Review 615: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

 

Based on the Marvel Comics character, Shang-Chi by Jim Starlin & Steve Englehart, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organisation. 

In terms of genre and technique, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is very much a martial arts movie. Practically, every single scene is laced with Asian history and culture, so it has its own identity and unique place in the MCU whilst also taking place in a post-Endgame world. The original Shang-Chi comic was originally created in the 70’s when Kung fu movies were all the rage. But writer David Callahan and 

Outwardly, Shang-Chi seems like a nobody, a parking valet. Then he gets into a punch up on a bus of all things and suddenly his true self is revealed. Shang-Chi is in fact someone who has been trained since birth to be a living weapon by his father. At the start of the film, he’s attempted to leave his former life as an assassin behind him and live a normal life.

There is an undercurrent/subtext of family prevalent throughout Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Ultimately, it’s a story about how this family has kind of lost each other at the moment the glue of that family, their mother Ying Li, was killed.

There’s also a theme of finding identity through balance: Ying Li, Shang-Chi’s mother represents the yang, she and the other people of Ta Lo have learned to control the powers of the Earth while Wenwu ten rings draw power from the heavens. Balance is the mission of Ta Lo, they maintain the balance of our world by preventing the Dark Demons from entering it. Shaun’s journey is not as simple as just rejecting his warlord father and letting in his mom. It’s about him recognising that both of them are in him and both of them are neither good nor evil per se. They are just a part of him and that’s what has to work with. Once  he recognises that, that’s when he blasts out of the water on the Great Protector with his sister which one of the most stunning images ever to come out of the MCU.

The ten rings that Wenwu possess and the power they bring and the immortality they bring is kind of a metaphor for addiction. When he gets drawn to this power, it’s almost like a drug. The rings are also his chains; they are the thing that keeps him from being the person that he is meant to be and his wife believed he could be.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton's direction is elegant and poised, bringing a sense of elegance rarely seen in an MCU film. The cinematography is fabulous and and captures the beauty of San Fransisco and the Asian settings, the score by Joel P. West is beautifully evocative and captures the characters oriental roots. The special effects are tremendous; an near-seemless blend of digital effects and paractical work on sets. The action scenes are outstanding; they have a sense of fluidity and grace that’s rare in a superhero film ranging from non stop fist fights on a bus through the streets of SAN Fran and on bamboo scaffolding to a climax that feels like it was ripped directly from Avatar: The Last Airbender. The production design is fantastic and rich with detail; utilising the five elements which is a core idea in Chinese culture in regard to Li’s life, all of them are in harmony and the Golden Dagger fight club which is a mix between a discotheque and a fight club. The hidden village of Ta Lo is mystical, supernatural interdimensional place with it’s own little houses and rich mythology the locations are splendid, the costumes are majestic, expertly conveying “Shaun’s” American sensibility; he’s basically wearing a costume when we first meet him and then gradually building up to a gorgeous oriental style full of bright blues, yellows and oranges with dragon scales on top.

But once they get to Ta Lo, the creature design is fantastic, there are tones of mythical creatures inspired by Chinese folklore and culture such as nine-tailed foxes, fire birds (rather awesome) and the Ch’i-lin, half dragon, half dear, half deer; Fu dogs which are half lion, half dog and a water dragon the “Great Protector” who may or may not be Fing Fang Foom. Even Trevor Slattery gets a funny new companion named Morris 

Simu Liu delivers a chipper, likeable and charismatic performance as the titular hero, making him an inspired addition to the MCU ever growing roster of characters. An extremely calm, collected, confident and fearless person who has incredible love for his friends and family as clearly shown from interactions and banter between him and and Katy and how he shows concern when reunited with his sister.        Shang-Chi’s fundamental flaw is that he’s afraid to confront his past and accept his mistakenly . This clearly evident by how he’s spent these last 10 years living in San Fransisco under the alias “Shaun”. He has the ethics and the culture of China behind him. He was raised to care about family and to listen to his parents. But because he’s spent time in San Francisco and because of his time there was spent hiding from his past, he’s built up a lot of défense mechanisms around himself. For Shaun, his maternal half and his paternal half represent very different parts of his personality and he doesn’t feel like he belongs in either world. He’s got thousands of years of sin and destruction living somewhere inside of him from his dad, but at the same time, he has this peaceful but powerful opposite to that from his mother that’s also living in him. His father raised him to fight with brute force So he must learn to balance the forces of both of his parents and live within himself. Over the course of the film, he learns how to own himself, to be happy with himself and eventually to look in the mirror and be proud of what he sees.

Awkwafina is absolutely charming playing Shang-Chi's best friend, Katy. Shang-Chi and Katy have known each other for 10 years and she seems pretty satisfied with the life that she has with him and her family. She’s feisty and reckless and she likes it that way. It isn’t until she’s thrust into this adventure with her friend that she starts to accept a purpose that is bigger than herself. She embodies that duality and struggle to find their own identity. Throughout the film, Katy proves to be a non-stop source of comic relief: she is hilarious. She also acts as his anchor, emotionally and to Asian-American culture. She’s not necessarily against embracing her culture, but she does know that she’s more of stranger to it. Liu and Awkwafina have such a natural chemistry together, sparking off hysterical banter 

Meng'er Zhang doesn't lag far behind playing Xu Xialing, Shang-Chi's sister. Whereas Shang was able to get away from his life as an assassin for his father. Xs has had it rough compared to him. She’s had to make her own way in the world and forge her own path.   

Michelle Yoah doesn’t appear until towards the end of the film but she steals practically every one of them playing Ying Nan, Shang-Chi's aunt. A very wise woman who dedicated to protecting the dimension of Ta Lo. She helps Shang-Chi achieve the balance of rage and fear with the spirit of the “Great Protector” and to understand that he has to know who he is and that the only way to do that is to accept the whole package: the best parts of his mom and dad.

Fala Chen is luminous and lovely playing Ying Li, Shang-Chi’s mother  When Wenwu and Ying Li meet their fights becomes a dance as the two of them find balance with each other

It's almost impossible to talk about a particular returning character without giving the big reveal but we do see the return of Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery from 2013’s Iron Man 3  The way Shang-Chi makes great use of Trevor shows that he's an amazing adapter; he will adapt to anything to survive. Because he has to because he's an actor.

Tony Leung has a really strong, commanding screen presence which is perfect for playing Xu Wenwu/The Mandarin, brilliantly conveying Wenwu's pain, his desperation to be loved and to show love but not knowing how to show it. He's a man with a with a history; Someone who discovered the titular ten rings which granted him immortality and limitless power which has allowed him to conquer many kingdoms and topple many governments throughout history and has become a very enigmatic and feared leader of the Ten Rings organisation. He’s built up as a tragic figure, although he’s so powerful with the rings, there’s a loneliness that’s followed him his while life until he met Ying Li, this causes him to renounce his ways and settle down due to him having lost his giving him some the happiest moments in thousand year life. Because he's a family man, he just wants his family back, but he's been corrupted by the power of these rings and at every turn kind of wanted to do the right thing. But his greed and obsessions would turn him away from that. Wenwu is not the same father that was around when Shang-Chi was a little boy, he’s a much meaner and more hardened who has been scarred by tragedy.                                                            Wenwu is the best type of villain for this film. Someone whose actions you may not agree with but you do understand their point of view.

Shang-Chi is a Legend, 4.5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.