Review of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) by Kai82 — 15 Sep 2021

It has well choreographed fights, lovable characters and a good story garnered with humor. Also it corrects one of the mayor disappointments from a previous movie with a satisfying explanation and turns it into a strength.

Lets start at the beginning. Since Marvel phase 4 started you hear a lot of people say that the movies are in or will decline. This movie is the counter argument. It is refreshing, entertaining and introduces new characters I want to see more of.

It was also the kind of martial arts movie my friends and I missed in recent years. The story starts with a flashback thousand (or thousands?) years ago where Wenwu finds the ten rings which gave him eternal youth and so much power that he can be considered to be a god among humans.

He creates the ten rings organization and becomes a really powerful ruler but operates mostly in the shadows. However his hunger for power is never satisfied. After he hears the legend of the hidden village Ta Lo where the inhabitants have mystical power he is determined to acquire this power for himself.

However he will get something different and far more precious than he could have imagined. In the present Shaun works with his best friend Kathy as car valets when their lives are changed forever. I stop here with the story set up to avoid spoilers.

The story itself is extremely good for an introduction movie. It gets the small and big things right. Main key elements are family, heritage, loss, finding your way or purpose in life and dealing with the past.

They manage to mix the story with the characters in a way that one enhance the other. Lets continue with the characters: Simu Liu as Shaun is a great main actor. He delivers every aspect of his character and should be praised.

Then we have Awkwafina as Kathy who steals the show in many scenes and is jut amazingly good. Those two together are a force to be recognized. Tony Leug is a legendary actor and his performance as Xu Wenwu is excellent.

This is also valid for Michelle Yeoh. Ben Kingsley is the hidden gem of the movie and so enjoyable. Meng’er Zhang as Xu Xialing and Fala Chen as Ying Li deliver a good performance and won us easily over.

Special praise to the right hand men Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon and Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist. I almost forgot Benedict Wong. Small screentime but amazing performance. The cast is fantastic and I wont replace anyone.

The fights are amazing too. The first one alone should win you over with ease. The choreography is excellent and the camera works well to enhanced it while avoiding all the mistakes other movies make.

Many modern movies fail with shaky camera, poor zooming (to close, bad angles, to far away or bad lighting) and uninspired ideas. Here they shine in many fights. The special effects are excellent as required per Marvel standard.

Was and is never and issue. The sets and practical effects look beautiful and create an immersive atmosphere. Lastly I want to praise the humor. There are a lot of good scenes and especially a post credit scene is a must watch.

Overall this was much better than expected and I heard good things about the movie before watching it. It slightly misses a 10/10 for me but is definitely a must see.