Marvel tries a new style with Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
In life, the past will always creep back up whether you like it or not, and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is an example of that. Shaun A.K.A Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) lives the simple life working as a valet with his friend Katy (Awkwafina); however, he is forced to reveal his past to her and attempt to stop his father Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), who leads the thousand year old Ten Rings organization and stole Shang-Chi’s pendant for unknown reasons. Shang-Chi is forced to take his friend on an adventure around Asia that will get them into trouble with not only The Ten Rings, but also mythical beings.
One important thing about Marvel movies is if they are full of intense action scenes that will keep the audience glued to the screen, and Shang-Chi delivers in that aspect with intense fight scenes that use martial arts as their basis to make the battles grounded yet just as enjoyable, if not more, than the usual gargantuan CGI fight scenes that are standard in Marvel movies like Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, the action starts to lower in quality when the movie switches from the martial art scenes, which was one of the main attractions of the movie, and instead follows the same formula of other Marvel movies with the final CGI fight scene in the later half of the movie.
The main characters of the movie are full of life, having their own goals and conflicts that shape their personalities and actions throughout the story. Xu Wenwu, the main antagonist of the story, is a great example of this. When Xu used the Ten Rings, a weapon that gave him eternal youth and superpowers, he conquered many lands for thousands of years until he met Ying Li (Fala Chen) searching for Ta Lo, a land said to have mythical beings. He eventually fell in love with Ying and dedicated his life to being a family man instead of the leader of The Ten Rings. When Ying dies, Xu is struck with grief and resumes operations of his organization to get revenge for Ying’s death and to bring her back to life by any means necessary. Tony Leung’s acting makes Xu an amazing character as he makes the audience feel sorry for him despite being a villain as his grief is manipulated by an entity long sealed away.
The main actor Simu Liu makes Shang-Chi as a character enjoyable to watch thanks to his incredible stunt work in fight scenes, charismatic attitude, and acting skills when the movie delves into Shang Chi’s past with his father and his sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) who is one of the weaker characters of the movie as she barely gets any screen time spent on her. She doesn’t develop as a character and unfortunately stays the same towards the end of the movie.
Shang-Chi overall delivers if you want a movie with some great action despite the final fight scene being more CGI focused instead of martial arts. The story can be on the weaker side sometimes as some things are not explained. For example, the film does not explain how Xu obtained The Ten Rings, which might be a result of Marvel trying to sequel bait. Shang-Chi still is a great movie that will bring you some enjoyment for its 2-hour screen time.
Local theaters showing the movie include:
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.
Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.
Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.
