Directed by:
Destin Daniel CrettonCinematography:
Bill PopeComposer:
Joel P. WestCast:
Simu Liu, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Wah Yuen, Florian Munteanu, Ben Kingsley, Jayden Zhang, Stephanie Hsu (more)VOD (4)
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Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. (Walt Disney Nordic Fin.)
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Reviews (12)
The low-key Shang-Chi is actually the son of the leader of the world's largest criminal organization. And even though he's been hiding from his daddy for ten years, he must now return to the world he's been running from for so long. But the family reunion won't be entirely joyful, and beings not of our world will have a say in it. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings surprises with its fast pace, likeable hero and great action in its first half. Unfortunately, the closer the film gets to its conclusion, the more it relies on visual effects and it becomes clear that director Destin Daniel Cretton may have bitten off a bit too big a bite. Overall, this is a fine Marvel film peppered with Chinese mythology that offers exactly what you expect when you buy tickets to see it.
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Marvel has gone the route of exploiting Eastern Asian culture and I would not mind if the final product was entertaining or at least interesting to the audience. This movie is neither. I got tired of live-action CGI comic book nonsense a long time ago, and Tony Leung and a few pretty choreographed scenes is not going to change that, unfortunately.
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During the final battle, Shang-Chi lost most of the trump cards I had enjoyed so much for the previous hour and a half, and it's a shame. Amazing choreography of fights, which I have not seen since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, beautiful design including music, brand new characters, but at the same time characters so nicely and naturally fitting into the world of Marvel, interesting and impressive story - family drama, of course humor... All this together makes an absolutely excellent adventure and simply set the bar so high that the mentioned finale had nowhere to take it. But four stars would simply be too few, because it's a very honest film that the creators cared about, and it's so much better than last year's Black Widow.
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An enjoyable Marvel origin story that turned out better than we all expected. I’m a lover of Asia and I was quite looking forward to Shang-Chi because who wouldn't be tempted to see the Marvel version of an Ip Man, right? In part, Marvel succeeded, even if the film is split into two halves, where the first one is significantly better. The protagonist is the unknown Simu Liu and he is surprisingly proficient and likeable enough for the viewer to root for him. the scene on the bus is the clear highlight of the film (greetings to Nobody), and the action scene with the Ninjas was awesome – that physical and high contact kung-Fu action was handled very well by Marvel and even though it's not completely realistic, it's spectacular and gripping enough for me to forgive it. The second half slows down the pace considerably (Shang-Chi runs out of breath for about half an hour). Fortunately, the finale is nicely spectacular, it's rendered in a fantasy style, China's second most popular genre after martial arts, so for me a perfectly logical explanation for why to split the film into two different genres, and the spectacular battle of the two dragons was absolutely killer (I can't remember a bigger fantasy barrage since GoT or Lord of the Rings). I also lie the awesome soundtrack, every single track is already on my playlist. The film has a few flaws, though, for example Awkwafina, who is quite unbearable for me, the humour, which downright missed me – I really don't know what was supposed to be funny here – and the villain, who although had a clear motive, didn't really show much in the end. Visually, it feels a bit like Marvel in the early days, but you can turn a blind eye to that. I'm glad Marvel stuck with Wu Xiu. Overall, decent, definitely better than Black Widow, but I'm not buying into a second screening. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 7.5/10.
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I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes it really pays off to go in with no expectations and come out impressed. Shang-Chi almost feels like it doesn’t quite belong in the Marvel universe — it introduces new worlds, new characters, even new flora and fauna. The colors are more vibrant, the atmosphere feels different, yet familiar Marvel faces still make an appearance. Awkwafina’s quick wit, Tony Leung’s commanding presence, and the brilliant, off-the-wall performance from Ben Kingsley all stand out. Sure, it’s all heavily digital, but the action scenes are so creatively done that it’s easy to overlook. This is how you introduce a new world; Marvel definitely nailed it here, even more so than with Wakanda in Black Panther. The blend of Asian culture and martial arts really hooked me.
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