On September 3rd, Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings was released into theaters, starring Asian actors Simu Liu as Shang Chi and Awkwafina as Katy. The amount of advertising and promotions was underwhelming. However, the movie itself still proved to be a Labor Day box office record-breaker. It definitely proved itself to be an incredible film.
Shang Chi’s Marvel origins prove to be quite rocky, falling into racial stereotype after racial stereotype. The original comics were released in December of 1973. The original comics involved coloring Asian characters with assortments of unnatural yellows and oranges, Shang Chi himself spending most of his time shirtless and shoeless, as well as spouting fortune-cookie phrases in heavily broken English, and finally having an Asian villain named “The Yellow Peril.” With such a racially profiling history, Marvel needed to rewrite Shang Chi.
The movie took a modern take on a Hong Kong martial arts movie with beautifully created CGI and funny exchanges between the two lead characters, Shang Chi and Katy. The movie slots very well into the part of the introduction to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by introducing a new fantasy-infused world and heavily Chinese-inspired martial arts sequences. Unlike most Marvel Cinematic Universe, it isn’t a movie where you need to see the previous ones to understand the story and characters more. It’s very appealing to newer Marvel fans or those who want to see a martial arts movie.
The movie follows Shang Chi, the son of Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and leader of the Ten Rings. His journey with his best friend Katy and his sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) stops Wenwu from breaking the gate, which hides a massive soul-eating monster in the obscure and legendary village of Ta Lo. The movie follows through with a perfected mix of storytelling, suspense, world-building, and refreshing Marvel humor. The conversations and interactions between characters made their bonds believable and made me care for them. Katy lacked any of the usual Marvel comic-relief character flaws and had very entertaining dialogues with Shang Chi.
Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings has easily landed on my top three Marvel movies to watch, and it was not disappointing whatsoever. Although the marketing for the movie fell flat, it was still one of the best Marvel movies that have been released. The rich cultural representation and the effectively character-driven story were captivating at every moment. Being more cyclical than linear, the narrative itself was a successful method of storytelling and character depth. I definitely recommend this to anyone who’s searching for an eye-catching and well-written superhero martial arts movie.