By Luca Newton
With that, the second movie of Marvel's phase 4 has released, after a few days, and it absolutely delivers..
This review contains major spoilers, I'd suggest watching the movie first!!!
2021 has already smashed it out of the park with buttloads of Marvel content, almost weekly since WandaVision started in January. As a fan, I couldn't be more happy with this, especially after 2020, which saw absolutely no MCU content released. Leading to this film, we have had 3 shows, a movie and an ongoing animated show. All have been at least good. But when it comes to the movies of the phase, Black Widow was a prequel, and so it didn't push the story forward much, nor did it really expand the world of the MCU, given that we were taken to pretty standard places. I obviously still liked the film, despite some of the dumbest shit I've ever seen getting in there, but I was always significantly more interested in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings...
In 2019, when it was revealed, it was poised as the first Asian lead superhero movie from their line-up, but in addition that it was going to be including the Ten Rings, with the actual Mandarin this time. Personally, I never hated the Iron Man 3 Trevor Slattery twist, I thought it made a lot of sense within the story, and I feel like it would've been very iffy if they actually had The Mandarin as Tony Stark's archenemy, despite the very fact he is his archenemy in the comics being... questionable. Within the context of a fully Asian cast, it made more sense, and could really shine. It was certainly intriguing. The hook for me, however, had to be the lead actor Simu Liu, who I had never heard of before, but his raw passion for the MCU and the comics, it was so admirable. He had a lot of charisma in interviews. I just knew he would be an incredible lead, and that's a huge part of what makes me excited for an MCU film.
As time went on, my excitement was in a sleep mode almost. Until the teaser, I just needed to see any footage to make any opinion of the film. I absolutely loved the teaser and the official trailer. Those both kept me decently excited, until reviews started coming out and were overwhelmingly positive. That energy really pushed me over the edge excited the night before I was set to watch it.
What is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings? (Heavy spoilers)
A pretty unknown Marvel comics superhero, Shang-Chi is the Master of Kung-Fu. His entire existence is almost overtly a stereotype, with his father literally being the massively racist Fu Manchu. However, he was also born from the popularity of martial arts action movie stars Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. So Marvel Studios, having this character on their docket for a long time, decided to use this as their opportunity to expand their universe and further diversify their movies. What they did mostly, was change a lot aspects of the Shang-Chi character and side cast. Marvel Studios hired Destin Daniel Cretton to modernise this character and make a celebration of Asian culture akin to Black Panther. The major change to the story was the replacement of Fu Manchu for a completely different big bad, The Mandarin.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens with a voiced over introduction to Wenwu, as a warrior from ancient times, as we are given explanation through a voiceover, we see Wenwu use the rings, and use them to his advantage over a thousand years, until he gives them up after meeting the love of his life and marrying her, and eventually having children, specifically Shang-Chi. We are briskly thrown into Shang-Chi (Shaun)'s daily routine, as he, and Awkwafina's character, Katy, working together are hotel valets. However, after a regular bus ride turns sour as a handful of men attack Shaun, he unleashes his true power of Shang-Chi to fight them off as they attempt to take the pendant he wears on his neck from his mother. He loses that pendant, and receives a postcard which is assumedly from Shang-Chi's sister, Xialing. Both Shang-Chi and Katy venture to find Xialing. They find out that the postcard was a red herring, and a ploy to get Shang-Chi and Xialing in the same area, so that their father, Wenwu, can reunite their family. Their mother was killed as a result of Wenwu's actions before he reformed for her, and so he trained Shang-Chi to grow up into a killing machine, and he completely neglected Xialing. However, he's been heavily researching for years with the belief that his wife, their mother, is actually still alive, and being locked away in Ta-Lo, another realm in which Wenwu was forbidden. He believes this to such extremes, he is prepared to go guns blazing to find her. Shang-Chi, Xialing and Katy decide to get to Ta-Lo first. With the help of Trevor Slattery, found locked in Wenwu's dungeon, who communicates to everyone what this weird mythological creature he calls Morris. Once they arrive in Ta-Lo, they are almost apprehended before their aunt Nan recognises them and accommodates them, giving Shang-Chi his main suit, as they prepare for the ensuing battle against Wenwu.
But what did I think of it? Does it live up to the hype?
Short answer, yes. To the extent to being a great movie. I don't think it's top 3 Marvel like others, it does have its issues. But it's overall a really solid, unique, fun MCU instalment that gets me really excited not only for the future of the MCU, but also the future of Shang-Chi, and what potential he holds for future crossover movies and inevitable sequels..
However, there were a handful of things about Shang-Chi I absolutely loved...
