“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” Review (2021)
Written by Victor DeBonis
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” Review: “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is a powerful and unique thrill ride that serves as a fine example of what a great blockbuster is. When I first heard that director Destin Daniel Cretton was going to helm this movie, I felt greater excitement flow within me. I’ve seen his independent film, “Short Term 12” which I loved, and embraced the idea of seeing what a quiet but powerful voice, such as his, could bring to this project. The results consist of a wondrous mix of incredible action, strong action, and a compelling family drama that embraces the charm and intelligence that surrounds this story.
The main actors do great with the material that they’re presented with. Simu Liu excels as the titular hero. He flexes his fists and moves with the impressive speed and discipline of any great action hero worth his salt. Yet, Liu also demonstrates pure charisma and has the right expressions for the moments that call for him to show remorse or playfulness. Awkwafina is, once again, great as well as she plays Shang’s best friend, Katy, and her loyalty to Shang and how much she cared about him and was determined to follow him through whatever fight or crazy escapade he went through was endearing.
Both Liu and Awkwafina have terrific chemistry with each other, and their relationship is interesting in the sense that it doesn’t go a normal route of forcing a romance onto them or openly showing one of them loving the other in that sense. There are moments in which one can definitely see them possibly developing sparks, but they’re done in a manner that’s subtle enough to leave it to the audience to determine whether they’re vastly close friends or leaning towards something stronger. In general, the two are mostly presented as best friends, and it made me smile to see this type of relationship that isn’t pushed to be another “Will they or won’t they?” relationship. True, things might change in their dynamic in the sequel to this movie, but it’s refreshing to see this first film just let them show their trust and connection with each other in ways that show them at their dumbest when they’re with each other but also at their most supportive.
Tony Leung as Shang’s father, Xu Wenwu, creates a fascinating villain who doesn’t always give the vibe of a typical antagonist. He clearly loves his family, and he wants the best for them. Yet, Wenwu is also someone who was pushed too much following certain events. For as much firmness and discipline as he brings to his presence and fighting style, sometimes to a fatal extent, he leans forward with the anger and grief of someone who’s lost someone dear and closest to him. So, he comes across less as someone who’s flat-out evil and more as someone who’s simply lost and broken from who was taken from him but, also, his own role in that’s person’s tragic demise. Much of what he does, awful as it is, isn’t done out of malice but due to a disturbing, broken type of obligation.
The fight scenes practically speak for themselves. They’re simply amazing, easily among the best that I’ve seen in the MCU. While there are fights that use CG in them for obvious reasons, these hand-to-hand battles feel more raw and rooted from martial-arts to the core. It also helps that the colorful lighting for most of these scenes allows plenty of visual space for one to follow with what happens in these fights. The camera follows each battle long enough to see each kick or punch delivered with unflinching purpose, and the choreography of these moves is impressive to witness. I thought quite a bit of Jackie Chan’s old fighting scenes and how, in a similar fashion, so many of the ones here have that mix of great humor mixed with practical moves that make great use of their environments.
It’s never just one type of battle, either. Some fights are slower and have a precise feel to them that is reminiscent of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and others are more grounded and faster-moving in their environments. The angles are put to such creative use as well. In some scenes, the camera is practically sweeping the floor to the rhythm of the people battling each other, and I was grinning and nodding my head in sheer delight with how well everything was choreographed and directed.
It is a great-looking movie, too. The camera reveals mountains and buildings to such a massive scale, and, when we get to see certain creatures in this movie, it’s impressive to note how creative their designs are. The movie is also bursting with color, too, in ways that aren’t dark or overly bright, either. The director truly went to good lengths to make this movie look fantastic, and his efforts show.
There is plenty of humor as one might expect from this type of movie, and most of it works pretty well and resulted in some good laughs from me. However, there are some moments in which the timing could’ve been better. In particular, there’s a cameo that I won’t reveal here, but I was admittedly grimacing when this character was presented. The one thing that I will say is that this character caused quite a bit of controversy from a past MCU movie. Some may disagree with me here, but, while he did have a few funny moments in this film and is played by a vastly talented actor, he came across as unnecessary and sometimes annoying comic relief in my eyes. This cameo was the only addition to this film that didn’t work for me.
Honestly, one of the elements of this movie that made this movie truly unique and made it shine all the more was the mother character who was played by Fala Chen. She’s not in a numerous amount of scenes, yet she’s played with such grace and strong emotions that are usually not vocally stated aloud but done through the compassionate way that she looks at her children or the way that she smiles at her husband. The writing is great at illustrating the sheer impact that she left on her family, and her presence and connection with them, especially her son, Shang, is depicted with such power and motherly love that makes her a great heroine in her own right when her scenes come around. My favorite scene in the film involves her, and I was impressed with how I found myself sitting right up in my seat because of how invested I was with what was happening with her and her family of fierce, conflicted warriors.
To its core, the theme of family and how far one goes for it or cares about it is dealt with great sincerity and attention. Instead of simply bringing up the word, over and over, it focuses on what happens when someone from a family goes too far with their actions and what consequences are left upon them and those closest to them. The movie focuses on how important family is and how one must carry it forward with honor and goodness and the extent to which one can be left in pain in the aftermath of something unfortunate or tragic occurring. It’s never overstated, either, and it usually knows when to scale back to let more of the action take over.
There’s also a very mature idea of the hurt that one can feel from their own past. Sometimes, it comes from characters that one wouldn’t immediately expect, which was a surprising move in itself for a blockbuster from this cinematic universe. And, yet, it deals with it in a way that doesn’t backtrack on anything and leans further into the idea that, in order for one to truly grow, one must accept and learn from both the good and the bad of one’s own past and family. That’s actually a rather profound lesson to express in a blockbuster film. As much as many want to focus mostly on the positive from one’s life story, there is also some value to come from seeing what happened from the harder points in one’s history and what can lead them to go down the path or journey that they’re on. Again, these ideas aren’t taken to a higher level as they probably would in a film that was going for a more weightier drama from top to bottom, but they’re given just enough time and importance from such great characters and actors that they bring a real heart to this movie while never losing sight of the humor or action involved.
“Shang-Chi” is a terrific blockbuster with a real charm and heart to its core that keeps strong with its presence and never holds back. The action was superbly executed, the actors work wonderfully off of each other, and the direction is done with equal amounts of great sensitivity and intensity. (Seriously, between this and “Short Term 12” I can’t wait to see what this director does next.) Yet, I was especially impressed with how much I cared about the characters and their relationships with each other and what their bond for each other meant. It knows how to stick to its values and ideas with the right balance, and, while the humor doesn’t always click with certain moments and characters, the great scale that everything else is taken to in this movie makes the flaws with the movie only fade more into the background. This might possibly be one of my new favorite MCU movies, and I look forward to seeing similar imagination, passion, and furious drive in other blockbusters for the path ahead.
Grade: A