Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Movie Review : Pop Culture Leftovers

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Movie Review

August 19, 2021 2:08 pm |

Martial-arts master Shang-Chi confronts the past he thought he left behind when he’s drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Went to an advanced screening of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and let’s get this out of the way, Simu Liu is a legit star and will be a big part of the MCU going forward. I really loved this film and would rank it pretty highly when it comes to Marvel origin stories. I’d say maybe only the first Iron Man and Black Panther movies do it better. That’s not to say that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings doesn’t have a lot going for it. Marvel Studios delivers on this one and that was apparent by my audiences reaction after the movie closed when we all clapped and cheered with the birth of a new Marvel character in the MCU.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is directed by Daniel Destin Cretton from a screenplay that he wrote with Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham. Liu is joined by Awkwafina as Katy, Meng’er Zhang as Xialing , Fala Chen as Jiang Li, Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist, Benedict Wong as the sorcerer Wong, Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, and Tony Leung as Wenwu.

One of the things I was super concerned with when it came to this film was the martial arts choreography. I know that Marvel Studios wanted to do justice to the character and not give us what the Netflix Iron Fist series gave us as far as lack luster martial arts action. There’s definitely a mix to the martial arts we see here in the film and I definitely appreciated it. In some moments, like the bus scene we see in the trailers it’s very high octane, fast punches high flying kicks, evasive moves and nearly Raid level action without the blood and insane amounts of broken bones. It felt very real but at the same time had some surreal action. I swear there’s a moment where Shang-Chi does a flying kick that looks nearly identical to Johnny Cage’s Shadow Kick in Mortal Kombat. And yes, it’s glorious.

But it doesn’t go without saying that we do also get moments in the movie that have martial arts that feels very Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Beautiful wirework moves and elegant, skillful fighting that almost feels like you’re watching a ballet with punches and kicks.

The villain Wenwu played by Tony Leung puts on a great performance and has more layers to him than some of the other villains that we’ve seen in previous Marvel Studios productions, i.e. Taskmaster and Malekith to name a couple. There’s a story about family here at it’s core. And you can’t run away from your past because it’ll eventually catch up with you.

MCU fans loved the world of Wakanda so much that we’re getting a series on Disney+. Wait until you see the gorgeous design of Ta-Lo in this film. Tons of eye candy and amazing creature designs. You’ve already seen the Foo Dogs from the trailers and there’s more to come. It’s truly amazing to look at on the IMAX.

Simu Liu and Awkwafina have really great chemistry in the movie. Their friendship is quickly established and done so in a way that you care about them and love seeing them interact with one another onscreen.

This movie definitely sets up the future of the Marvel Universe as well as a possible Shang-Chi sequel. Marvel is back and Simu Liu is a star! Catch this one in the theater!

PCL Rating: Tupperware

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH