THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
While it was nice to see returning characters kick start Phase Four of the MCU, it was time for new heroes to carry on the future of the franchise. The era of new heroes truly began with Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
PLOT
The film begins in an ancient era, a man named Xu Wenwu would gain eternal life after finding ten powerful rings. He would use the rings to be a dominating conqueror and have an organization named after his greatest weapons, in which would result in being him referred as 'The Mandarin' in ancient lore. In 1996, he desired for more power and found the ancient village of Ta Lo. Instead, he found a woman named Ying Li (Fala Chen) who guarded the entrance. As they first fought, they surprisingly fell for each other, as if they were destined to be. Because of this, Ying Li would leave Ta Lo with him, along with marrying and have two children with him: Shang Chi and Xialing. Their time of peace concluded when members of Wenwu's enemy, the Iron Gang, murdered her at their home. When he found his wife dead, he resumed his way of ruthlessness after briefly pausing that part of him since his marriage. He would then train the young Shang to be a skilled assassin, whereas Xialing wasn't allowed and trained herself by watching her brother's sessions. By age 14, he was assigned to kill the leader of the Iron Gang after he accomplished the mission, he chose to stay in the United States, changing his name as 'Shaun' to avoid being tracked by his father. The rest of the film takes place in the Post Blip Era, where an adult Shaun is a valet driver in San Francisco with his friend Katy Chen. On the way to work, the two get attacked on a bus by members of the Ten Rings, including Razorfist (Florian Munteanu) who wields a blade for an arm. Shang reveals his true self by defending himself, until they steal a pendant from him that was given to him by his mother. Shang explains to Katy of his past before they met, but doesn't tell her that he had killed before. They both go to Macau to find Xialing, who had recently sent him a postcard from there. They find her at the Golden Daggars Club, an underground fight club that is streamed via dark web in which she owns. He ends up surprisingly fighting her and she beats him with ease. She expressed nothing but anger towards him since he broke his promise coming home after he first left to the States. When he shows her the card, she says that she never sent him one. This means that they were lured by their father. Despite trying to escape, Wenwu finds his children and takes them home with him, along with Katy. He uses their pendants to show a path to Ta Lo that opens yearly because he believes he has been hearing Ying Li's voice lately. He intends to destroy Ta Lo to save her, but he imprisons his children and Katy who oppose his plan. However, they meet Trevor Slattery, an actor who was hired by terrorist Aldrich Kilian to pose as The Mandarin. He has been imprisoned for a while and Hundun pet Morris claims that there is a way to Ta Lo without waiting on the yearly path. So all take a car from Razorfist and head there. They get through forest maze and reach the hidden temple unharmed. There, they meet Ying Li's sister Ying Nan. As Katy practices archery, Shang and Xialing are explained by their aunt that the temple has been keeping an evil dragon at bay known as the 'Dweller in Darkness'. With its spores known as the 'Soul Eaters', each life they take makes it stronger. They've been able to keep it at bay for so long thanks to an ally dragon 'The Great Protector'. It is then revealed that the Dweller is tricking Wenwu by imitating his wife's voice, knowing that his rings will be strong enough to free it from the cavern. The night before he arrives, Shang confesses to Katy that he killed the man responsible for his mother's death, but admits to not being proud of it, which explains why he stayed in the States. Katy chooses to cheer him up by reminding him that he is not in the wrong for wanting to avenge his mother because it was his father that forced him to do it. By morning, the Mandarin arrives and doesn't plan to wait long to do what he thinks is right. As Xialing and the people of Ta Lo fight off the Ten Rings, Shang Chi fights his father, in hopes to convince him to change his mind. Every time he hits the Dark Gates, Soul Eaters would come out and take lives one by one, which would result in both sides teaming up to save themselves. As Shang Chi continues to fight his father, he does get a hold of the rings, but he gives them back in hopes to plea once more. However, it appears to be too late as the Dweller breaks free. When it first does so, the first life it takes is Wenwu and before he drew his last breath, he passes the rings to his son to finish what he started. Although the Great Protector intervenes, the Dweller seems to overpower it and prepare to take its life and become unstoppable. Luckily, Katy is able to shoot it with an arrow and wound it by aiming for the neck. This gives Shang Chi a chance to finish it off by using the rings for a death blow. After paying respects for both sides of the fallen, He and Katy return to San Francisco and share this story with their friends, who don't believe him. They are proven right when the sorcerer Wong (who they saw win a fight at the Golden Daggars Club) appears and requests them to come with him to Kamar-Taj to discuss the origin of the rings. While the mid credits reveal that the rings activated a beacon when Shang first used them, the film ends with a post credit scene, showing Xialing taking control of their father's organization, although her brother believes her to be disbanding it.
