Review Detail

Tremault has worked her magic again –twice in a row now- turning yet another film from the indifferent tier of the MCU into an enjoyable ride. Technically, this edit is as superb as her previous work with Captain Marvel, with the all the cuts, trims and additions as seamless as they could ever be. Narratively, and starting out from the impossible, I would never have imagined that in any multiverse Katy could ever make a tolerable character. Well, Tremault has proved me wrong! It’s not that I find Katy likeable still (or Awkwafina’s portrayal something special), but at the very least I can discern more clearly the buddy qualities that Shaun sees in her, without having to roll my eyes every now and then due to extreme cringiness. The same goes for Trevor Slattery –portrayed by the great Ben Kingsley, but written as a total buffoon- who now has a little more dignity than in the original. And here I must confess that, even though I laughed with the absurdity of the Planet of the Apes joke, trimming it off was a wise choice as it makes the character much more relatable.

Speaking of wise choices, I’ve got to applaud the fan-editor’s guts to tone down the never-ending CGI fest in the final battle. Not only the pace of the climax is improved that way, but the whole ending becomes much more personal as we mostly concentrate onto Shang-Chi’s fight against his father. And here I was thinking that I was the only one missing the subtlety of the early Marvel days, when Iron Man had only Iron Monger to face, one-on-one! Another thing that bothered me in the original was the Abomination vs. Wong cage fight. As far as I’m concerned, it was nothing more than a rotten member berry - never properly explained, nor making any sense. A super criminal like Blonsky going against the current Sorcerer Supreme in an underground fight! I’m glad that Tremault was of the same mind and so successfully got rid of it.

The usual MCU attempts at humour are also toned down, which is always fine by me. Now, if I had to nitpick, I’d say that I wouldn’t miss the karaoke scene during the mid-credits scene. I know, it’s a callback to a previous scene and that it’s the current trope in the MCU, but I don’t think that the Sorcerer Supreme, of all people, would have sung karaoke just after he had stumbled onto a possible extraterrestrial threat. Ending it on a serious note, just as he’s suggesting that they go to sleep and adjust into their new life, would have been preferable, if you ask me.

So, even though my interest in the MCU is still dwindling as we move further into the post-Endgame era, Legacy of the Rings was a far more entertaining experience than the original film and definitely my to-go version from now on.