I expected a kaleidoscope of kick-ass Michelle Yeoh martial arts awesomeness and got that and much more.

On the surface, the plot is a simple one. Beleaguered and exhausted wife, mother and small business woman Evelyn (Yeoh) is catapulted into an unseen world of multiverses where she just might be the saviour of the world against the impossibly stylish nemesis Jobu Tobecky, an unstoppable and nihilistic force set to collapse and destroy all worlds.

It’s full of delicious humour, from the cultural clash between Evelyn‘s traditional family and ailing father to Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre, Evelyn‘s IRS nightmare. The centre, though, is the relationship between Evelyn and her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), and this is what gives the story an unexpected depth.

If you’re a daughter or a mother or an empathetic son or father, you’ll understand the push-pull force behind their often prickly connection. It’s love, but it’s also fear of rejection, generational expectation, and immigrant trauma.

Any film with multiple universes runs the risk of losing the viewer within the confusion, but the Daniels (Kwan and Schienert) do an excellent job at keeping us oriented. Humour and action are ever present and Yeoh shines. I could watch this over and over again.