Being the first of anything comes with a lot of pressure and responsibility. Black Panther was the first film in the MCU to celebrate Black and African culture. Captain Marvel became the first women-led film in the franchise. Now, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings marks the MCU’s first Asian-led superhero film. Of course, there have been characters of Asian descent in the MCU before, including Wong (Benedict Wong) from Doctor Strange, Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) from Thor, and Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) from Ant-Man And The Wasp and WandaVision. But they’ve always been the main heroes’ sidekick, flunkey, or comic relief. Shang-Chi features not only the first Asian protagonist but also a predominantly Asian cast. Happily, Asians can collectively breathe a sigh of relief—because the movie is good. Actually, it’s really good.
After running away from his father, formidable crime lord Wenwu (Tony Leung), Shang-Chi, (Simu Liu) starts over in San Francisco, where he meets his best friend, Katy (Awkwafina). Living the loafer lifestyle, Shang-Chi’s daily rituals include breakfast with Katy’s family, working a valet shift, and drinking and karaoking the night away. Basically, living the good life. However, after ten years, Shang-Chi’s past finally catches up with him. Driven by vengeance fuelled by heart-breaking loss, Wenwu forcefully reunites with his son and daughter Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) in hopes of recruiting them — along with Katy— into his terrorist organisation, The Ten Rings, an evil empire built around the power of ten ancient rings that Wenwu wears around his arms to generate blasts of energy.
Shang-Chi thrives when the scenes are rooted in the real world, especially in its fight sequences.
Co-writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton, best known for indie darling Short Term 12, understands family dynamics and beautifully sets the tone for a heart-warming story syringed with humour. But despite the humanity on show, it’s the innovative martial arts that are the USP. Although there are many mystical elements, Shang-Chi thrives when the scenes are rooted in the real world, especially in its fight sequences. The action is fantastic, thanks to fight coordinator Andy Cheng and supervising stunt coordinator, the late Brad Allan, to whom the film is dedicated, the choreography the best yet in the MCU. A bruising bus battle between Shang-Chi and Wenwu’s henchmen is even more hypnotic than the trailers suggest, Liu showing off a barrage of blistering moves to disarm his father’s lackeys. The action doesn’t rely heavily on digital trickery in the real-world; but even its CG set-pieces within the fantasy realm of the hidden magical city of Ta Lo, which Shang-Chi has mysterious ties to, do not diminish the beauty of the diverse fighting styles. These fight scenes are truly gratifying; the martial arts in an early sequence between Wenwu and powerful warrior Jiang Li (Fala Chen) feel more like a dance and the result is simply mesmerising.
The cast is stellar. Liu knocks it out of the park as Shang-Chi, adding a tad of levity to the known-to-be-serious comic book character. As expected, Awkwafina hits all the comedic cues while remaining Shang-Chi’s anchor through his journey of self-discovery. The chemistry between Liu and Awkwafina is palpable, exuding a real sense of a found family. Perhaps the most intriguing character is Zhang’s Xialing who has the most compelling backstory; but at times, feels she is just there as set dressing for the main hero. It’s unfortunate she isn’t given more to do.
A dashing Leung as Wenwu provides depths of character in what could be a one-dimensional bad guy. However, the film’s real villain is grief. Grief drives Wenwu to perform nefarious acts, even at the expense of his own children. For those of Asian descent, grief is difficult to overcome. In an early scene, Katy’s mother comments on how moving on from a loved one is a Western idea. As such, Leung’s performance is filled with tangible anger and anguish that really brings the character to life.
In the debit column, Shang-Chi does have some pacing issues where the story, at times, becomes convoluted with so much information to set up the world of Ta Lo and how it relates to the MCU as a whole. The rushed ending makes some of the character arcs feel unearned and brushed aside. Also, it’s a bit tiring to see another dragon trope involved in an Asian-led film. Which is a shame as there are subtle nods for the Asian diaspora to relish — Shang-Chi taking off his shoes before entering Katy’s home, Katy’s grandmother asking Shang-Chi when he and Katy are getting married, and Ronny Chieng’s mystery character telling Katy that he speaks “ABC” (American-born Chinese) — that feel never feel forced or over-played. It’s a winning blend of Chinese culture mixed with the successful Marvel formula that avoids the typical Asian clichés and stereotypes of accents and bad drivers, while pointedly calling out some of the racial errors from Marvel's past. Given what’s on show here, the future for Shang-Chi and Asian representation in the MCU looks bright.
