Early in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, our hero (Simu Liu) and his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) have a dramatic encounter on a bus. It’s not just a cool fight; it changes Shang-Chi’s life (and Katy’s!) and leads directly into everything that follows. And it involves a man with a laser sword arm (Florian Munteanu).
It also involves a runaway bus, a livestreamer, and some San Francisco geography that suggests perhaps a tesseract was used in the designing of bus route 1. On Twitter, an actual San Francisco bus operator who goes by Mack wrote a thread to “rate the SFT transit factors of The Bus Scene,” and it’s gold. Always use your mirrors, friends! Never look over your shoulder.
The thread is a perfect mix of location jokes and genuinely interesting bus driver intel, like what to reach for to stop an actual runaway bus, how the air brakes work, and the most realistic parts of the scene:
This would Definitely Happen pic.twitter.com/kdQDfD081J
— Mack, yes, That Mack (@that_mc) November 13, 2021
He also raises some very valid concerns about the bus’s original operator: Why is this man wearing earbuds?!?
Our bus operator, played by Michael-Anthony Taylor, discovers his service brake isn't working. He's mashing on the treadle (pedal) and not stopping. That's terrible! And he's wearing earphones. That's terrible. He definitely could be charged with an avoidable incident by SFT. pic.twitter.com/NjPG7RwRmP
— Mack, yes, That Mack (@that_mc) November 13, 2021
The ride, he notes, would have taken at least forty minutes to make its way from the scene’s opening shots (way off route) to the point it begins heading downhill at California and Mason.
There’s a lot of relatable content:
Every bus operator cheers when the scooters get mashed to shreds. pic.twitter.com/UQ9Rj1Yrna
— Mack, yes, That Mack (@that_mc) November 13, 2021
Mack ends his commentary with two points: One, ride public transit! Drive less! And two, he credits everyone involves in the scene, from the actors to the stunt drivers listed in the credits.
And thank your operator when you get off the bus. Every "Thank you" makes our day on the road a little better. I'm still a rookie operator, new to the job, but it make a difference to me.
— Mack, yes, That Mack (@that_mc) November 14, 2021
The entire thread is worth reading. Should you have any doubts on this matter, here’s one more person who was impressed:
This is f**king amazing
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) November 13, 2021
