Shang-Chi

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (12)

D: Destin Daniel Cretton

Disney / Marvel (Kevin Feige)

US 🇺🇸 2021

132 mins

Action/Adventure/Fantasy

W: Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham [based on characters created by Marvel Comics]

DP: William Pope

Ed: Nat Sanders, Elisabet Ronaldsdóttir & Harry Yoon

Mus: Joel P. West

Simu Liu (Shang-Chi / Shaun), Tony Leung (Xu Wenwu), Awkwafina (Katy), Meng’er Zhang (Xu Xialing), Fala Chen (Ying Li), Florian Munteanu (Razor Fist), Michelle Yeoh (Ying Nan), Ben Kingsley (Trevor Slattery)

Marvel’s 25th film and their first foray into the oriental with the big screen appearance of Shang-Chi, one of their lesser-known comic book characters (at least to me).

The plot surrounds a feud between an ancient Chinese warlord with mystical powers and his estranged son, Shang-Chi, now living in San Francisco and keeping a low profile under the alias, Shaun.

Shang-Chi is thrust back into conflict with his father when he receives a message believed to be from his sister, returning to his homeland with his best friend Katy in tow to provide some comic relief and provide a character for others to provide exposition with.

Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes, with some excellent martial arts fight sequences, stunts and CGI effects, which do have a tendency to go over the top as you’d expect from a movie with comic book origins.

Ben Kingsley’s character from Iron Man 3 turns up for no reason other than to tie this into the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, but at least he’s less annoying here than he was with his previous appearance.  Simu Liu leads the film well as a rather bland but likeable character.

However, I really could have done without Awkwafina as his companion, as she’s more irritating than she is humorous or endearing and adds absolutely nothing to the narrative of the film. 

Not quite up there with Marvel’s best, but it provides decent entertainment throughout its slightly lengthy running time.

6/10