Ryan Shoots First: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Here we go again, just when we think Marvel has run out of ideas, or that maybe in the wake of Thanos they have lost the magic, they come out with an absolute banger. This review is probably going to sound like a lot of the others on the internet and they go like this.

I came in with tempered expectations.

I was blown away. 

We should know better than that by now, maybe it was the quiet of the pandemic and no MCU movies, maybe it was the main focus on the “Multiverse” angle going on through the TV shows and upcoming films. Whatever it felt like Shang-Chi was the forgotten MCU film. Like maybe it should have just been a Disney+ exclusive but not really a big tent pole release. Marvel had confidence in their product and it paid off. Shang-Chi feels a lot like Black Panther did not just in the much needed representation of it’s titular hero but in the new world of possibilities it opens up. Just like Wakanda opened so many doors, the mythical realm and powers introduced in this film will change the MCU going forward. Also like that movie you can feel the love and care that was put into this film by everyone involved. That they were not just filling a quota that Marvel needed filled or a box that needed to be checked. They did their homework and invested themselves into the product. Nowhere is this seen more than the star of the movie Simu Liu. The humbleness he has brought to the role both on screen and off makes it where you can’t help but root for him. He understands the weight on his shoulders not just to introduce a new character in a very established universe but to represent an entire community as their Marvel hero. He has been great in interviews but on screen he takes on the action and fight scenes with vigor and brings a sincerity to the character that bleeds through the screen. His relationship with his father played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai is the primary conflict of the movie and is as complex and difficult as you can imagine feuding with your overbearing father would be. 

In regards to the action, this is where many in the Bulletproof Action fanbase will feel right at home. As I mentioned in my Black Widow review, that felt like a typical action movie perfect for our site with a super hero sheen. This is a martial arts film perfect for our site with a super hero sheen draped over it. The filmmakers did everything they could to represent actual martial arts and not phone it in with a Hollywood version. There are some great featurettes online of the choreographers and stunt teams used to bring an authentic martial arts film feel to the movie. It also never hurts to throw in the Legend Michelle Yeoh in there to lend the film credibility. 

For the eagle eyed MCU fan you may remember the 10 rings from the first Iron Man and Iron Man 3 as well with it’s controversial portrayal of the Mandarin. I won’t spoil it for you but Marvel is well aware of that and it is addressed in this film in a satisfying way. 

Shang-Chi answers all the questions and while at first I saw it as being the odd man out in the MCU legacy it is a serious player that’s world and revelations will reverberate through the next phase of MCU storytelling, but if you are just curious what the biggest studio in the world would do with a big budget Kung Fu film well there is something here for you as well, I mean how often can you really go to the theatres and see a Kung Fu movie?