The Marvel Cinematic Universe has truly been one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of blockbuster cinema. It is rare that a year goes by without at least two Marvel, super-hero movies being released. In 2021, the MCU took a chance on two lesser-known properties, and hit it out of the park with two mainstays. All in all, four films were released, and in this article we are going to take a look back and see how well they performed.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
One of Marvel’s more ambitious projects, as it adapts a rather unknown character from their super-hero roster, Shang-Chi saw praise for its representation of Asian culture, as well as, for its implementation of Chinese martial arts into the superhero world.
The film is largely set in China, going from the urban environments of Macau to the gorgeous, scenic settings of the mythical city of Ta Lo. Most of the action takes place in Macau, however, where Shang Chi enters an underground, superhuman, cage-fighting competition. Macau, is of course, known as the Las Vegas of East Asia, as it is the gambling capital of the world. While many people today prefer to play online, at gambling sites such as casinoburst.com, Macau is still a huge draw, and a must-visit destination for fans of gambling, and Chinese culture.
It was, by far, one of the more successful superhero films of 2021, earning over $400 million at the box office, with a budget of only $150 million. The film is a rip-roaring, martial arts, adventure. Scenes of action are perfectly balanced with heartfelt, emotional drama and classic, Marvel-style comedy.
Black Widow
Fans have been clamoring for a solo Black Widow film, and they finally got their wish this past year. The long awaited Black Widow film finally hit the cinema on July 9, 2021. The film saw Scarlett Johansson reprise her role as the iconic superspy, Natasha Romanoff, codename: Black Widow.
Set before the events of Infinity War, the film tells us the story of Natasha’s origin as the superhuman Black Widow. The main bulk of the action, however, is set after the Civil War, and sees agents from Natasha’s past as a Soviet spy come back to haunt her.
An action-packed, thrilling adventure, Black Widow performed rather well at the box office, and critically, earning close to $400 million, double of the budget it took to create the movie. It stands with a score of 80% on content aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, a certified fresh score.
The Eternals
One of the least-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe undertakings, the Eternals attempts to adapt Jack Kirby’s comic series of the same name. Sadly, a large number of fans and critics seem to have come to the conclusion that it fails at its task. With only a 47% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is one of the lowest rated films in the MCU series.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
A stark contrast to the eternals, the third installment in the Marvel’s Spider-Man series has been a resounding success, and one of the most beloved films in the MCU. The Spider-Man movies have, thus-far, been a massive success, and No Way Home is no different, introducing the concept of the Multiverse and bringing back the two Spider-Men from films past, it was truly a film that captured the hearts of fans the world over. A resounding success, no matter how you look at it.