Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Starring Simu Liu, Awkafina, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Growing up my friends and I would love watching martial arts movies, especially the ones that originated from China and Japan, rather than the Americanized versions. There was always something so elegant and graceful about martial arts fighting that transcends traditional hand-to-hand combat we see in America - it's almost like a dance, a pas de deux between two people who are enthralled in a fight to the death, but their movements are almost like poetry in motion. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been expanding for over ten years now, and they've finally gotten around to revealing their Asian action hero - Shang-Chi - and it's far overdue. What some Disney executives call an "interesting experiment" is in fact one of the MCU's most heartfelt films to date, a movie that blends action, comedy, family heritage, and complex personal struggles as delicately and beautifully as their finely-tuned choreographed action sequences.

Over a thousand years ago, Wenwu (Tony Leung) came into contact with the Ten Rings - rings of mystical power that grant their owner long life as well as enhanced strength and gives the ability to emit concussive energy blasts as well as other fantastical things to aid in their quest. Wenwu chooses to use the rings to gain power, and throughout the centuries he toppled kingdoms and formed the Ten Rings - a gang of ruthless assassins bent on world domination. All this changes when he infiltrates a mysterious land called Ta Lo, and he meets Ying Li (Fala Chen), who goes toe-to-toe with him in battle. Eventually the two fall in love, Wenwu gives up the rings, and they have two young children and live happily ever after - until Ying Li dies, and Wenwu - bound by grief - takes back the rings and continues his conquest, this time training his young son Shang-Chi to be a fighter like himself.

Not being able to cope with being an assassin, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) flees his father and heads to America, where he befriends Katy (Awkwafina), and hides his heritage, changing his name to Shaun, and works as a valet with Katy. All is well until assassins sent by Wenwu come after Shang-Chi, and he reveals everything to Katy before heading to Macau to find his estranged sister Xu Xialing (Meng'er Zhang) and warn her that their father is after them. They discover that Wenwu is hearing the voice of his dead wife, who claims she's being held captive in Ta Lo and needs rescued, but is it really her voice, or the voice of something deadly that could bring about the end of the world?

"Shang-Chi" is something unique within the MCU in that you can sense the Marvel brand, but also there's a deeper, more personal feel to this film as opposed to pretty much any other MCU film. It's not just an action spectacle filled with CGI and intense fighting (although the film does have that), but there's a profound sense of culture and heritage that's been lacking in other MCU endeavors. It's not about stopping a truly evil person from destroying the world, but it's more about accepting yourself and your heritage - the good and the bad - to become a fully developed person. It's hauntingly beautiful and one that will remain in your mind long after it ends.

The heart and soul of the film comes from relative newcomer Simu Liu, who fully embodies Shang-Chi and gives us the next great Asian action hero. He is a man overcome with guilt from the past, and hatred for his father who wanted to make him a heartless assassin - but also because of his father, he learned how to fight, defend himself, and use that knowledge to protect and defend others. You can sense the deep struggle within Shang-Chi as he tries to be a better person than his father, all the while haunted by his shadow and the memories that've shrouded his thoughts. Yet he also remains astute and jovial, and his strictly platonic friendship with Katy is something that's marvelous to see - these two are equals, if not equal in talent but equal in heart. While one is a superhero, the other is more than just a sidekick, but rather the emotional center.

Awkwafina plays Katy to perfection, an Americanized woman who doesn't really have a sense of passion to do anything more than drive fancy cars, hang out with her BFF, and sing karaoke. Yet when push comes to shove, she more than rises to the occasion, joining Shang-Chi and his sister in their quest to stop their wayward father from inadvertently destroying everything they hold dear. Awkwafina is the most grounded of the characters, offering the comedic center while also showcasing a heart of a warrior, as she stands and fights alongside her friends despite her lack of training.

Tony Leung plays Wenwu, and in other actors' hands he could've just been your traditional MCU villain that'll be forgotten like...that one guy...and those other guys...and that one other guy. However, in Leung's more than capable hands (he's been acting since the 1980s, and is hailed as one of Asia's most talented actors), he transforms Wenwu into a fully flushed out individual instead of a cold-hearted warlord, which he also is. He has toppled kingdoms for centuries, but gives it all up for love - and when that love is taken away, you sense the deep, profound struggle he faces internally because he knows if he wouldn't have let his guard down, the love of his life would still be alive. He is re-fuled by hatred and revenge, and turns back into a ruthless warlord before again coming into conflict with his children and hearing his dead wife's voice, thinking what he's doing is for her own good and to bring her back to her family. It's a deeply complex performance and Leung does it to perfection.

"Shang-Chi" is an interesting duality within the MCU, where you feel like it's wholly a typical Marvel movie, but you also feel like it's something more than just that. It's got the great action set pieces that Marvel is best known for (most notably the train fight and battle in Macau), along with the extensive use of CGI and a final epic battle that we've come to know and love about this particular cinematic universe. It also has the traditional MCU lightness blending the life-altering events with humor that keeps the audience entertained. It also manages to keep the convoluted MCU timeline somewhat intact (although there's moments where you don't know if this takes place before or after "Endgame"), and while it's a stand-alone origin story, it is also able to blend into the entirety of the MCU and show that there'll be more grand adventures for Shang-Chi and his comrades.

Yet "Shang-Chi" also deviates from the generic MCU mold by fully embracing its Asian heritage, abandoning full-out gunfights in favor of close combat martial arts that acts almost as a dance, a passionate pirouette that's utterly beautiful to witness. The grace and sophistication of these action moments are relatively new within the MCU, who mostly relies on gritty hand-to-hand combat or epic gunfights, and again it's hard to not state that it feels like a dance between the fighters. Then there's the close association with the Asian heritage that director (and co-writer) Destin Daniel Cretton pays homage to. The issue of family is deeply woven into the tapestry, as Wenwu, Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing try to connect even though they're on opposite ends of the fight, and even Wenwu scolds Shang-Chi for changing his name and abandoning his family dynasty. This continues as Shang-Chi trains with his Aunt Nan, who points out that Shang-Chi is the culmination of his family - both his mother, as well as his father - and he won't be fully capable to achieve his full potential without embracing both. There's also settings and characters in "Shang-Chi" that we've never seen before within the MCU: from moving labyrinth style woods to dragons and ethereal creatures, it's a visual wonder as well as a thought-provoking look at what makes us who we are, for the good or the bad. To this end - as well as the action - "Shang-Chi" becomes a top-tier Marvel movie that shouldn't have taken this long to come to fruition.

By embracing the cultural heritage of its main character and the issues of family and redemption underlying everything, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" serves as more than just a typical Marvel movie, but becomes something so much more.

The Score: A+