I haven’t done more than a quick-take on a single movie in quite some time, but I wanted to geek out a bit on the newest Marvel hit. I’m an admitted Marvel Universe nerd. I’ve seen every film multiple times, seen every show multiple times (even The Inhumans, and we all know about that train wreck), and look forward to every release with unmitigated excitement. The last couple films (Black Widow and Spider-Man Far From Home) were just all right in my book. While the newest shows (WandaVision, Loki, etc.) have been great, I’ve been waiting for a film to really rock my socks like Black Panther or Thor Ragnarok did. And Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings did.
Most of the action of this film takes place not long after Endgame. The blip is over and the world’s population is burgeoning. Shaun works as a valet with his longtime best friend Katy. They seem to be average 20-somethings who care more about having a good time than planning for their futures. However, Shaun is attacked on a bus by a gang of thugs, and fights them off with impressive martial arts skills, which surprises the hell out of Katy. Afterwards, he has to admit to her that his real name is Shang-Chi, and the attackers were sent by his estranged father. Shang-Chi is now worried for his sister, who last lived in Macau, fearing that she will be their father’s next target. Despite all this news about her so-called BFF, Katy refuses to let Shang-Chi go alone, and tags along. In Macau they do find the missing sister, Xialing, but so does their father, Wenwu.
Wenwu has long had the power of the ten rings, a mystical set of artifacts that have prolonged his life for over a thousand years. Their power has let him topple kingdoms and build insurmountable wealth, but he gave it all up 20+ years ago when he met a woman and fell in love. That woman, Ying Li, became Shang-Chi and Xialing’s mother. When she died (when Shang-Chi was 7 and Xialing only about 4), Wenwu again took up the ten rings and began training Shang-Chi to be the best fighter/assassin the world has ever seen, in order to exact revenge upon Ying Li’s murderer. Running from this training is why Shang-Chi had been living in America for the past decade. Now, Wenwu and his assassins want to attack Ying Li’s homeland of Ta Lo, in a misguided attempt to bring her back. Shang-Chi, Xialing, Katy, and the people of Ta Lo must beat him back before he unleashes an even greater threat to the world.
For starters, the martial arts in this film is impressive. Even aided by computers and special effects, it looks fantastic, and is probably some of the best you’ll find on screen these days. To top off the action, the comedy, provided often by the talented Awkwafina as Katy, adds levity to the film in the perfect spots, preventing it from becoming too dark. Jumping in for a lot of laughs also is Ben Kingsley, returning as Trevor the actor from Iron Man 3, the “fake” Mandarin who is being held prisoner by Wenwu, for impersonating him. And the story is soaring. I was gripping my seat in the theater and even holding my breath during the climactic fight at the end. Great from beginning to end, and makes the whole series feel fresh again. ★★★★★
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