Written by Ronnie Gorham
Marvel Studios continues its dominant reign over cinematic superhero movies with the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings. This is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first to feature an Asian lead and a predominantly Asian cast and crew—including director Destin Daniel Cretton, who co-wrote the film alongside Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham. The result is an exhilarating action ride that doesn’t let up from beginning to end and is worth paying a ticket to see it in theaters.
The story follows Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), the son of Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung), the leader of an organization known as The Ten Rings. Thousands of years prior, Wenwu discovered ten mystical rings that grant him immortality and absolute power. He uses those abilities to assert dominance over any government or person who stands in his way. Shang-Chi, who wants nothing to do with his father after the death of his mother, flees to America to start a new life. But as fate would have it, Shang-Chi finds himself forced to return to his home and confront his dad and his past demons.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps outdoing itself. Shang-Chi is a fresh and riveting, action-packed tale about family conflict and the responsibility of power, but it’s also an engaging film that pays great tribute to martial art films from the past. As you watch it, you can tell that the films draws a lot of inspiration from classic martial arts movies like Fist of Fury, The Last Dragon, and Police Story, to name a few.
In terms of the acting, it is not an easy feat to bring to life a bunch of characters that are not as mainstream as, say, Spider-Man or Thor, but Liu, Leung, Akwafina, and the rest of the cast do it flawlessly. They even got Michelle Yeoh, a legend in her own right, from movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Crazy Rich Asians in a small but pivotal role. In addition, it’s a nice reversal from the norm seeing Shang-Chi go from timid valet to kung fu badass in a matter of minutes. In your typical superhero flick, we watch the protagonist go on a journey to develop skills. Here, Shang-Chi already has them. He’s just been hiding who he is.
As the martial art master Shang-Chi, Liu is both believable and fun to see fight his way out of incredibly dangerous situations like avoiding a man with a machete for an arm. Liu holds a mesmerizing presence on screen that combines the charismatic charm and slapstick comedy of Jackie Chan with his uniqueness. Liu’s co-star, Awkwafina, brings in the comedy relief in a way that only she could deliver and that never feels too much or annoying. Awkwafina and Liu’s chemistry throughout is pretty solid and makes you want to see more of both of them in the future.
Liu and Awkwafina are two of many stand-out stars in the movie. Leung commands the screen as well. He’s maybe one of the only villains besides Black Panther‘s Killmonger in the MCU who you can sympathize with. Wenwu is a man who knew only power and wealth until he met the love us his life in Shang-Chi’s mother, Ying Li (Fala Chen). When that love is stripped away, you can relate to the emotional effect it has on him going forward, and the interaction between Leung and Liu in the third act of the film is just one you have to experience for yourself.
Aside from that, Shang-Chi boasts some fantastic special effects that include dragons, soul-sucking bat creatures, and an epic showdown that will remind you of the fight sequence between Sho-Nuff and Bruce Leroy in The Last Dragon. And it wouldn’t be the MCU without some surprise cameos and two after-credit scenes that move the story of phase four onward. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the superhero martial arts action flick you never knew you needed to see, and if you don’t, well, you’re truly missing out.
