is all about brute force like you said, just an opinion
No trash talk, no cringe one liner, no force humour, and Wenwu is truly menacing than other MCU villains who only ended up to be be goofy jokes for other superheroes. This is why I love Shang Chi fights scene, all characters convey their emotions through actions and combat alone.
@@haydenberends3905 Yeah, and I always hate MCU downplayed villains with unnecessary trash talks and goofy jokes like how they did with Thanos. I mean, superheroes are all grown up, stop trash talking like kids and fight. When Wenwu blamed Shang Chi for Ying Li's death and Shang Chi questioned Wenwu about his obsession with the rings rather than his own children, it all hits to the heart of each other, and you can see emotions on the faces of both characters: guilt, anger and even sadness. This is what I call a good dialogue exchange instead of cringy trash talks.
@@ivanlim3180 idk what you are talking, character of Thanos is well written, We can quote each dialogue he delivered He was even more serious In endgame
My partner and I binged watched all the mcu movies in chronological order recently, I was almost about to skip this movie for some strange reason, turns out it’s my favourite out of all the movies, absolutely stunning and unique, the fight scenes, soundtrack, story, beautiful movie man
1:34 You can see how much more energy Wenwu puts into his hits, while Shang-chi is more elegant and calm. Shang-chi's elegance comes from his mothers lessons while Wenwu's aggressiveness comes from his centuries of battles. Excellent detail.
Everything about Shang Chi is *chef's kiss. The action, villian, hero, female characters, story, cultural elements, jokes we're all 10/10.... Bravo marvel Bravo!
The visuals and sound design is what really did this for me. As a junkie for visuals and cinematography, I can safely say this movie exceeded expectations on that. It has the best cinematography in the whole MCU.
I like how the father son duo could crossover to the Avatar universe with Shang using the rings like a waterbender, emphasizing the redirection philosophy in the art, and Xu Wenwu using the rings like a firebender, going for the strong offense strat
Wenwu has a much more aggressive and angry fighting style, while Shang has a more calm and controlled fighting style Edit: this is represented by the different aura each of them have with the rings. Wenwu’s lightning is crazy, while Shang has a calm firey aura
It's called Taiji, of course it's calm and controlled. Wenwu's fighting also controlled but yeah it's slanting towards aggressiveness, mainly because Wenwu was driven by his emotion towards her wife.
Tony Leung expression really showed. The scene when SC revealed that they needed their father more than ever, changed Wenwu's determined expression to regret. Didn't even retaliate after that when SC continuously beat him. Then again right before the creature burst out SC said "Your family needs you", again his expression showed maybe his son was right. Even saved SC first when the creature attacked them. And finally the gaze to his son before his death. Legend actor.
IMO his death was just another cheap "evil relative turns good before death" moment. Kinda was expecting that moment would happen since they like repeating same shit 1 million times over which really didn't make the moment very impactful for me. Wish they had gone a different route where his father acknowledges and gives the rings instead of giving rings to his son at moment of death. That would have made it more stronger as then he does not HAVE TO give rings but gives them purely on his own decision without being forced into it.
@@Navhkrin that’s a weakness of the movie. It went the villain route of “I plead guilty only because I was insane and depressed” and it never goes beyond Wenwu just staying at the level. It kind of cops out at the last second using the family dynamics for emotional appeal. But the Wenwu actor is great though.
Who would win? A literal warlord who had fought with his chosen weapons for thousands of years, or a kid who just picked them up 5 minutes ago? Now we know
Wenwo wears them like Huang Gar rings, but Shangchi uses them almost like mythical/ethereal magic weapons. That's why Wenwo was totally confused with that final attack - he's never even imagined such a way to use the rings before.
Applause to the choreographer for this, the differing fighting styles are so distinct and easy to differentiate from each other especially once the rings switch users. Outstanding
I absolutely love the contrasting dynamics between Shang and Wenwu's usage of the rings. You can see with Wenwu he's actively on the offence, he has them on his hands to hit fast and hit hard. But with Shang-Chi, the rings are more passive, they take their time with smooth movements to defend against Wenwu's hard and fast strikes. They're not attached to his body because Shang-Chi isn't controlling them. It's more like they act in accordance with his will. Even the dropkick at 1:56, you can see it's not attached to his leg. Even the fact that they didn't attach themselves to his body to allow him to jump that high is very telling; his mother's gentle martial arts style is clearly represented in the rings themselves. With Wenwu, the rings aren't allowed to act, they're being controlled to create damage by Wenwu's aggressive martial arts. In the very end, the message is "Make love, not war." The rings chose their wielder, and it's not the person fighting. It's the person defending. Shang-Chi was a beautiful movie, and I enjoyed every second of it.
I'm digging these "kungfu stuntman" + "Marvel CGI" movies. At the first scene of the movie we see him using the rings I'm like WAAAH THIS WILL BE EYE CANDY.
CMV: Wenwu is the most captivating villain I ever saw on the MCU screen. Thanos was intense too, but wenwu was intense in a very human manner that I found alot more relatable...
Precisely. Wenwu is my favorite MCU villain. Hands down, I can really relate to why he is hurting. If I were convinced I could bring back someone I loved from death, I'd do anything. Anything.
@@datboy174 I never said they weren't movie budget cause all episodes add up to the budget but I said individually, the budget of the episode isn't high enough to give you "flashy" or exaggerated actions scenes like the ones in the movies and so far none of the shows have proven me wrong.
the best part is that the rings don't overshadow the fight choreography but rather accentuate it. i was scared the final fight between them would be a extremely lazy compared to the others but it was really nice seeing the two utilize the 10 rings alongside their combat techniques
I've said it before, it's this battle that makes me believe a Dragonball Z live action is possible and could look great, this could have been a battle between Goku and Frieza on Namek. The correct portrayal of their flying and speed in fight is just what's needed
Wenwu is MCU's one of the best villians ngl. He's intimidating, his presence is surreal, he's awesome and most importantly, he has a relatable heart. But after you realise his motive and the main reason behind it... he's just a delusional, paranoid daddy lol
@@kishanbhatt1206 Pretty sure he's not being tricked. He still plants an incense for Shang's mother, which is a common sign of respect for a deceased one. He doesn't even deny that Shang Chi told him that she was dead. But he was too broken to even entertain the possibility that the Voice might not be her. And that's what makes his character even more real.