‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Review

The MCU is still trying to find its footing after Avengers: Endgame wrapped up phase 3 and the Infinity saga. The TV shows have done a decent job at setting up new ideas and paths for the story to go, but haven’t fully reinvigorated the excitement the MCU had before Endgame. Black Widow is a prequel and while it’s not a bad movie, it felt like it should’ve come out a while ago. Shang-Chi manages to feel like a new era has begun in the MCU while still providing an excellent origin story for a brand new hero. 

Premise

Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is a martial arts master from a criminal family who now resides in San Francisco. When his past finally starts to come back to haunt him, Shang-Chi goes back to his home to confront his father (Tony Leung) and his past transgressions. However, his father ends up being an even larger threat that Shang-Chi and others have to stop. 

Review

Shang-Chi feels like a breath of fresh air for the MCU. While it can suffer from the Marvel formula at times, it has enough to make it stand out on its own. The most noticeable element is its fight sequences. The hand-to-hand choreography is outstanding and action scenes like these haven’t really been seen in any Marvel movie except for the Captain America movies. 

Liu does a great job with the action as well as with his performance in general. He already has plenty of charisma and comes off as a dedicated hero. He’s willing to make tough choices and go out of his way to help people. His friend, Katie (Awkwafina), initially starts out as comic relief but is given more of a role as the film progresses. Awkwafina is really good in this and most of her comedy works. She doesn’t go over the top, as she has before in other roles. 

Meng’ Er Zhang is really good as Shang Chi’s sister. She is much more hardcore than Shang Chi as she followed a tougher path. The entire cast has great chemistry with one another. Liu and Awkwafina really do come across as good friends who have known each other for years. Zhang and Liu play characters who have a troubled relationship but there is a familial bond still built in. 

Marvel can suffer from villain problems, but not here. Leung is an excellent villain. Despite many of the heinous acts he commits, his motivations are understandable which makes him a villain with who we can at least sympathize. His determination conflicts directly with Shang-Chi and it makes for a great dynamic. Since he is Shang-Chi’s father, every fight has emotion attached to it that allows us to become more invested in the fight. 

The fights themselves are all fantastic. The fight scenes on a bus and on the side of a building are especially awesome. It’s not just the choreography that’s great, but also the camerawork. Destin Daniel Cretton does a great job at constructing these sequences. Very little shaky-cam and not too many edits. There are even some great tracking shots that follow characters as they move through a series of enemies. 

This movie is also breathtaking to look at. It’s incredibly colorful with plenty of settings that keep the movie from being visually boring. Much of it is beautiful Asian landscapes that look straight out of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 

Shang-Chi also does a great job at world-building. This movie presents a whole new world of lore and myth to the MCU. The narrative of the movie itself is good but simple. It allows for more time dedicated to building this world and the many ways it works. It can get too exposition-heavy at times and there are one too many flashbacks. They aren’t bad, but they can sometimes be a momentum killer. 

When we get to the final battle, it does get a bit too CGI. We enter a world of fantasy with creatures that do have incredibly creative designs. However, the final sequence involves too many big monsters and takes away from some of the emotional character moments. It’s certainly cool to look at, but I would’ve preferred fights between characters instead of monsters. 

Final Thoughts

Shang-Chi is a great intro to a new hero. It does have pieces of the MCU formula, but the introduction of a beautiful world mixed in with some amazing kung fu fight scenes makes this movie stand out. There are some pacing issues and the third act has a bit too much CGI, but they don’t detract from the emotional narrative. It also has one of the best MCU villains. I look forward to seeing more from this sub-universe within the MCU while also seeing how Shang-Chi factors in going forward. 

Final Score: 4/5