Instantly Iconic Characters
Right from the get-go, phase 4 has really strong characters. I mean Black Widow also had a strong main cast, with exceptions from the villains. Shang-Chi's cast of characters are stronger. Starting with Simu Liu as Shang-Chi himself, he's an instant classic. By the end of the film, I already knew he would end up being a top tier MCU character when joins in the bigger picture. He is played with such charisma, but he isn't just the generic quippy protagonist, he has a completely feel to him, he has a sense of humour, but he also doesn't quip all too often, making the fight scenes a lot more investing. And I'm not even one to dislike quips in fights like others. Besides how he is generally characterised, I thought his core arc was really nuanced for Marvel. The trauma from his mother dying and him being essentially forced into becoming a killer, as he actually did kill, in an intentional way. It adds layers to him, as while Marvel heroes kill, they don't typically murder. Of course Shang-Chi isn't a full on murderer, as he only killed one person and as a result of being abused and trained for his whole childhood, but I still appreciated the almost edge to him? He was also just a badass..
In terms of the side cast, I think I need to highlight Katy. Played by Awkwafina, I wasn't fully sure if she would be good in this. I don't hate Awkwafina, but she's very hit and miss for me. In Crazy Rich Asians she was fine, but in Raya she was the worst part, and was utterly annoying. But she is also the main character in The Farewell, which is her best role. Anyways in Shang-Chi, I worried Katy would just be the standard Christine Palmer, Jane Foster, etc, and literally be in it minimally, except when she was she'd be like obnoxious and played exclusively for laughs. But I gotta say I was impressed with what they did with Katy. She is used for laughs plenty, but they mostly landed for me, and she wasn't only there for jokes, she straight up ends up playing a pretty big part in helping Shang-Chi win the final act. I think it was also smart how they used her character arc and matched it with her weapon, and how her character arc was actually committing to something and sticking with it, instead of always aiming at stuff but giving up before you can actually get it done. I honestly related to this message way more than maybe other people, but it literally is something I'm really bad at. So honestly, Katy is a standout for me, Awkwafina was good and I am excited to see her in future movies.
Shang-Chi's sister Xialing was pretty cool too, I wasn't sure of what role she'd play before watching, but she feels like that character that is empowering for the little girls watching in the same way that Shang-Chi would be. Xialing also had a really sympathetic motive to be at odds with Shang-Chi at first, given she was neglected any training from Wenwu, and then abandoned by Shang-Chi as he ran away from home and broke the promise to return. She had some cool action, and in the post credits, I'm unsure what exactly it's implying her character will be in the sequel.
Of course, you also have Trevor Slattery, a surprise to be sure. I kind of knew he was in this, but was fully expecting him to show up once and disappear, but nah he was fully in the film for most of the second half. He is not the heart of the movie or anything, and his purpose is purely to get the main cast to where they need, but Sir Ben Kingsley was great and he was absolutely hilarious here, I'm glad they designated the pure comic relief to Trevor instead of Katy. Oh and Morris.. I can physically SEE the merchandise being grossly oversaturated in Disney stores.
Wenwu And The Tragic Family Drama
Wenwu gets his own section. He is the second best villain in the MCU in my honest opinion. The reason for this is just one big reason why this movie rules. He is the real Mandarin, not actually named that, but he is the person Trevor was impersonating. What makes Wenwu such a compelling villain, is because despite the eternal life and mystical rings, Wenwu is also the most grounded MCU villain, with possibly the most sympathetic motivations, while being simultaneously villainous in the most real way. He is a villain because of how treats his children in an abusive way, and how he overall abuses power with the rings on a larger scale. But the interesting thing is that he is a person who reformed himself for his wife, but after her death, his grief completely overtakes him, and motivates him to do what he does in Shang-Chi, but also what he does to Shang-Chi and Xialing. It is a deeply tied motive to Shang-Chi as a protagonist, as he feels the same grief and loss for his mother too, but the morality then is shown, with how Shang-Chi moves on, but Wenwu obsesses himself over it, and destroys his children, as well as, in many ways, himself.
This set-up makes it not only deeply emotional and sympathetic for us as viewers, even though we don't condone his actions, it also makes it incredibly personal to Shang-Chi, Xialing and Wenwu, and so it just hits harder when they actually fight, because there is so much raw emotion and pure grief there is in it, as well as resent, anger and stubbornness in it. It's all brought together with Tony Leung's incredible acting. He was absolutely incredible, and I can see why he is a superstar in China, what an incredible first Hollywood role. He compelled me and made me really buy the sadness but also cruelty within Wenwu. I'm so glad they nailed The Mandarin. It was incredible how Wenwu's story and motive was kind of the film's plot.
