Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is another winner for the MCU and their best origin story since Captain America: The First Avenger. As somebody who wasn’t over the moon about the trailers, I’m shocked by how much I loved it. Similar to how they increased representation for African Americans with Black Panther, I expect this to do the same for the Asian community.
For those who aren’t familiar with the plot of the film, it follows Shaun, aka Shang-Chi, the son of a China-based globalist who raised and educated his progeny in his reclusive China compound, closed off to the outside world. The son is trained in martial arts and develops unsurpassed skills. He is eventually introduced to the outside world to do his father’s bidding and then has to come to grips with the fact that his revered father might not be the humanitarian he has claimed to be.
The film is co-written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who I’ve been a fan of since his mesmerizing debut film, Short Term 12. Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t hesitant about his work here since this was such a bigger scale than anything he had done before. However, as he’s done many times before, Kevin Feige strikes again by hiring an indie director, who adapted to the MCU formula while adding their style as well. Cretton delivered a film that balances the comedy we’ve come to expect from the MCU with great action sequences and many emotions. This film has a lot of heart, and that honestly didn’t surprise me as all his previous films have a tremendous emotional beat.
A big issue I have with fight scenes in American films is the constant cutting away. Thankfully that isn’t the case here, as Cretton surprised me by how well he directed the fighting scenes, which had fantastic choreography. The bus fight in the film rivals the instant classic one in Nobody, from earlier this year.
Now, while the film’s action isn’t touching what I’ve seen in Hong Kong action films, it’s excellent stuff. I’m also happy by how Cretton pays homage to the style of films that influenced it.
Simu Liu delivers an excellent career-making performance. He is so charismatic and easy to root for. He looked great in the fight scenes and returned big time when the dramatic scenes called for him to show profound emotions regarding his past conflicts.
I know she isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but I love Awkwafina, and she was excellent here. I’m not surprised she provided incredible comedic relief, but I’m glad my fears were proven wrong, and that wasn’t all she was. She had a great arc, and her character went through significant growth.
Speaking of Liu and Awkwafina, I’m so happy. Finally, a romance between them wasn’t forced. Marvel has a bad history of doing that a lot. Thankfully, we are shown to have a close and essential friendship dating back to high school. That is more impactful than a romance between them could ever be.
After the Iron Man 3 debacle, I’m happy to say that The Mandarin has been done justice. I also love how they acknowledge the events of that film, which is something I wasn’t expecting but was very welcomed. Being a fan of Hong Kong cinema, I’m familiar with the fantastic work of Tony Leung, who delivered one of the best MCU villain performances to date. He was such a fleshed-out character, and Leung brought so much to him. It’s great to see an American film use him correctly, as I feel many before he have been misused in American productions, such as Chow Yun-Fat.
I’ve never seen Meng’er Zhang in anything, but she was great here as Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialong. She was such a badass in the fight sequence, and it’s great to see such a strong female character like this in the MCU. I’m very excited for her future as the film did an excellent job of setting up her next character. Lastly, I loved seeing the legendary Michelle Yeoh return to this kind of film after what feels like ages. I marked out so much when she got in on the action scenes. Although she was in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. as a different character, I’m glad she was brought back in a new role for this film because she fits so perfectly in the MCU.
Now while I loved the film, it isn’t without its issues. While it feels fresh, it does follow the Marvel formula in some areas, and certain aspects were easy to predict, especially for a cinephile like me who has seen so many films. I would have liked for it to have offer more surprises.
Overall, this is another excellent for Marvel, and I can’t wait for the sequel as it perfectly sets up the future with two post-credit solid scenes.
