I hate reviews that beat around the bush, so let’s start this with one word: Wow. That sums up my feelings around Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings.
And I won’t elaborate much more than that because I want to keep this entirely spoiler free, not because I don’t have bunches to say – I do – but but because COVID concerns continue to create hesitation around going to theaters, and many folks are preferring to wait out the 45 day release window where they can catch the movie on Disney+. And while I doubt people will be able to avoid spoilers entirely for 45 days, I want to do my part.
A Very Brief and Entirely Spoiler-Free Review of Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi is a movie that blends genres and styles beautifully. The trailers showed us that the movie would juxtapose modern sensibilities while also containing sequences that had a magical flavor. The word “legend” appears in the sub-title, after all, so a viewer would go in expecting a story that shows tales of legend. The movie delivers.
Shang-Chi does this by tapping into Chinese mythology. This is an area where I am no means an expert, so all I can say is that I really liked. Plus, I will add that a lot of intention was taken to treat the Chinese mythological elements with care, from the director down through the casting.
Those elements juxtapose with the modern elements. The area where this is most visceral is in the fight choreography. I don’t think it is hyperbolic to say that Shang-Chi has some of the best fight sequences in all of the MCU. I saw the movie with my 13-year-old daughter and we came out of the theater trying to rank our favorite fight scenes. We finally decided that several of them tied for first place!
But even though the fight sequences are all rooted in martial arts choreography, obviously, there are distinctly different styles present. One incredible sequence felt like poetry. It was fluid and graceful, the whole sequence appearing on the screen as art. And it really was beautiful.
Other fight sequences, such as the two major one teased in the trailers, exhibited a strong Jackie Chan vibe and I can’t imagine a human alive that will be disappointed with them. They were vivid, clear, action-packed, and incredibly entertaining. Overall, Shang-Chi gets a rousing A+ in terms of entertaining fight sequences for a kung-fu movie and anyone that says otherwise is just trying to grab attention by being cranky on the internet.
A Very Brief and Entirely Spoiler-Free Review of Shang-Chi
Again, there is so much I want to say but I don’t want to spoil any specifics whatsoever, so I’ll close this with some really vague bullet points:
- Shang-Chi operates largely independently. It acknowledges its place in the MCU via cameos and callbacks but doesn’t get stuck there. This is another place where it is A+ work and the future of the MCU looks incredibly bright.
- But one character callback in particular is an absolute delight. I’m not giving even a hint here.
- The musical score is excellent and supports well how the movie blends tones.
- There is one character that makes you want to shout, “Taser Face!”
- The theater enthusiastically clapped when the film ended. Everyone was delighted, happy, and satisfied.
- It is a very Marvel movie in that it effortlessly includes humor and action, while exploring family themes. Like most Marvel movies, there are daddy issues, plus Shang-Chi adds an additional layer of, “What does it mean to live up to my potential?”
- There are two credits sequences. I know you know to stick around at this point, but I’m just saying.
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