Written by David Callaham And Destin Daniel Cretton And Andrew Lanham
Directed by Deston Daniel Cretton
Shang-Chi (re Wenwu): "I thought I could change my name, start a new life ... but I could never escape his shadow."
After giving Black Widow a fitting send off in her own titled movie, it was time for the MCU to finally introduce a new hero for Phase 4 and with this offering, we have a new hero ready to be beloved by audiences alike.
Our story begins with a man named Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) who acquired the magical ten rings that gave him the power of a god. Wenwu used his new abilities to topple governments and love a very long life but when he discovered the hidden city of Ta Lo, things changed for him. He met and fell in love with Ying Li (Fala Chen).
Wenwu became a moderately better person under Ying Li's influence but upon her death at the hands of his past sins, he lost his way and his influence on his children saw both of them taking very different paths. Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) certainly attempted to avoid his family legacy while keeping a low profile in San Francisco. However with the arrival of the Ten Rings and a missing sister, Xu Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), Shang-Chi soon revealed to his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) his real family history.
Of course a trip home revealed that Xialing had forged a path of her own and soon both estranged siblings are reunited with their father who wants to burn mother's village to the ground in order to free as Wenwu seens to be convinced she's trapped behind a mountain. The siblings along with Katy and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) and mythical creature Morris head to Ta Lo to warn of their father's impending rampage.
Taking on the name of the Mandarin, there's some nice continuity and commentary on the events of Iron Man 3 with a decent attempt to give Wenwu some dimension in order not to make him a stereotypical villain. It largely works as Wenwu finds himself the victim of the soul consuming Dweller In Darkness but his own unwillingness to listen to his children certainly became his undoing.
As a movie, the bests are very familiar, especially in terms of an origin story but they're so well done that it doesn't matter. Simu Liu definitely has proven himself to be a revelation in the title role and he's backed up brilliantly by all of his co-stars, including Michelle Yeoh as Shang-Chi and Xialing's aunt, Nan. Everyone gets something worthwhile to do in the movie.
The fights scenes are easily some of the best we've seen in the MCU, especially the big battle between father and son and the handing over of a certain mantle. There's also a potential hint of a future romance between two characters and Ta Lo itself is a visual sight to behold. The CGI for a lot of the creatures were also done very well.
- The mid credit sequence featured Shang-Chi and Katy talking to Wong, Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner about the ten rings. Wong appeared in a few scenes in the movie. Post credit scene had Xialing changing the power structure of her father's organisation.
- I was surprised to see Abomination appear in the underground club scenes. Sometimes it feels like the MCU tends to forget a certain movie from the first phase.
- Standout music: This movie certainly had fun with classics like Hotel California.
- Chronology: Yet again, a post blip world for this movie.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings definitely is a strong contender for the MCU going forward into a new era. Simu Liu definitely has the character down to perfection and he's clearly going to be a fan favourite going forward. Everyone brought their A game here.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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