Fighting Like Waymond: The Triumph of the Immigrant Story in Everything Everywhere All at Once

“I’m fighting like you.”

Photo Credit: IMDb.

There’s this sort of notion that kindness and politeness is a sign of weakness, a way for someone to get easily taken advantage of and manipulated.

“Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” disregards this assumption, and “kills with kindness”, far from groundbreaking but presented in a way that is refreshing and a deeply needed breather from the jam-packed multi-versal movie with Bagel Villains and confetti murder.

I cried twice in this movie— when Waymond talked about fighting with kindness and when Evelyn immediately faced Deirdre to say she is worthy of love. I also cried during Joy’s scene with Evelyn outside their parking lot.

(p.s Waymond was my favorite character)

While I did enjoy this movie, I do feel like there maybe should’ve been a tiny bit more explanation regarding the rules of everything and given the plot a bit more space to breath. I love ambitious films that feature constant action, but I was sort of having a hard time keeping up with this one because something was always happening every single time. Doesn’t detract from the fact that this movie is still really great, however. It’s unabashedly chaotic and I love that.

I love the focus on a Chinese immigrant family. It made me feel somewhat seen, even if I am detached from the Chinese part of myself. I loved the soundtrack and the scoring with the traditional Chinese instruments. So cool.

And the fight choreography is just absolutely amazing.

I like how they kept the story and plot line centralized to the office, really smart how they used the place for everything to happen. Where else should a multi-versal war take place than in an IRS building?

I loved the costuming for Jobu Tupaki. I wonder how long costuming everyone took, considering the multiple versions of themselves.

Also, Chad and Racaccoonie were such an absolutely hilarious addition. Weird humor and I love that.

I feel like there’s not much to say about this film. It basically speaks for itself. You need to watch it to get the hype, which is certainly deserved.

My parents were completely confused during this but they did love the parts featuring the Wang family. Their reactions were nothing short of hilarious.

I walked away from this feeling reassured that my insistence to see the good in people and be as kind as you can be is not naïveté, but perhaps my greatest strength. People need a reminder to be humans sometimes. And I think this is the perfect reminder.

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