Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings

Official Australian release date: 2/9/21. Viewed: 1/9/21.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Actors: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Meng’er Zhang

Genre: Action / Fantasy

Rating: M

‘Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (or SCLTR?) feels like the proper start of MCU’s phase 4, with a clear link forming to ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. We’re first introduced to what seems like a Chinese fairytale, as we follow Wenwu (Leung) and his millennium of power with 10 enchanted rings/bracelets. We then meet Li (Chen), who turns out to be the mum of Shang-Chi (Liu) & Xialing (Zhang).

How the mystical realm of Ta Lo fits in and it’s secrets aren’t revealed until the third act, and after the intro, the film does well to show Shang-Chi & Katy (Awkwafina) living their somewhat unfulfilled lives in San Francisco, before the action starts to heat up when Shang-Chi goes looking for his sister. All the actors are very likeable, especially Leung, who does a great job of making sure Wenwu doesn’t descend into a caricature of a bad guy, but truly feels like a misguided father. Some great cameos also round everything out and it’s always great to see Michelle Yeoh.

While a bit slow in some parts, the martial arts scenes and action near the end are great, without being overwhelming – certainly up there with ‘Hero’ & ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’. Also a nice nod to ‘Raya & the Last Dragon’! Nice ending and character arc for Shang-Chi – I look forward to seeing him find his place in the MCU.

Overall: Enjoyable action film.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.