Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on September 17, 2021.

(M) ★★★½

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton.

Cast: Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, Ronny Chieng, Yuen Wah, Jodi Long.

The Marvel movies ranked - read it here.

Scorpion vs Subzero right?

Marvel goes martial arts. 

That's the review. 

You into that? Cool, you'll love the shit out of this. That doesn't float your boat? Walk away now. Go see Respect.

Obviously there's more to it than that, much like how Shang-Chi was created in 1972 to cash in on the growing popularity of Bruce Lee and shows like Kung Fu, but grew into being much more. This is ultimately a story of family, but not in the now-cliched Fast & Furious way. It's a bit more complicated than that (thankfully), but it does its source material and its cultural representation proud.

Simu Liu is Shaun, a San Francisco valet who spends his downtime getting drunk at karaoke bars with bestie/co-worker Katy (Awkwafina). One crazy bus fight later, and Shaun has to reveal his true identity - he is Shang Chi, the warrior son of an evil and immortal crimelord, and he's about to great drawn into a mystical battle for the ages.

For those that don't know, Shang Chi was created by Marvel to cash in on a trend in the '70s, but became a fully fledged and important character in the comic books, especially in the last 20 years. Now the "world's greatest martial artist" is on the big screen, and the film does a pretty good job of living up to that idea.

Unfortunately, the story of the first half of the film doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but it does allow for some cracking set-pieces. The bus fight (which would do Jackie Chan proud) , a gorgeous-looking wuxia battle in a mystical forest, and a punch-on dangling from high-rise scaffolding are awesome and far more impressive than the climactic special FX fest. 

However, while the fights get less impactful, the story goes up a notch. This is largely thanks to Leung as Wenwu, Shang Chi's father. Wenwu is far from a cut-and-dried baddie. He does horrible things but is also hugely sympathetic, almost to the point where his reputation for evil seems disproportionate. The family ties and troubles between Wenwu and his children Shang Chi and Xialing (Zhang) are nicely balanced, upping the stakes as the film turns up the CG.

The idea that this will do for Asian representation what Black Panther did for African representation is noble and welcome. It's also well handled, and visually it makes for a stunningly beautiful film. Marvel is continuing to find new ways to explore old territory, and if nothing else, this feels and looks fresh because of its Asian spin. 

As for its place in the MCU, there are some nice cameos, including a couple of very unexpected ones.  One of these guest spots even tries to right some wrongs of Marvel and the MCU's past, which is, again, noble and welcome. Aside from this cameo, the film largely stands alone.

After the likes of Endgame and Infinity War, everything still feels like a bit of a let down, but Shang Chi is great fun if you don't try to measure it against those impossible benchmarks. It's action is superb, it looks wonderful, and Simu Liu is a revelation. Sure it has some wonky dialogue, the plot early on doesn't hold up to scrutiny, and the latter fights can't match the early ones, but the film is highly enjoyable, and Shang Chi is a very welcome addition to Marvel's mega-franchise.