Random Movie Review - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

 

Returning to Marvel, we have another recently released film which if I'm being honest, it's actually a lot better than both Eternals and Black Widow if you were to compare just the 2021 films we have had so far. Now since the Mulan remake, some people have been a bit cautious about what Disney would do next in terms of films with a cast largely of eastern descent. We all know how Mulan played out in that it wasn't quite like the original film and despite some positive reviews, it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. But this time, Marvel is at the helm, so surely it must be good, right? I mean we are all getting quite used to the formula now, so it has to be good if the two films I reviewed last week have anything to say about it. Let's take a look:

Thousands of years ago, a man called Xu Wenwu (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai) comes across ten powerful yet mystical rings which grants him immortality and godlike powers. Using these new powers, he sets about making the Ten Rings organisation in an attempt to find a hidden village said to harbour mythical beasts while toppling governments and conquering kingdoms that are in his way. Over time, he becomes a father, but driven by grief due to the loss of his wife. Due to this and him being consumed with the power of the rings, his own children choose to abandon him out of being demoralized and neglected. In the present, Shang-Chi (played by Simu Liu), one of Wenwu's children who goes by the name Shaun, now resides in San Francisco working as a valet. But when the Ten Rings organisation attack him and his best friend Katy (played by Awkwafina) on a bus, he is forced to confront his past by finding his sister and save her and himself from their father. While meeting some familiar faces and finding the so-called village along the way.

This is what Marvel films are meant to be. Fun, exciting, funny, entertaining, action packed and plenty of other stuff while allowing time for developing the characters, settings and story. Things of which Eternals was lacking a fair bit of, but Black Widow had but wasn't quite enough to make it go above average. Like Mulan, it's almost certainly guaranteed to not bold well with the prime market it's meant to represent. But for what it is, I definitely enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what comes next for these surprisingly entertaining characters. 9/10