Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Movie Review: While watching Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings I had a constant thought in mind that, “I have never seen Marvel do anything like this.” From the first fight scene to the final shot, it felt completely different in tone than what we expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was like the combination of the best parts of a Chinese Wuxia movie with the elements of a comic book. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Review: Simu Liu, Destin Daniel’s Marvel Film Tagged as a ‘Spirited Fare’ by Critics.

Following our titular hero here, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), we see him living a life of peace in San Francisco when he is attacked by The Ten Rings organisation and forced to face his past. What leads on from there is probably one of the best solo films Marvel has had in a very long time. Director Destin Daniel Cretton helms this great origin story that doesn’t linger much on showcasing the beginnings of a character, but it straight gets to the meat of it while giving some of the backstory in brief flashbacks.

Watch the Trailer:

The story of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a nice showcase of how even though one loses their way in life, they can find some comfort in love. It also feels like it has its own identity and isn’t bound by other stories in the Marvel universe. Shang-Chi: Post-Credit Scenes Details of Simu Liu's Marvel Film Leaked on Reddit? (Possible SPOILERS).

Featuring a diverse cast, Shang-Chi bolsters amazing and distinct characters that bring their own feel to the film. The most impressive of this though is the dynamic between Shang-Chi and Wenwu (Tony Leung). The estranged relationship of a father and son never teeters into the realm of being cliché. It has the right amount of grit to it where it has a massive impact on the plot and helps it drive forward.

The father and son plot also wouldn’t have been as convincing if it weren’t for the actors. Watching Simu Liu just made me fall in love with his portrayal of the character. We all know the humble beginnings of him campaigning for the role on Twitter, and here he showcases extreme passion for getting this character right. I won’t be surprised if Shang-Chi ends up being many fans' favorite Marvel character after watching the film. Although the star of the show here is Tony Leung as Wenwu/The Mandarin. With the first go of the character receiving significant backlash after his fake out in Iron Man 3, Marvel have finally redeemed themselves here. Wenwu is another great addition to the list of sympathetic villains put out by Marvel. Tony Leung plays the hell out of this character where he can go from being a normal man trying to better his life, to being someone extremely scary. There are some bold characteristics liberties taken here too, and they work out for the better.

Talking about liberties, The Ten Rings receive a makeover here. Instead of being actual rings, they are bracelets now that have immense power. This was a smart decision by Marvel because if they were rings then they would have been way too similar to the Infinity Stones. The Ten Rings also provide a nice visual flair to the fight scenes. Seeing Shang-Chi hop on them to set up a flying kick or Wenwu using it as a whip were highlights of their respective fight scenes.

The fight scenes here were also some of the best we have had since Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The hand to hand fight scenes easily are able to replicate the feel of Wuxia films and they provide a sense of rush since most of it seems like to be done practically. The highlights being the bus and the tower sequence that we saw in the trailers. Some of the action might take place in tight spaces and still the camera angles are so elegantly placed that it makes them easy to follow. While you have your grand Marvel movie moments too, they never detract from what makes the action of the movie so special.

The cinematography here is also well done where the world will feel magical and colourful and doesn’t feel drab. Over the last few years Marvel has been stepping up their cinematography, and this is one of the finest examples to prove it. Even the original songs were amazing and provided a great sense of rush in the scenes.

While the characters were quite distinct and amazing, I couldn’t help but not feel much for Awkwafina’s Katy. Katy just felt like a standard comic relief who necessarily didn’t have that much place in the story for me. She just felt like a catalyst for other important characters to give an exposition dump. At one point it really felt like the movie didn’t know what to do with her. The pacing can also hit a full stop in the middle of the film, but it’s there to give much more depth to the plot, so it didn’t really affect me that much. But I couldn’t help but wait for the action to start again.

Yay!

-Has a fresh feel for the MCU

-Amazing story

-Great diverse characters

-Simu Liu and Tony Leung’s performances

-Great action

-Amazing cinematography and soundtrack

Nay!

-Awkwafina's character

-Mid film pacing issues

Final Thoughts

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings does the same that Black Panther did for Marvel back in 2018. It’s a great solo film that doesn’t feel bound by the broader Marvel universe and is very much focused on telling its own story. It’s a spectacle that should definitely be watched in cinemas and I assure you that Shang-Chi will be your new favorite superhero by the end of it.

Rating:4.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2021 03:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).