Ayden The NinjaPirateBear’s review published on Letterboxd:
2021 Ranked
Ranked: Marvel Cinematic Universe
A Multiverse of Marathon: Film #25
Previous: Black Widow
Next: Eternals
I haven't done the official calculations yet but I am pretty sure this was my biggest climber in my entire MCU rewatch. Maybe not in spots, but going from a 4.5 star to a 5 star masterpiece was by far the most unexpected.
I get that I am overrating this movie somewhat but I don't give a fuck. I genuinely loved this from start to finish. Yes, it is the typical MCU origin film but the martial arts and fantasy side of things add a coat of fresh paint to what was becoming a stale template.
Add to that the wonderful performances of Simu Liu as the titular hero, Meng'er Zhan as his sister Xialing and one of the best villain performances in the entire MCU, by Tony Leung Chiu-wai as their father, Xu Wenwu. Hell, even Awkwafina was enjoyable in this.
There are a couple of iffy CGI spots and some jokes that don't quite land (none as bad as in Black Widow though), but I am happy, even if I am the only one to do it, to call this a motherfucking masterpiece.