‘Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings’ Review: The Best MCU Origin Film

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is a standout origin story full of strong character development, a formidable, yet sympathetic villain and genre-bending action.

The fast-paced, martial arts-centric fights are fantastic. In Snake Eyes, the constant use of shaky cam distracted from the events on screen. Director Destin Daniel Cretton shows much better handling of the fight sequences in comparison to 2021’s other martial arts epic. Liu’s commitment to most of the stunts in the film ensures that you never lose sight of our protagonist in any action sequence involving Shang. Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Meng’er Zhang and Fala Chen also impress in the action sequence.

Liu shines in the title role. Shang starts from a morally questionable beginning, but the development throughout the film to a full-blown hero is a blast to watch. Awkwafina is solid as Shang-Chi’s best friend Katy. Oddly, her dramatic scenes opposite Liu work far better than her comedy, which is hit and miss throughout the film. Zhang is amazing as Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing. Zhang channels Xialing’s much-deserved anger towards her brother. Leung provides the right amount of quiet menace, grief and yes love for his children as Shang-Chi and Xialing’s father, Xu Wenwu.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings isn’t without fault. The depiction of Ta-Lo is breathtaking. However, the family dynamics and the ten rings organization which are the bedrocks for the film get drowned out by the fantastical setting. The third act essentially becomes How to Train Your Dragon mixed with anime. While thrilling, it’s a stark departure from the fast pace martial arts on display in Macau and San Francisco. Shang-Chi also features the worst supporting character performance in an MCU film. Every line uttered by Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist, Wenwu’s right-hand man, lands with a thud. While the film does touch on the brother-sister relationship, there are a few missed opportunities to address some of Shang-Chi’s shortcomings as her older brother.

Those small issues with the film pale in comparison to the beautiful filmmaking on display, Joel P West‘s majestic score and the return of a character from Iron Man 3.

With the non-spoiler details out of the way, let’s dive into superhero theatrics, family drama and more in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. There will be some minor spoilers. 

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Shang-Chi: The Runaway

The MCU has used flashbacks in interesting ways, but never as good as in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. In flashbacks, you get to see how Shang and Xialing’s parents meet, their contrasting combat styles and parenting skills. After their mother dies, Wenwu trains his son to become an assassin.

When Shang is 14, Wenwu sends his son out to kill the man responsible for their mother’s death. Shang is supposed to return and despite promising his sister, he stays in the United States.

In the present day, Shang is living in San Francisco and works with his best friend Katy as a valet. Shang-Chi and Xialing were given matching pendants at birth. Members of the Ten Rings attack Shang-Chi on the Muni. Katy sees a side of Shang she has never known. The bus fight scene is the first major action scene of the film and the best in the entire MCU. Later in Macau, there’s another fight sequence along the side of a building that is on par with or even better than the bus scene.

Shang heads to Macau to rescue his sister. She has no interest in seeing him. Shang is rightfully ashamed for breaking his promise to his sister. Yet he really never offers much of an explanation as to why he never returned for her. It’s one of the only story holes in the film.

The screenplay by Cretton, Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham does a great job of giving Shang the right mixture of heart and darkness. He has no problem lying to his best friend or running away from his sister. However, when his sister, Katy or passengers on the bus on in danger he does the right thing without hesitation.

Grief Turned to Madness

Leung does a great job of generating sympathy for a man that could have come off as another tyrant searching for more power. Meeting his wife changed Wenwu from a terrorist to a good man and father. After her death, Wenwu’s grief and desire for revenge turn him back into the leader of the Ten Rings. Her death also alters the relationship he has with his children.

With Xialing, Wenwu can’t bear to look at his daughter’s face. Her resemblance to his wife and her mother is too painful. With Shang, he trains his son to become an assassin.

In the present day, he’s also going a little mad. He hears the voices of his wife and believes she’s being held captive in Ta-Lo, his wife’s world. Most villains in the MCU uses lies and deceit to accomplish his goal. Wenwu is remarkably honest.

Shang-Chi and Xialing may have believed they were evading their father and just got caught. However, that’s not the case, he always knew where they were. He decided to let his children live their lives until he had the means to enter Ta-Lo. Wenwu is clearly going insane, but his commitment to having his son and daughter by his side when he rescues their mother is oddly sweet.

He’s also honest with his villain manifesto. When Shang asks what his father will do, if their mother’s village doesn’t allow Wenwu and the Ten Rings organization access to the village, he simply says he will burn the village to the grown.

Ta-Lo

Trevor Slattery, the man who played the role of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3 returns with Ben Kingsley reprising the role. Kingsley is outstanding. Every single comedic bit works.

Slattery helps Shang, Xialing and Katy enter Ta-Lo with the help of a chicken-looking creature without a face called Morris. If that sounds insane, just wait until you get a look at Ta-Lo itself.

Ta-Lo is probably the most beautiful fantasy setting I’ve seen since James Cameron‘s Avatar. The impeccable creature design and lush scenery are captivating throughout. You could set an entire film franchise in this world.

Ta-Lo also presents an opportunity for Shang and Xialing to understand their mother’s village. They meet their aunt Ying Nan. Yeoh has a timeless kind of quality in films like Shang-Chi. She’s wise, caring and physically capable of standing toe-to-toe with anyone. These early scenes in Ta-Lo are the best parts of the film and feature Liu’s best acting.

Katy’s role in Ta-Lo is more prominent than it should be. There’s a dark reveal by Shang to Katy that felt unnecessary. It doesn’t change Katy’s perception of Shang and doesn’t really change Shang’s decision either. She’s also able to pick up archery skills in just one day, which simply isn’t believable.

The father-son climactic fight has some truly great moments near the end, but is sort of used as a setup for a much more fantastical fight sequence involving dragons, souls and Dragon Ball Z moves. The sequences are fun to watch and Shang comes across as a badass throughout. However, the emotional payoff isn’t really there.

Shang-Chi Final Thoughts

Shang-Chi’s entrance into the MCU is a wonderful step up from the solid, yet unspectacular Black Widow film. The film begins by showing us a character we can relate to before delivering into this unique corner of Marvel canon. Once you establish the trope of a son running away from a ruthless father and a life he doesn’t want, then you can start going to weird places.

The film does struggle somewhat with the transition into a full-blown fantasy epic. With the nuanced family dynamics giving way to a gorgeous and distracting CGI fest in Ta-Lo. The 3rd act does try to tie the climactic action scenes back to the brother-sister relationship. Unfortunately, those emotional heartstrings don’t work as well as they should.

Despite some missteps, Shang-Chi is an absolute blast and a film that easily sits in the top 10 MCU films and tv series.