Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

The MCU is, at least in terms of box office and popularity, an unstoppable juggernaut of a film franchise. Able to release 2-3 movies a year in a normal year, where even the lesser ones are at least entertaining, Marvel Studios has made household names out of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Considering Marvel Comics had years earlier sold the film rights to their more well-known heroes, the film branch of the company has made some real magic out of the ones that were left over. Over time, the studio has even proved capable of taking characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy and made popular movies out of them. These were characters basically only known to the most ardent of Marvel Comics readers. But now that the second string heroes in Marvel’s stable have all made their way to the big screen, and now that many of those characters have been essentially “retired” after Avengers: Endgame (to say nothing of the unexpected tragic death of Chadwick Boseman), where exactly is Marvel going to go next now that it needs some new heroes to put into its movies?

Well, it looks like they’re starting with a character even more obscure than the Guardians, namely master of the martial arts Shang-Chi, with his premier movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The movie here is, in many ways, not really the story of Shang-Chi, but really the story of his family. His father (Tony Leung) is a thousand year old crime lord who, thanks to ten mysterious arm-band sized rings, is essentially immortal and seemingly all-powerful. His mother (Fala Chen) died years ago, sending the man who is basically the real version of the Iron Man 3 villain the Mandarin into a depression, and who then took his son and trained him in the martial arts and the many ways to kill. Shang-Chi himself (Simu Liu) ran away to America, looking to stay as far away from his father as he can. And Shang-Chi’s sister Xu Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) was neglected by both men and went off to do her own thing. Shang-Chi, going by “Shaun” in America, is living an aimless life as a valet parker with his slacker pal Katy (Awkwafina), a young woman who’d rather just goof off and crack wise than actually make something of herself. Then some assassins attack Shang on a bus for a pendant his mother gave him, and he knows he needs to reunite with the father he would rather avoid and the sister he essentially abandoned.

There’s actually a lot going on here for what is essentially Marvel’s martial arts epic. Shang’s father may be running a viscous underground crime and terrorist network, but his goal in the movie is actually not particularly evil. His methods are, but not his goal. Likewise, Shang is dealing with a lot of guilt over his past, something he’d rather not think about, and as for Xialing, she’s distant at the start before seeing she and her estranged brother have a common goal, namely stopping their father from doing something that could end the world. The things driving these characters are as much their complex feelings for and about each other as they are saving the world. And, indeed, saving the world is very much necessary since, well, it’s still a Marvel movie.

If anything, the family drama is just as good as the martial arts. There are a lot of well-choreographed fight scenes in this movie, and director Destin Daniel Cretton keeps the action flowing smoothly and excitingly. These battles move quickly, and each battle is creative in its movements and execution. Even as the battles seem to edge closer and closer to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon territory, there’s still a lot of kinetic beauty to the whole thing. As long as the characters are keeping their feet more or less on the ground, I was all-in. Snake Eyes could learn a lot from this one. Granted, when the final battle begins and the movie goes into the realm of CGI, I had a hard time following the action. That may have been a result of the seat I was in, but it was enough to knock the movie down a peg for me.

As for Simu Liu, considering this is basically his big break, he acquits himself well. If anything, his Shang is the blandest character in the movie. He has a good reason for saying as little as he does at times, and when he finally comes clean on what’s really bothering him, he sells it well. Considering most MCU heroes are wisecracking smartasses in the Robert Downey Jr. mold, it was a nice change of pace where the wisecracking largely fell to co-star Awkwafina. Granted, as a largely comedic actress, it makes sense that she should get the punchlines, and a second character who shows up maybe a little unexpectedly halfway through also has his fair share of jokes. Additionally, Leung’s villain is fantastic. This may be the rare example of a Marvel villain who is more compelling than the hero, but Marvel has been improving their villain game given the likes of Killmonger, Thanos, Ghost, and now Leung’s Xu Wenwu. As opening acts for a new hero goes, this may be the best Marvel origin since at least Black Panther. I think I am glad I actually went out for this one.

Grade: A-