Two of the best days in cinema history are 1) the day Marvel/Disney announced Black Panther would indeed be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with the late Chadwick Boseman cast as the lead and 2) the day Black Panther finally hit theaters. Those days created a euphoria that still felt in the Black community and marked a milestone in representation for people of color in Hollywood.
Making good on its greater representation efforts, Marvel/Disney brings the first Asian-led superhero stand-alone work in the MCU to the screen with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Shang-Chi stars still fresh to movies Simu Liu starring as the title character and tells the origin story for a key figure in Phase 4 of the MCU.
Like Black Panther, the cultural significance of Shang-Chi is already a win, but how does it hold up in the MCU legacy of excellence?
Shang-Chi might be Liu’s star vehicle, but the women of the film drive it. Each actress brings a particular element that doesn’t necessarily drown out Liu, but it gives him sorely needed support and centers everything.
Awkwafina’s Katy predictably acts as the film’s comic relief with a dash of her Golden Globe-winning performance in The Farewell. The usual one-liners and wisecracks are there as she banters back and forth with Liu or adds a welcomed dose of self-awareness to keep things from being too much of a fantasy. Yet when necessary, Awkwafina veers into a warmth that shows she offers more than punchlines to the characters’ friendship and gives Shang-Chi a good bit of its heart.
While Awkwafina is the soul of the movie, Michelle Yeoh and Meng'er Zhang are its toughness. Yeoh’s martial arts mastery has been on display for almost five decades and she shows no signs of slowing down effortlessly executing the fight choreography. Zhang displays the sharpness of someone well-versed in performing hand-to-hand combat, despite Shang-Chi being her introduction to film and fighting.
That’s not to say that Liu is washed out of the movie because he proves he belongs in the MCU. He’s just as impressive as Yeoh and Zhang in his action scenes and he has excellent chemistry with Awkwafina.
The pitfall that dims Liu’s moment in the spotlight a little is the same issue that hurt Henry Golding in Snake Eyes – only hitting one note due to a lack of charisma. Maybe it’s the darkness of his character’s background or perhaps it's overplaying the reluctance to be a hero. I’m even willing to blame the GAWD AWFUL Air Jordan mid hybrids Liu wears throughout the film that no respectable sneakerhead would dare own, let alone wear while trying to save the world. However, Liu's monotonous temperament hinders the opportunities to endear the Shang-Chi character to the audience like Iron Man or T’Challa in past MCU films.
Behind the camera, Shang-Chi checks most of the MCU boxes. The script follows their infamous mix of action, comedy, and drama but with a couple of differences.
Chief among those differences is the emphasis on martial arts. The fights, coordinated by veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator Andy Cheng, are A-1. Cheng’s choreography injects a heaping dose of his frequent collaborator Jackie Chan into Shang-Chi with equally crisp, stylish, and fun duels.
Another difference is the dependence on its more affecting elements and secondary characters. The script features a plethora of heartfelt moments, but Shang-Chi plays the comedy card hard and gives the supporting cast a big load, which unfortunately has an adverse impact – it shrinks the Shang-Chi character.
By creating more of a team effort in the film, the script doesn’t do enough to truly make the Shangi-Chi character match the level of his importance both on and off the screen. Naturally, he’s David Ruffin, but the script made him Otis with slightly more contributions to the group. It doesn’t come remotely close to making the film a failure, but it feels wrong not to push a hero this relevant to his culture and representation in Hollywood to the forefront as much as possible.
Shang-Chi is a terrific kickoff to Phase 4 of the MCU. While it pretty much paints by MCU origin story numbers, there’s plenty to prevent that from being an issue, primarily thanks to entertaining yet slick fight choreography and strong performances from the supporting cast.
It could have done more to highlight its protagonist due to his cultural importance and give him better sneakers, but Shang-Chi proves we’re in for another long run of sustained excellence from the house Stan Lee built and Mickey Mouse runs.
The film was shot entirely in IMAX so you should catch it in that format if possible, but you don’t miss anything watching in other formats. And per usual, stay until all the credits have rolled.
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