Wenwu's motives are the catalyst of so much family drama, and when I say family drama, I mean proper family drama. It puts Black Widow's to shame. The death of his wife causes Wenwu to revert to his old ways and abuse his son by forcing him to train his entire life. This traumatised Shang-Chi, causing a lot of the conflict. Shang-Chi ran away when he was ordered a hit, and abandoned his sister, who resents him because of it, and Xialing resents Wenwu for completely neglecting her in her youth. It's some really deep and personal family drama that surrounds the entire conflict, woven smartly together. I can honestly say no other MCU villain got this much depth besides Thanos.
Masterful Choreography And Action
I haven't even gotten to the action yet, holy shit. That's a whole other half of Shang-Chi, because man Shang-Chi has action unlike any other MCU movie. Overall, this film has the best action in any MCU film, based on the fight choreography. There are fights in other movies I prefer, but as a collection, it was more consistent. The fight choreographer was the late Brad Allen, who was an absolute legend, and contributed to how incredible the fights were throughout the film.
There were 2 types of action in this film. The first type was mainly used in the first 2 acts. The more practical, grounded fights with martial arts on full display. Man, they were absolutely incredible. Firstly, the bus fight scene was just such a brilliant introduction to the action. Right from the start you get such brilliant choreography, with how Shang-Chi defends himself with such flashy and badass moves, especially with how Simu Liu nailed the stunts himself. The direction also helped, because of how the camera was never shaky and constantly cutting, a lot of room to breathe for the attacks and the urgency of the scene, being in a moving bus with people in it, added tension and made it even more entertaining. This urgency is also a part of another early action set piece on the scaffolding at night outside of the fighting arena, and the way Shang-Chi fights is insanely cool, with how he even walks on some people as a bridge. And oh man that scene was absolutely gorgeously shot, especially when they fought in front of the billboard.
The other type of action was in the third act. It's a lot more typical Marvel movie action, but that isn't a bad thing at all. In fact, the absurdity of the final act makes it one of my favourites in the MCU. It just goes fully fantasy in the end and I loved it. From the moment they got to Ta-Lo, it was so mystical and weird I adored it. But with the war against Wenwu, with those Ancient Lion creatures charging towards the enemy, it was so cool and epic-feeling. I loved the personal fight between Shang-Chi and Wenwu before they use the rings. It felt fueled with all the conflict and emotion of the film in the best way possible. Then we get into soul-sucking monsters, and dragons, and the duel of the rings. It's all so epic and mystical.
The Problems With Shang-Chi
No film is without flaws. I think that Shang-Chi does have some clear ones that hinder it from perfection. I think that the pace of the film is a little bit jarring. At the start of the film, it flies by and you are having a blast. But in the second act, it almost halts its pace halfway through it. This is to have a calm before the storm but I can't help but feel like they could've had something there instead of what we had, which was kind of hitting the pause button for a little bit before the real shit happened. It was just a bit weird to me that they could find the place they were racing Wenwu too so quick from a narrative standpojnt, I thought there'd be more?
I also feel like Wenwu could've used a bit more screentime, and maybe given a bit more action to do. Although I was satisfied with what we did get. While the final act was badass, and I enjoyed it, it was pretty jarring to go from grounded action to Pokemon meets Lord of the Rings. I liked it, I just feel it could have been done a little less jarring. It also fell into many of the MCU traps of a final act being a CGI battle, when the film kind of wasn't going for that at the start. I don't know exactly how, so it's not a big deal really.
The Sequel Bait Is Strong..
The final main point I have pertains to the excitement AFTER the film. Be it through the post credit scenes, or the potential set ups for sequels, Shang-Chi does both of these.
The first post credit scene introduces Shang-Chi and Katy into the Avengers, as Carol and Bruce on call with Wong. And they discuss how one of the Ten Rings is emitting a beacon that is calling for something. It's left very vague and open, so I'm unsure if this is a greater MCU teaser, or a Shang-Chi 2 teaser. It would make sense for the beacon to signal to Fin Fang Foom, with his race being the ones responsible for making the rings in the comics. Potentially have Fin Fang Foom as the villain, and then Hulk and maybe even Captain Marvel being allies in that movie? Or it could just as easily be a multiversal threat, setting up the multiple multiverse stories we are seeing. Who really knows? But it has me interested.
The second post credit scene showed Xialing taking over the Ten Rings and a title card confirms the Ten Rings will return. We don't know how they will - villain or ally, we'll have to see.
Shang-Chi is just filled with potential sequels with how cool and weird just the origins got. I cannot wait for Shang-Chi 2, even though it's probably a while away. Simu Liu has sold me and I cannot wait to see him as a part of crossovers interacting with everyone.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a film that everyone should see. It isn't the multiverse story that is vital to the MCU, but just like Black Panther, it opens up a whole new area of the MCU, that has so much more to give later. It's a genuinely fun action film, with tons of heart. Of course, it falters in some of the pacing and the really jarring change in trajection, but is still overall great and among the top 10 MCU movies, as of now.
Thanks for reading.
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