Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Review
Warning: the following review contains minor spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While my reviews are typically spoiler-free (only revealing as much as trailers do), this proved difficult to do for this review since the trailers for the film barely revealed any plot details (which is good!).
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the 25th film from Marvel Studios, but their first starring an Asian lead and majority-Asian cast. It’s a shame it’s taken this long for any Asian character to headline their own film, but, alas, here we are. Being the first anything comes with incredibly high expectations, oftentimes impossibly high, and especially so in the highest grossing film franchise of all time (by a margin of $13 billion). So how does Shang-Chi compare? In short, it’s one of the most uniquely entertaining installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it still suffers from some of the pitfalls that plague most MCU films.
The film starts with dialogue spoken in Mandarin, immediately informing viewers this is not your standard American superhero flick. This opening narration speaks of the legendary Ten Rings, magical objects (weapons?) thousands of years old, whose possession is in the hands of Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung), who uses the rings to conquer kingdoms, topple governments, and alter the course of history across centuries (the rings grant Wenwu immortality); he names his world-dominating army the Ten Rings. Eventually, Wenwu has a son, Shang-Chi, and raises him to become an elite assassin. Fast forward to the present day, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is now in his 20s, living in San Francisco, and going by the name “Shaun,” having left his past behind and started a new life in the States. He spends his days working as a valet driver at a fancy hotel alongside his best friend Katy (Awkwafina), and they spend their nights singing karaoke till the sun rises. It’s not long before “Shaun’s” past catches up to him, and he’s forced to go back to where it all started—and confront his warlord father.
Simu Liu stars as Xu Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi largely avoids the standard MCU plot of the main character learning to become a superhero, as the titular character’s journey is learning to be himself and accept his legacy, both the good and the bad. But what makes the film truly stand out in this long-running franchise is its fresh action sequences, led by the late great Brad Allen, the supervising stunt coordinator for the film. In fact, “fight sequences” might be a better descriptor for most of the action here, as the film relies less on CGI and explosions and more so on martial arts. These scenes are clearly-staged and well-choreographed. It’s remarkable that no one fight sequence resembles another in this film! From the opening wuxia-inspired fight in a mystical forest (in all of its elegant beauty), to the battle on a moving bus in San Francisco (it’s so much better than what the trailers made it out to be), and the sequence atop high-rise scaffoldings in Macau, they’re all so memorable, which is more than you can say about most MCU action scenes; I seriously can’t get over how sultry the opening fight sequence was; Marvel has never been sexier!
These fight sequences are supported by William Pope’s cinematography, whose memorable work can be seen in iconic films like The Matrix, Spider-Man 2, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Pope’s camerawork and shots feel much more dynamic in Shang-Chi compared to the usual MCU fare, and it goes well with the kinetic energy from the variety of martial arts on display. The film’s score by Joel P. West (Short Term 12 & Just Mercy) complements Pope’s scenes, with ethereal sounds during quieter moments and pulsating drums in the action (standout tracks include “Xu Shang-Chi” and “Don’t Look Down”). Again, MCU films are not particularly known for having memorable scores (with few exceptions like Black Panther or Thor: Ragnarok). The level of craft here is top-notch!
Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) and Ying Li (Fala Chen)
Shang-Chi’s secret weapon, however, is actually the villain Wenwu, portrayed by the overqualified Tony Leung. An international superstar and one of Hong Kong’s biggest actors, Leung is best known for his work with legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai on films like Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, and other notable films like Hero and Internal Affairs. Leung makes his Hollywood debut in Shang-Chi, and boy does he make an impact! From the opening scenes and to his final shot, Leung is unforgettable through his facial expressions alone; it’s amazing how much he can convey simply through his face without saying a word. He’s threatening (and badass) sitting on a throne in the opening of the film, sensual in the midst of hand-on-hand combat with his future wife, and grief-stricken in the action-packed third act battle. I nearly got choked-up when his character makes an emotional, yet understated plea to his son “I have to save her!” Leung turns what could’ve been a one-dimensional villain (another MCU mainstay) into a sympathetic and tragic figure. He’s the real star of this film.
The rest of the cast is good too! While Simu Liu is still relatively new (his biggest role prior to this was the hit Korean Canadian television series Kim’s Convenience) and leaves much to be desired from an acting standpoint, he makes up for this through partaking in the film’s many stunts himself, which is no easy feat. Awkwafina (Raya and the Last Dragon) provides the expected comic relief as Katy, a character surprisingly less obnoxious than we’re used to when it comes to the star, and she has good chemistry with Liu. And Meng’er Zhang makes a memorable film debut as Xu Xialing, Shang-Chi’s estranged sister, a badass and empowering figure who can stand her own against her star brother.
Meng’er Zhang as Xu Xialing
Much of Shang-Chi’s success is rooted in the direction and story from the film’s two Asian American writers, Destin Daniel Cretton and Dave Callaham (Cretton’s frequent collaborator Andrew Lanham also co-writes). Cretton, also the film’s director, is mostly known for his critically-acclaimed indie film Short Term 12 (which was Captain Marvel star Brie Larson’s first lead role) and, more recently, the legal drama Just Mercy (which also features Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan). It’s easy to dismiss Shang-Chi as lacking any recognizable voice like, say, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films or Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, and that’s partly true, but Cretton’s intimate work in the aforementioned films can be seen in Shang-Chi, mostly in the quieter moments. There are two scenes in particular, both featuring conversations between Shang-Chi and Katy where, in any other film, these extra beats would’ve been cut short, but they last just a few moments longer than expected. It’s not flashy, but these small moments matter by allowing the characters to pause and reflect on the weight of what’s being discussed.
Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984) shows cultural care in the film’s screenplay, using his own experiences as a Chinese American to influence a predominantly Chinese film. While the story itself is not particularly groundbreaking or ambitious, the culturally-specific moments are where his work shines. From the characters taking off their shoes before entering a home, a family member asking “when are you getting married,” a joke about ABC (American-born Chinese) without explaining it to non-Chinese audiences, and even differences in metric systems (“What is that in feet?!”). These cultural touches are subtle. The humor in the film doesn’t feel as snarky as most other MCU films and, thankfully, they’re also not cheap and stereotypical Asian jokes.
Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu
Cretton and Callaham’s hiring to sheppard this film shows Marvel Studios actually put in effort to make this a culturally-sensitive film. While not Chinese himself, Cretton (who’s of Japanese descent) made sure to honor classic Chinese action films that came before it, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or anything from Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan’s large bodies of work. Having an Asian American director likely played a role in the cast’s ethnically-accurate cast (all of the Asian characters with speaking roles are Chinese and their respective actors are Chinese). You’d be surprised at how rare it is for Hollywood to not make this mistake; Disney released a film earlier this year centered around Southeast Asian characters and… casted mostly East Asian actors, and Crazy Rich Asians casted so many non-Chinese actors to portray Chinese characters! And when Meng’er Zhang asked to change her character’s stereotypical hairstyle after reading a Teen Vogue essay on the issue, despite already having filmed several scenes, Cretton didn’t hesitate to support this change.
Despite so many things worth raving about, I do have a few gripes with Shang-Chi that are too large to ignore. There are some line readings that were shockingly bad. When Katy says “I have to help my friends,” it’s spoken so poorly I’m surprised it wasn’t re-shot. Michelle Yeoh, whose character shows up late in the film, is an incredible actress (she should’ve gotten an Oscar nomination for her phenomenal performance in Crazy Rich Asians, damnit!), but her lines are rough. Perhaps it’s due to her character’s role as the exposition dump, but her lines like (and this isn’t verbatim, since I didn’t have a notepad to write this down while watching) “You are being tricked by a creature that wants to destroy us all” was painfully awful.
I mentioned earlier that William Pope’s cinematography is excellent, so it’s frankly criminal how Marvel continues to lower the quality of his work by utilizing the same ugly, flat color grading. While the MCU is the most successful film franchise in history thanks to their in-house creative team standardizing what it takes to pump out consistently good films, the downside to this approach is the ugliness consistent in almost every single one of their films. Love’em or hate’em, DC Films’s superhero features look stunning compared to the drab, standardized MCU look.
Xu Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), Xu Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), and Katy (Awkwafina)
As the film started approaching its third act, and more hidden plot elements were revealed, I knew where it was going and started internally sighing. Without spoiling anything, the film just went in a direction I didn’t want it to go in. And this decision leads to the inevitable CGI bonanza that is the standard Marvel third-act battle sequence. After spending two-thirds of the film showcasing hard-hitting, well-choreographed fight scenes, it was disappointing to see it end with an incredibly-busy CGI battle. Is it still entertaining? Yes, but in a more shallow way. As a result, the emotional payoff, especially for Wenwu, just isn’t there.
Though I praised the writers for including elements of cultural specificity, Shang-Chi’s biggest sin is its extremely underdeveloped writing in other areas, specifically in its characterization and themes. The film tackles many ideas like filial piety, assimilation, grief, identity, finding your passions, and honoring those who came before you, but they’re presented in a very surface-level way; there’s no depth to them. It’s thanks to Leung’s powerful performance that he’s able to elevate his character to what it is. However, the character of Shang-Chi—you know, the actual protagonist here—is a blank canvas. Liu suffers from the same lack-of-a-personality issue that Brie Larson had with her character in Captain Marvel, but their respective reasons differ. In Captain Marvel’s case, it made sense for the story (even if it did make the film suffer) because Larson’s character loses her memory and doesn’t remember anything for the majority of the film. In Shang-Chi’s case, he’s just a thinly-drawn character portrayed by a serviceable actor. We’re told Shang-Chi is struggling with an identity crisis and is on a journey of self-discovery to accepting who he is, but we never really see or feel this actually happening. The film could’ve spent its first act developing these ideas properly. Instead, from the very beginning, the plot sprints forward with little effort spent on rounding out its characters.
Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan and Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi
Lastly, Shang-Chi is a film that doesn’t tell a complete story. While, thankfully, it’s a mostly standalone feature (i.e. it barely ties into any other MCU story), the ending leaves more to be desired (no, I’m not talking about the post-credit scenes). It feels as if the filmmakers didn’t know how to properly end the film, so they took the easy way out by connecting it to the greater MCU and ending on a cheap cliffhanger. The best MCU standalone films (heck, the best films in general), like Black Panther or Guardians of the Galaxy, tell complete stories with full character arcs and developed themes.
At this point, 13 years in, it’s tough for Marvel to put out a bad film. Even their worst films are at least mildly entertaining. So how does Shang-Chi compare to the MCU films that came before it? While it isn’t among the best Marvel has made, in terms of first solo features, it’s certainly one of the stronger ones. Black Panther remains the crown jewel of solo outings, but Shang-Chi is up there alongside films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Where Shang-Chi excels—its fight sequences, cinematography, score, the Tony Leung of it all—it soars. It had potential to be one of the best superhero films. But where it falls short—the writing and underdeveloped themes—takes too heavy of a toll, keeping the film from being a total knockout.
