Allan Watched "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"
An achievement of the highest level in action and storytelling, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is not just one of the best films of the year, it is one of the greatest superhero films of all time.
Gut Feeling
There is no overselling Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It is an instant classic, a top Marvel Cinematic Universe creation, and among the great comic book inspired films of all time, ranking right up there with the Dark Knight trilogy, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and The Black Panther.
A Proper Origin Story
Shang-Chi is a lot of things, but at its heart it is something Marvel and other film franchises have at times struggled with: it is a great origin story. For one, it wastes no time in getting into the action of the story. Many origin stories trickle along with dense backstory and lingering sad tales. Shang Chi instead lets us meet our hero Shang-Chi, played masterfully by Simu Liu in a performance that will ascend him to superstardom, and his partner in crime Katy (Awkwafina), who are simple valet attendants for about 5 minutes before we are swept away into raging, never ending action.
Liu and Awkwafina’s synergy and charisma are apparent immediately, and we root for them from square one. The brilliance of Shang-Chi is allowed to shine because story writers Dave Callaham and Destin Daniel Cretton, who also directs the picture, gives us a taste of their friendship, kickstarts the action without us having to wait a moment too long, and then proceeds to tell Shang-Chi’s story through effective interwoven flashbacks. It lets us learn all of the background we need about him and his family, while letting the story unfold with pace.
The Best Action the MCU Has Ever Seen
Along with the proper story telling and world building, Shang-Chi delivers on the best action and combat the MCU has ever produced. Cretton has spoke in detail how Jackie Chan’s career heavily influenced this film, from the fluidity and energy of the combat sequences to the very jacket Shang-Chi wears in his first fight scene, and Chan’s influence along with the world-class cinematography of Bill Pope (who will also capture the next Ant Man film) leaves us with stunning visual after stunning visual.
Liu, in just his third feature film credit, nails the emotional aspects of each fight scene, along with the terrific physical achievements, and Meng’er Zhang is raw and fantastic as Shang-Chi’s sister Xu Xialing. It also doesn’t hurt to have two legends take on important supporting roles: Michelle Yeoh drives the film to it’s conclusion as Ying Nan, a protector of Ta Lo, and Tony Leung, one of the world’s greatest performers of all time, elevates the “evil father figure” persona past a trope, and instead makes Xu Wenwu a complex and exciting character.
An Instant Classic
Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings is truly one of the great action films of the last decade, and has set a new standard for what we should want from a superhero movie. The two-plus hours fly by and makes you wish there was just one more fight scene, and there are plenty of laughs and heartened moments to make Shang-Chi a well-rounded masterpiece, and one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.
Random Thoughts
A moment on Awkwafina. There is concern when a well known comedic figure with a specific style takes one the role of a second banana in a big picture where we are meeting mostly new faces, but she absolutely crushes it in Shang-Chi. She unsurprisingly is responsible for some of the biggest laughs, but her presence makes scenes better without over shadowing Liu or Zhang.
With that said, I will sign up right now for a solo Katy Marvel Film.
There are a lot of great Easter Eggs in this one, and I can’t wait to watch it again to pick up on the ones I missed.
I won’t spoil it (even though they aren’t really secrets), but the appearances of some familiar faces do not disappoint.
I want to spend more time in Ta Lo. It seems like 99% of the creatures there are absolute delights.
This film is another friendly reminder that diversifying the films large companies make produces both better and financially successful movies.
Ronny Chieng is always a delight, and that continues in Shang-Chi.
It maybe isn’t fair to compare because Black Widow should have been made a decade ago, but Shang-Chi really blows it out of the water.
God bless the Simu Liu stock photos.
Quick Hits:
How many times have I seen this movie?
Just once so far, but I plan on seeing it many more times.
Where was I watching it?
AMC in the comfy chairs, loaded with diet root beer and buttery popcorn, along with Kellye, who finally bought her own popcorn instead of eating mine..
Favorite trivia about the movie
Meng’er Zhang met her now husband on the set (he is an action designer) and the cast and crew had a surprise wedding reception for them at Disney World!
Favorite part
There are a ton of great parts, but that bus scene may be a top five Marvel action sequence.
Least favorite part
In one of the most important moments there is some distractingly not-great CGI.
Would I recommend this movie?
1000000000%. Even if you aren’t well-versed in Marvel films, it won’t hold you back from enjoying it. Not being up to date on the MCU may make you miss a few “Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the TV moments,” but you can absolutely still enjoy the film. And if you are Marvel fan, I don’t know what more you can ask for.
So What Does Allan Give It?
Two Gold Thumbs Up! Overall, a score of 95. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an instant classic you will want to see again and again.