THOUGHTS
In 2021, I had the opportunity to see this three different times: In theaters, on a 4K disc and on Disney+'s IMAX format. Each viewing was just a downright blast to get through. I think that director Destin Daniel Cretton was able to make this one stand out from Marvel's catalog because it felt so authentic to see. That feeling mostly comes from the best fight sequences I’ve seen yet, thanks to them well coordinated by the late Brad Allan. Going from the bus fight to the Battle of Ta Lo, I wasn’t able to get my eyes off of it. And during the latter, the visual effects were at their best when focusing on the fascinating creatures such as the dragons, guardian lions and hunduns etc. I was even surprised on how good Abomination (Tim Roth) looked when he fought Wong. What I did admire the most from this movie was its core lesson: We are made up of a mix of good and bad things that happen to us. And the best thing we can do is embrace them. We would not be get this without the new titular protagonist that will become as iconic as the Avengers before him. Breakout Simu Liu owned it when playing this character because he shows this aura of justice that surrounds him, where he steps in when necessary. It's easy to admit that he has his own set of conflict buried inside because he couldn't bear taking a life in his youth. He felt that it forever defined him until this adventure made him realize that it doesn't. Even though this film is dazzling to see, I can admit that I noticed a few issues during the times of re watching. The respect for him even elevates more when he still loved his father, despite the trial and tribulation he put him through. When he was passed on the rings, that was the final straw for him to stop running away from his true self and embrace it all for the better. Meng'er Zhang was also able to leave a good impression when playing Xialing. She expresses her complexity originating from her abandonment. Her dad didn't see her as an equal like her brother, so she rebelliously trained herself to fight and made her own empire to prove that she is just as capable. She chooses to lead the Ten RIngs now because she enjoys having the power and at this point, there is no telling what she'll do with it. Whoever would've thought that Awkwafina would go from playing a dragon to slaying a dragon in the same year? Getting that joke aside, she was great as Katy for being about as lovable as any other best friend you've seen before onscreen. She is hilarious throughout for her feisty nature, but she stood out for actually being helpful. Seeing her use her driving skills in the stakes she was in was just as surprising as slaying a dragon after practicing archery in a day. The fact that she became a hero with her friend is awesome and I'm curious how along she'll stick around with Shang Chi as the franchise progresses. I don't think I've said it before, but I enjoy Ronnie Chieng's material and it fitted right in when he appeared as Jon Jon. He ain't the brightest guy compared to Katy, but he clearly enjoys being under Xialing's employment. Since the latter is getting her own show, I hope we get more of him. I was caught off guard seeing Michelle Yeoh here because I had no idea of her involvement, especially since she played Aleta Ogord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. She leaves a bigger impression this time as Ying Nan because she was about as wise and fearless as her sister once was. During the time she had with her nephew, she teaches him that release the tension inside in order to focused enough to take on his dad. Of all returning characters, it was the most satisfying to see Benedict Wong appear as Wong because while he remains a knowledgeable figure, he shows off his flexibility with his sorcery when being in different surroundings. And while it is interesting to see he is technically having therapy sessions with Abomination, which likely starting during the Blip Era, it was nice to see him have a good time with Shang Chi and Katy, doing karaoke together because it reminds me that even heroes need to have fun once in a while. Last but not least, the reason I chose to give this movie because I was excited to see a proper interpretation of The Mandarin, a character that had been foreshadowed since the franchise first started with Iron Man. While Sir Ben Kingsley's return as Trevor was an unexpected blessing, because he remained as hilarious as before, Tony Leung was outstanding in playing one of the most ferocious characters to ever be seen on screen. I also liked how the ten rings are designed as slings rather than finger rings as originally depicted in the comics, because it avoids confusion with the infinity stones. Portraying him as Shang Chi's father only channels him to be even more of a conflicting character than anticipated. This was someone who was obsessed with being powerful and wasn't sure how to abandon that part of him when he fell in love for the first time. And when he lost it, his anger got the best of him and unleashed the ruthlessness that kept him alive. This clearly affected his children because he didn't express the love they deserve. Even though he thought saving his wife would make things better, he was more concerned of being tame again rather than being there for his children when they needed him. However, when the Great Dweller overpowers him, he gives the rings to his son because he realized he messed up big time and chose to not make it about him for once. It is sad to see because it was the only true time he acted as the loving father he was supposed to be. To get it out of the way, I honestly thought it was distracting to see Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel in mid credit scene. I feel this way because it’s uncomfortable how they steal the attention after I was being blown away with the new lead. Every MCU tie in paid off until this scene. Brie Larson is only there as Danvers out of respect to frequent collaborator Cretton, but Banner raises the level of distraction as he appears human instead of his Professor Hulk form where we last saw him in Endgame. I know this’ll get explained in She Hulk, but I don’t want to think about that after just being introduced to a new hero. I’ll make it clear as much as I can about how awesome the bus fight is, but why didn’t Razorfist wait it out to intervene? Of course he gets the pendant anyway, but he could’ve saved less trouble for it. Of all the comedic scenes that feel misplaced is when Shang gets cut off from discussing his backstory by the flight attendant. If you’re telling me that she and no one else around but Katy heard that, you’re lying. And why did Shang not read what he was signing when entering the Golden Daggars Club? Had he done that, he would’ve been more aware of what he was in for. I made it clear that I like Katy, but how can seeing the map Ta Lo make her think she doesn’t know what’s real? She lives in a universe where half of the population disappeared for five years and if that’s possible, I’d believe anything and everything is real. I get that he uses his army to distract Nan’s army so he can free his wife with minimum effort, but I think it would still be easy for him if he wiped them out himself. And I really doubt that Katy heard Shang yell that the Dweller was headed for the village. That line didn’t need to exist because she clearly gets what’s going on. Other than that, you’ll still have a good time after ignoring these issues. To wrap up, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is Marvel’s best film of 2021 for being completely different from the rest. If you love Kung fu/Tai chi and superheroes, this film is the one for you.
Comments