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davetheanalyzerIn the meantime, I’m pleasantly surprised a new Digimon series called Ghost Game will be airing within a couple days. I’ve tuned out on the Adventure reboot aside from listening to its great songs and resigned myself that Digimon would be Adventure content to the end of time, so learning about Ghost Game was cheering news. Not-so-cheering was learning Konaka from Tamers had fallen down the alt-right rabbit hole and there was concern if he was involved in Ghost Game. Fortunately, he wasn’t and I don’t have a problem still liking Tamers since as other fans pointed out a) he only fell down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole around 2010 at the earliest, around nine years after Tamers ended and b) even as Konaka himself repeatedly emphasized, a lot of beloved elements came from other production members and that it was a team effort. Ghost Game at any rate looks to be interesting with its horror angle and the potential characters dynamics. I’m also glad that Gammamon is a dinosaur Digimon but yet not another Theropod lookalike. I hope it succeeds so we can have more original Digimon stories.
I saw Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I showed the teaser to my mom and she was interested, so we went Saturday Labor Day weekend to a theater for the first time in over a year and a half. I forgot to bring my glasses but I still enjoyed the film and so did Mom. The titular Shang Chi is a great character, having gone through a broken childhood and wanting to escape the terrible things he’d seen and did by living an ordinary life. He’s content not to strive for his full potential, since he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself and he was soured on that by being trained to be the ultimate assassin. He doesn’t even do anything when Ten Rings servants rough him up for his mother’s neckless, at least until his friend Katy gets hurt.
Katy herself also stuck up for him in that incident, the two pretty close. She enjoys having fun with him, even if she messes with him like going on extreme drives with customers’ vehicles or teasing Shang Chi by, say, betting against him during a fight. She’s so close with him that when he displays great martial arts abilities, she demands answers and is willing to go traveling across the world with him to find out more. Xialing’s understandably furious that her brother Shang Chi broke his promise to come back for her after deciding to leave. Since she was denied the chance to fight, she trained in secret and left to build her own empire via underground fighting ring. Xialing’s reserved and professional. Even with her grudge, she goes to rescue her brother when Ten Rings minions attack.
All of the Ten Ring attacks are a twisted way for Shang Chi and Xialing’s father Wenwu to show his affection. He acts like a kind and charismatic host to his children and Katy at dinner, where he reveals he still feels wounded about his wife’s death and believes he found a way to resurrect her. He won’t listen to any counterpoint and blames her hidden home village of Ta Lo for keeping her prisoner. As an immortal conqueror, Wenwu isn’t used to being told no and jails the three when they refuse to help, assuming they’ll come around eventually.
Shang Chi and others discover Trevor Slattery, the actor hired to pretend to be the Ten Rings Leader in Iron Man 3. Slattery had gone off the drugs but is still eccentric as ever and it’s his eccentric theatric performances that saved him from execution. He gives a meta commentary about racist stereotypes about that Iron Man 3 role he played, which was part of the intention of that movie and something people criticized even with that plot twist. He’s buddies with Morris, a friendly and intelligent faceless Chinese Mythological creature known as a hundan who Trevor didn’t know was real until Shang Chi and the others confirmed so. The group is able to break out and sneak into the village of Ta Lo with Katy’s expert driving skills. There Shang Chi and Xialing’s aunt Ying Nan prevent the village from attacking them. She’s patient and kind, being the first relative to give positive attention and sound advice to Shang Chi and Xialing in a long time.
Katy gets roped into doing archery, never having really committed to any passions but enthusiastic when she shows improvement. Maybe Ying Nan’s words make Shang Chi reflect on his past, for when Katy comes around, he admits he did go through with assassinating his mother’s killer but he only felt horrified and empty, so he ran to America. With all the damage his father did, Shang Chi seems determined to kill him. The climatic battle was filled with a lot of action. I like the moment Wenwu pays respects to his wife’s shrine while the fight goes on outside. Wenwu’s multi-century lifespan make him a very difficult opponent and he can read Shang Chi’s fear very well. Wenwu has such tunnel vision for getting his wife back he doesn’t even notice the creepy bat things coming out of the wall he’s punching. I found it grimly humorous Razor Fist refuses Ying Nan’s demand to join forces against the Dweller in Darkness’s minions until seeing Death Dealer be killed by one changes his tune.
Shang Chi’s encounter with the Great Protector in the lake is a great moment. I enjoy the Great Protector allows Xialing to hop on and help kill the bat minions. Shang Chi resumes his fight with his father and manages to get control of half of the rings and I like the almost-dance that happens between two as they exchange and use the rings’ powers. When Shang Chi actually defeats his father, he doesn’t actually do the killing blow. The Dweller in Darkness goes out and that’s when Wenwu realizes his mistake. When Shang Chi is targeted, I like that Wenwu sacrifices his life and transfers his ten rings to Shang Chi before passing. I also like he and Xialing have a moment where they look at each other and process his death. Shang Chi also hangs on to Xialing when she gets grabbed by the Dweller in Darkness, not wanting to let her down again. Shang Chi’s also probably still reeling from their father’s death and doesn’t want to lose another family member. Xialing doesn’t want Shang Chi to die either, showing they still care for each other.
One of the village elders goes with Katy noting the Dweller in Darkness’s throat needs to be targeted to save the Great Protector’s soul from being suckedout. Before he can do anything, he gets killed by a bat minion and I like Katy reacts with some shock before realizing it was up to her. She fires the arrow that saves the Great Protector, Shang Chi, and Xialing. I like she’s surprised by her own winning hit. The crushing punch Shang Chi unleashes on the Dweller in Darkness is very dramatic and cool.
After all the things they’d been through, it’s understandable why Shang Chi and Katy would go on about their adventures to their incredulous friends, an amusing and poignant bookend since their first dinner out with those friends began with some criticism about how the former two aren’t ambitious enough. Then Wong shows up to even Shang Chi and Katy’s surprise and it was amusing that the pair went through a magic portal in front of a gawking restaurant. I like that the pair took Wong to karaoke after the mid-credit scene meeting. I’m curious what Xialing’s going to do now she’s the new boss of the Ten Rings. Reform it? Continue its operations? Despite some more than iffy stuff two actors have done beyond this film, I enjoyed Shang Chi and look forward to future installments.
That’s all for now. Onto reading the third book in my second series that I’m renting from the library and I’ll later help my parents with shopping. Until around Halloween, see you!