Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Rings
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton, Dave Callaham, Andrew Lanham, Steve Englehart (original comics author), Jim Starlin (original comics author)
Starring: Simu Liu (who called his own shot with Marvel and nailed it), Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, and Ben Kingsley (somehow)
Reason for watching: new MCU release that isn’t a TV show that’s halfway interesting (more on that later)
Number of times I’ve watched it: First time viewing
***
FINALLY!!!! Marvel gave us something I actually think is great. It’s been an off two years for our most coherent shared-comics-turned-movies universe. Between the pandemic, getting sued by Scarlett Johannson after screwing her over, and putting out some shows that are half-baked or are about being romantically interested in another version of yourself, the MCU has been off its rhythm for a while. But then they put out Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and restored my faith in the mouse house. AND Shang-Chi IS AN ORIGIN STORY!!! They haven’t made a good origin story since 2008!! Alright, I’ve spouted enough generic praise. Here’s the lead: the MCU got back on track.
The new Marvel entry follows Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), a man with a mysterious past who is suddenly contacted by his estranged father, the warlord Xu Wenwu (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung). We find out that Wenwu blames Shang-Chi for the death of his wife (Fala Chen), but is willing to forgive his son as he thinks he has been contacted by his dead spouse. Going home with his best friend Katy (Awkafina) and sister Xialing (Meng’er Xhang), Shang-Chi tries to discourage his father from this mission of resurrection and has his own version of why his mother died. After some conflict, Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing journey to his late mother’s home village, deep in a sacred jungle, where he is trained by his aunt (Michelle Yeoh) in the combat skills that he will need to defeat his father.
The immediate standout in this movie is how well-written the story is. The theme of destiny is an obvious one that can be pointed to, but the love of family is another one that captures the essence of this movie completely. The strong tension between Shang-Chi and Xu drives the final conflict. Xu’s disappointment in his son over the death of his wife drives him to not trust him and control Shang-Chi. But Shang-Chi resents his father for trying to control him in the past and drag him into the family business of killing and conquering. It is only at the end of the movie that they really gain an understanding of each other.
On top of this, we are treated to a number of excellent fight scenes. The Hong-Kong-influenced combat takes a big step over its peers in the MCU as it gives room to watch blows actually connect and have far more style than anything else in the franchise. The final battle may have more CGI than I would have liked, but it still gets the emotional resolution that we want. The comedic duo between Awkafina and Liu shines as well without stealing the show. The entire cast delivers as well. I can’t pinpoint a single performance that shines above the others, but I do think they work quite well together. My only critique is the amount of backstory that we are treated to. It’s not terrible by any means and all of the flashback stories are well done, but it bloats the run time and takes away from the main story we are dealing with.
Marvel needs movies like Shang Chi so bad right now. Before the pandemic, the MCU was on a winning streak that I think we take for granted. Just to refresh your memory here are the last eleven releases in the MCU pre-2020: Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far from Home. Are those the best 11 movies in the MCU? No. But it was such a rise in quality from the previous phases that it has to be recognized. We were spoiled with great superhero content. And with Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox and the previously licensed Marvel heroes like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, it looked like we were in store for even bigger and better things yet again. But phase four of the MCU took a steep step down with their last couple of entries. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed all of the Disney + shows that were released, but none of them really grabbed me like most of the phase three entries did. Black Widow was not something I enjoyed, and I found the fall out of the movie with Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney left an even worse taste in my mouth. Overall, it felt like Disney was trying to lean into their smaller, cult-beloved characters and trying new ideas with them that were not completely fleshed out.
But Shang-Chi delivers where the previous entries can’t because it has truly new characters for the audience (except Ben Kingsley). We have no agency to these characters previously. We have no expectations. And that clean slate gives the writers, directors, and actors the freedom to make something of high quality without worrying about upsetting too many fans. There will always be comic book historians who will critique certain aspects of a movie adaptation, but you cannot please everyone. Shang-Chi got marvel back into sixth gear and hopefully set themselves up for even more opportunities to explore their corner of the shared universe.
8/10
Updated rankings for the MCU:
Thor: Ragnarok
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Guardians of the Galaxy
Iron Man
Captain America: Civil War
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Avengers
Avengers: Endgame
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Iron Man 3
Loki
Captain America: The First Avenger
Doctor Strange
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Ant-Man
Wandavision
Captain Marvel
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Thor
Iron Man 2
Black Widow
Thor: The Dark World
The Incredible Hulk
Until I see another one