Tuesday, November 23, 2021

The Bad-Ass Bamboo Forest in Shang-Chi

Shang-Chi's parents meet with the Bamboo Forest as backdrop for their fight

I just watched the new Marvel movie Shang-Chi on Disney Plus, and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot.

It was funny, the cast was personable and relatable, and the special effects were fantastic. The movie has a 92% rating at rottentomatoes.com, and it broke several box office records during its release.

But two scenes in particular made me really like the movie.

The mother of Shang-Chi comes from a village called Ta Lo, which is filled with magical beasts from Chinese folklore. This village is guarded by a bamboo forest, which forms a beautiful backdrop for a fight scene between the hero's parents when they first meet.

The bamboo in the forest also can move, and they have a penchant for wanting to squash intruders who try to find Ta Lo.

This awesome behavior is in full view in two different car scenes, where the maze-like forest opens up in front of rushing cars, only to close violently behind them. Anyone not fast enough to outwit and outrun the closing forest is smashed into bits and "eaten".


Fiction books and movies are replete with hostile plants, but this variation on the theme was entertaining and unique, and I highly recommend the movie to everyone. Enjoy!

Official Trailer:





2 comments:

The Grass is Greener on the Udder side said...

I will look out for that. It's good that grasses are finally getting worthy Holywood roles. I spotted at least five different grass species in Avatar, one of which is highly invasive and could cause problems there in the future if they don't take urgent control measures now.

BanyanWanderer said...

Well, to be honest bamboos have had big roles in the past. The problem is many don't realize it's a grass!!!! ;-)

Hahahaha on avatar...I have to watch that again. It's on Disney Plus so I'll take a gander tonight.

ps. The movie should roll out in that part of the globe soon I think.