Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows a young man, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), secretly a martial arts master, who must confront his past when he is drawn into the web of the Ten Rings organization led by his father, Wenwu, aka the Mandarin (Tony Leung).
This is another major film for the ever-growing cinematic universe, and Marvel’s first Asian superhero film. I never thought I’d see the day where one of the coolest and most underrated heroes from Marvel comics would get his own solo outing on the big screen. Yet here we are 48 years since the character’s debut in comics and Shang-Chi has finally made his cinematic debut. And I’m just going to come out right away and say that I loved this film.
It’s a solid superhero origin film and a fantasy epic that has great heart, drama, visuals, and perhaps the best action in the entire MCU. We have a great ensemble of characters in this film that are all given amazing performances by their respective actors and most of them play a vital role in the story.
We start with our lead Shang-Chi, played by Simu Liu, who is an absolutely fantastic hero and may possibly be a new favorite of mine in the MCU. Simu absolutely nails the character, a man that was broken and built all his life to become a living weapon like his father. He has done things in his past that he is not proud of and he has tried to escape it yet never truly can. You can really see and feel this in Simu’s fantastic performance, I was completely hooked by his journey to confront his past and his father. He truly lives up to the character of a truly masterful hand-to-hand combat fighter who takes on great foes. And while he is a mostly serious character in this film he does have his own charm that Simu perfectly delivers and you do find him very easy to attach to in so many ways.
Katy, played by Awkwafina, serves primarily as the comedic relief, but she also was a pretty great best friend to Shang-Chi, sharing excellent chemistry with him. And yes by best friend I do mean best friend and not best friend turned love interest. There was no forced romance here. Their relationship is purely platonic and it honestly felt so refreshing for the MCU. Her character also really helps out in this film, which I wasn’t expecting and it prevented her from being a useless side character. Honestly, she reminded me of Peter Parker’s friend Ned in a lot of ways.
Meng’er Zhang plays Xialing, Shang-Chi’s estranged sister. She has taught herself to be a skilled warrior who is equal or even better than her brother, and she holds a slight resentment towards him for things in the past. Shang-Chi does his best to reconcile with her but you can definitely understand her side of things when you see exactly what their relationship was like and how it was impacted by their father. There is an interesting setup with her character the film does that makes me eager to see what direction her character could be taken in.
There is also Michelle Yeoh who has a great supporting role as Jiang Nan Shang-Chi’s aunt, and she is a guardian of a new realm that brings in most of the fantasy elements of the film.
But by far the biggest stand out is Tony Leung as Wenwu who may honestly be one of the best MCU villains next to Thanos. When we are first introduced to him we are given the impression that he is a merciless killer running a dangerous shadow organization that (similar to Hydra) has shaped the course of human history. I was worried that they were going to make him another cliche power-hungry villain, but as the film progressed my worries were completely eliminated. Yes, he has done terrible things and is willing to do even more, but then we see there is actually humanity behind the monster. You understand and even sympathize with him when you see his true motives. He is almost a tragic figure when you see what he almost became. I cared so deeply for his character, especially given the fact that he has an emotional connection with our lead hero.
There is so much complexity and rage that drives this character, which also fuels him when he uses the ten rings, powerful artifacts of unknown origin that not only play a key part in this film’s story but may potentially impact the future of the MCU. When it comes to relics/weapons in this franchise, the ten rings prove to be a new breed of their own.
Another supporting character worth mentioning is Razor Fist, played by Florian Munteanu. He was a fun addition to the film and it definitely feels like he can potentially have more of a role in the future, along with the Ten Rings Organization itself.
The story and narrative are really excellent, feeling like an epic martial arts film with Shakespearean elements interwoven within. There is great drama and an emotional dynamic between the characters that really spearheads the story in fantastic ways and keeps you invested all the way through, due to how personal it is to the characters and how dangerous the threats are. At the same time, we get some great Asian representation throughout the film, showing culture naturally and allowing viewers to feel absorbed into the story as well as connect with the characters.
I also really liked how the story was very much its own thing in comparison to previous solo outings in the MCU. It still has its expected humor, connections, and references that remind you this shares the same universe with gods and aliens but I liked that it felt like it was establishing its own world, one you’re eager to explore.
The film handles themes of family, honor, and responsibility in a unique and brilliant fashion. Even though we have seen these themes many times in other films, the filmmakers for Shang-Chi were able to do something new with them and I give them major props. There are a lot of homages and references to Asian cinema littered throughout this film, including in the action, that I think many may recognize and absolutely love, especially with just how well handled they are. It doesn’t try to imitate these great works but instead hugely respects and celebrates them and I love that the filmmakers did that.
Also, there are lots of surprises in this film that are not shown in any of the trailers that people are going to go absolutely nuts for, especially when it comes to the third act and two post-credit scenes.
The action in this film is absolutely fucking epic, beautifully choreographed, fantastically shot and edited in many ways. The martial arts in the film can range from being vicious and brutal to beautiful and artistic depending on the characters involved and their surroundings. We do get some magical elements thrown into some of the action, especially with the ten rings, and it never messes up with the action or its flow, it enhances it instead. All of it is filmed and edited in a way that you can follow what is going on and really feel the exhilaration of it all. There are moments where this film felt like an anime with some of the insane scenes and I absolutely loved it!
The visuals and cinematography are gorgeous, not only making it feel like a grounded action flick but also a full-on fantasy epic. There’s a mix of practical and CGI work and all of it looks really damn good for most of the film. There are definitely some instances that get CGI heavy, like in the third act, but it was honestly awesome and nothing looked off to me at all.
There are a lot of beautiful set pieces, as well as really great costumes for certain characters including Shang-Chi’s suit. The score by Joel P. West is brilliant, heightening everything in the film including the epic action scenes. And the soundtrack that includes Run It by DJ Snake is also fantastic and very memorable.
This film was an absolute blast and while some of its humor may not always land with everyone, everything else about the film is absolutely phenomenal. Destin Daniel Cretton and everyone involved really put their heart and soul into this, creating perhaps one of the best solo outings in the MCU lineup. There is a bright and exciting future ahead for Shang-Chi as he is about to be part of something even bigger, but that can’t happen if people don’t support this film. So please support this film in any way you can because it is absolutely worth watching for all the amazing things it has to offer. These characters and their story deserve to be seen and deserve to continue. I’m going to give Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings an A.
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