Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the newest Marvel Studios (the 25th film to be precise) and stars Simu Liu as Shang Chi who lives in America as Shaun and works with Katy (Awkafina) as a valet but one day while taking the Bus to work some black clad guys pick a fight and Shang Chi’s martial arts prowess awakens and it sparks a heated reunion with his father (Tony Leunig) who not only heads to ancient clan The Ten Rings but also seeks the power to revive his dead wife.
Shang Chi was a movie that I was looking forward to as it was promising some big scale martial arts action in the MCU and when Marvel Studios did their big dog and pony show in 2019 outlining the next group of films and Disney Plus TV Shows to come this film was the one that stood out to me the most because of that promise of martial arts action as I’m a massive Dragon Ball fan but could this movie deliver on that or would it be like many films in the MCU that were fun but nothing special.
Well it’s case of Have Some of Column A and Try Some of Column B as this film was a bit of a mixed bag for me on the whole, don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the film and I had fun watching it on the big screen but I don’t think it ranks with the very best of the MCU franchise.
One huge positive and my favorite part of the film was Simu Liu himself as Shang Chi, every time he was on screen I really enjoyed watching him as this character, he infuses Shang Chi with an inherent nobility and desire to do good with his life and his newfound power and skill and given the state of the MCU right now losing so many of its heroes the franchise desperately needed a new breakout character to help anchor it going forward and I hope we get to see more of Shang Chi in future films.
Also the films Martial Arts action sequences for the most part are a lot of fun, there’s a really good one in an underground fight club that is glimpsed in the previews for the film not to mention the fight on the Bus plus a fight on the side of a building under construction and director Destin Daniel Cretton and the Marvel team surrounding him have done a good job with these scenes for the most part.
But those fight scenes sadly and here is where I will start to go into my negatives about the film have at times way too fast camera movements and quick editing, it isn’t anywhere near as bad as in Snake Eyes the GI Joe film but having recently rewatched the Matrix movies and the first film in particular having fantastic Martial Arts fight scenes that the Wachowski’s knew how to frame with their camera work and then edit in a way that let you enjoy those moments and witness how brutal they could be (see the fight between Smith and Morpheus in the first Matrix film) these ones while well done fall short in comparison.
And also I am really REALLY sick to death of Marvel Studios flooding their films with needless comedy and humour beats it is REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING ME (sorry to lose my temper) I mean at a couple of points in this movie you get a cool action moment or a great dramatic moment and it gets interrupted by a poor attempt at a joke that I not only didn’t think was very funny but ruined the flow of the scene and the drama and stakes of those moments.
And lastly I have to talk about Tony Leunig as the leader of the Ten Rings, he is good in the film but I wish he had been much more like the iconic Mandarin villain from the Marvel Comics updated for today’s more diverse audience rather than the grieving father, the MCU has really struggled to craft great compelling villains for their films and its why I’ve marked them down more than most have but these films need them I mean where would the Matrix be without Agent Smith, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as it was or the last 2 Avengers films not delivering on their promise to make Thanos a compelling villain.
And so that was Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and its one of the better MCU films but I don’t think it ranks with the best of that franchise, 3 out of 5.
