Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Released in August 2021 and directed by Destin Cretton, this movie tells the story from a thousand years ago when Wenwu discovers the mystical ten rings that has the power to grant immortality. With it, he sets up the Ten Rings organization and with it, conquers kingdoms far and near. On his quest to a magical forest, he falls in love with Ying Li, its guardian and when their love is rejected by her people, they leave, marry and have two children – Shang Chi and Xialing.

Events and years later, Shang Chi, who lives in San Francisco and now goes by the name of Shaun, works as a parking valet with his best friend, Katy. They are attacked on a bus by the Ten Rings organization who proceed to steal a pendant given to him by Li. Fearing that his sister’s matching pendant might also be stolen, he reveals the truth of his background to Katy, and they travel to Macau to warn Xialing. From there on, war is spelt for Shang Chi who must wield the ten rings and fulfil his destiny.

My memory of the plot of this movie is a bit hazy, but I wouldn’t want to give out spoilers anyway, so it’s all right. There are a lot of things I enjoyed about this film. Number one being that it was a breath of fresh air from Marvel productions that I’m used to. Simu Liu outdoes himself with how seamlessly he blends into his character of ordinary guy with extra-ordinary powers.

Zhang and Akwafina as supporting roles also balance everything out with how well they interpreted their roles. Tony Leung as the villain was also chef’s kiss. I wasn’t exactly rooting for him, but he is one of those villains you find understandable and relatable. His motives felt right in their own way, and it was clear, regardless of everything how much he loves and is willing to protect his family. The character development of Shang Chi with the use of flashbacks was a good move, and made the back story even more intriguing and easy to follow.

Watching Shang Chi was the first time I saw martial arts and fairy tale melded together. And normally, it’s a tricky feat that shouldn’t go too well but Cretton made it work, blending the Chinese and Asian-American cultures together. It also helped that there weren’t forms of cultural appropriation, like a member of the family being from another race, which is something we see a lot in movies. It helped to keep the whole experience fresh and thrilling.

In terms of visual effects, Marvel hardly ever falls short and this is one of those epic accomplishments. The visuality was top notch and the CGI nothing short of amazing. Fantastic cinematography all round. The stunts were choreographed in such a delightful way, I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction. And don’t get me started on the songs. The songs used were so good and I had a personal favourite, by Anderson Paak in there as well. To be honest, there were a few underwhelming moments, like the villain’s death. But in the grand scheme of things, it still feels alright to just let it go. Can’t have everything, can you? What do you think of this production?

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