Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Run Time: 2 hours and 12 minutes
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
What is Shang Chi about?
Shang-Chi escaped from his father and the Ten Rings at the age of 15, and has been trying to hide and lay low ever since. While it seems like a go nowhere job, he and Katy enjoy working as valets. Their families may have higher expectations, but they are perfectly content to live their lives one day at a time, especially after Shang-Chi’s upbringing, none of which Katy is aware of. This all changes drastically when they are attacked by the Ten Rings on the bus on the way home one day. After explaining who he truly is, Shang-Chi realizes there is only one thing he can do. Find his sister and try to protect her from the same people that attacked him.
Who’s in Shang Chi?
Shang-Chi, is a man who ran away from his father at age 15 and has been living in San Francisco. He currently works as a valet with his friend Katy but he has a secret. Shang-Chi was trained from a young age to fight and has the skills of an assassin because his dad runs a centuries-old criminal organisation. Shang-Chi is trying to hide from his past and his father’s evil ways but he is forced to show his true self to protect his friend. Katy is Shang-Chi’s best friend who doesn’t know about his interesting past and has been friends with him since he came to America. Katy is talented but she is scared and doesn’t use her potential for anything worthwhile. She is a loyal friend who sticks by Shang-Chi through thick and thin. Xu Xialing is Shang-Chi’s sister who he left behind when he ran away from home. She trained herself to become a trained fighter and has a hardened personality due to her brother leaving her.
Where Can I Watch Shang-Chi?
For now and the foreseeable future, the only place that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings can be watched is on Disney +. It is not on Netflix. It can also be rented from anywhere you rent movies.
Nathanyal: 10/10
Review:
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now my favourite Marvel movie of all time. For those of you who know about our YouTube channel, we have a video about the three phases of the MCU. In that video, I liked most of the Spiderman movies, however, Shang-Chi just beat those movies out. This is now my second 10 after Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train.
Now, why is Shang-Chi my favourite Marvel movie? Well, there’s a lot to it. For one, I really enjoyed seeing a different side to the MCU. Having a more Asian centered film felt new and unique after all the other Marvel movies we’ve seen. This new perspective feels fresh, yet it still has that Marvel feel like all the other films. I also appreciate that the actors played roles that were suited to them. I enjoyed hearing the mandarin sprinkled in which completes the whole experience.
Besides being that point, Shang-Chi also has some of my favourite fight choreography from the entire series. With a focus on martial arts, each fight had a certain amount of grace, and with different styles of martial arts shown, each fight was unique and awesome. The added aspect of the Rings added to some of the fights and gave it another level of depth as well. Besides the fight choreography, the characters were still fun to watch and enjoy. I loved Shang-Chi as a lead and Katy had the perfect amount of seriousness and comic relief.
Finally, I enjoyed the plot of the movie. Family has always been an important aspect in life, and the way Shang-Chi used family to create characters and build relationships was well done. The action was intense and there weren’t too many moments where I was bored.Overall, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was one of my all-time favourite Marvel movies. From the stunning visuals, to intense fight scenes, to fun characters, this movie has it all for anyone to enjoy.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My favourite moment in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was the final fight scene between Shang-Chi and his father. The emotional background and symbolic choreography made for a very entertaining and heartfelt battle.
Sebastian: 9.7/10
Review:
This movie was awesome! Being only the second MCU film released of phase 4 and let me tell you it was a home run. This film was so much fun with the best hand-to-hand combat in any MCU film. The action in this film is heavily influenced by other martial arts films from the past and so the fight scenes are super cool and fun to watch with the bus scene being a particular highlight. The characters were also amazing with Simu Liu doing a great job as Shang-Chi with his energy that he brought to the character and his interesting personality is on full display throughout. It was also great that you could tell that he did a lot of the fighting himself and the training paid off. Awkwafina is also great as Katy who does provide a lot of the comedic relief in the film but she also does grow as a character as well she does serve a purpose in the story which I appreciate. Tony Leung as Wenwu does a great job as the villain and because he is Shang-Chi’s father it creates an interesting dynamic that proves to be important for Shang-Chi’s journey and it adds extra emotional weight for the fights. The story itself is different than most Marvel films and I like the way this film balances the more grounded aspects with more fantastical and weird ideas that are introduced in the story. There are some twists and surprises in this movie that I did not see coming along with the usual connections to the wider MCU and its events. The movie does set up Shang-Chi as a powerful new hero with the ten rings being mysterious but powerful and I can see him matching up well with our current heroes.
All in all, this was a pretty great introduction for the MCU’s newest hero and I definitely recommend you go check out Shang-Chi if theatres are open where you live because it is a fun time with some amazing action.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers) :
My favourite moment is the bus fight just because I think it showcases Shang-Chi’s fighting ability quite well and it is a really fun scene with some of the best action in the film.
Austin: 9.6/10
Review:
Shang-Chi might be my favourite marvel movie now. If not it’s top 3 for sure. I wasn’t super excited for this movie like I have been for some in the past, but it blew my expectations out of the water. It’s entertaining, visually gorgeous, and has a rich story. The combination of lore and plot was mixed wonderfully to create a story that felt like a legend brought to life. If you have seen Raya and The Last Dragon, this carries some similarities that I loved in both movies. The fighting styles are really unique to the character, and it’s beyond entertaining to watch. If you don’t have some kind of urge to pick up an adult karate class after watching. The colours and visuals that were incorporated made it so cool. I saw this in 3D, which added nothing to the movie by the way, kind of a waste of 4 bucks, and the vibrant colours created a really cool vibe. The lore and storytelling was amplified by some really cool scenes, where there were cool locations or really awesome special effects.
There were two other things that I really loved in this movie, the fact that it was hilarious and that one of our main characters has absolutely no magic. It’s a hard thing to find, a character in the MCU that is just a really skilled human. No powers, just an absolute beast at one thing. Someone like Black Widow or Hawkeye. It adds a little bit of simplicity to a movie filled with complicated magic and lore.
On a totally different note, I loved the way this movie was both a good movie on its own and a good movie within the MCU. I truly think you could watch this without any MCU knowledge and really enjoy the story. On the other side of the coin, if you love the MCU as much as we do, there is a ton of little callback and hints towards other movies to really ground it as an important piece of Phase 4. Shang-Chi shows he is going to be an important character moving forward.
Should I Watch Shang Chi?
I loved this movie, and I love everything it stands for. We get an awesome new superhero, with some serious family issues, a couple of really funny characters inserted into the MCU, and a brand new branch of lore. This new magic and tech fits seamlessly into the universe, and I’m excited to see what comes next for the Ten rings. Without a doubt a worthwhile watch and one I would recommend you check out, MCU fan or not.
My Favourite Moment:
My favourite moment has to be their journey through the forest. It’s high paced, beyond funny, and it showcases just how powerful this magic is. A forest-maze that eats you if you get the path wrong, and our crew being led by a fuzzy-mini elephant without a face, absolutely hilarious.
