Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Director: Destin Daniels Cretton
Cast: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Fala Chen, Tony Leung, Menger Zhang, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Yeoh
As Marvel expands its universe with a Chinese superhero and an Asia-set film, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings have a lot going on. The character begins with a clean slate that has no background in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, but comes with the baggage of the cultural representation and diversity debates that have surrounded superhero movies for some time. You can’t just dazzle the audience with the wonderfully choreographed action sequences, each kung fu move will be closely watched for technical accuracy.
But Marvel proved they’re doing it differently this time around with a long opening sequence set in China and entirely in Mandarin. You start to wonder if the film is in English, when the action finally moves to San Francisco and the English dialogues ensu.
The story of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a template. A teenager runs away from home to stop his avenging father Wenwu (Tony Leung) from forcing him to become an assassin. He seems to be living a pretty material life as a valet parking cars in San Francisco and occasionally racing them, until his past follows him. And then he must embrace his true identity and face the father and the responsibilities he is running away from.
Only that the Father is a great crime lord with divine power and immortality, and a mysterious band of assassins called the Ten Rings. He focuses alone on getting what he wants, and doesn’t hesitate to risk the lives of his children. The rest is the expected tug-of-war between family ties and righteousness, renunciation and self-servitude.
One of the film’s major achievements is that despite the dramatic background of Shang-Chi’s character, he becomes relatable from the get-go. His life without worries in San Francisco and his inspiring friend Katy (Awkwafina), who cannot speak their native language, offer realistic portrayals of millennial migrants. And so, it becomes easy for him to surprise people when he single-handedly saves a bus full of passengers from a group of deadly killers.
The bus scene is one of the most captivating action sequences out there, with Simu Liu’s scintillating display of martial arts skills. Despite coming from a superhero universe reliant on CGI, Shang-Chi relies, for a large part, on human strength and agility – borrowing from the wuxia style of films. A great example of this is Wenwu’s detailed introduction scene.
Although this is an original story, hints of various elements were present in previous MCU films such as Iron Man and Doctor Strange. If you’re not deep into the Marvel universe, connecting a few dots can be a problem. It ties into the larger Marvel universe with the explanation, and others, to let you know that this is not a disconnected turn of events.
The rarely seen before visual spectacle and action sequences you can enjoy without any background. Shang-Chi is one of the most amazingly surprising Marvel movies of all time. Changes in setting have allowed production design to be influenced by new flavours. The concrete jungle backdrop commonly seen in other superhero movies has been replaced by magical outdoors and bursts of beautiful colors, enhancing the big screen experience.
From Tony Stark stuff about Howard Stark’s legacy to Loki’s attempt to prove himself to his adoptive father Odin, daddy issues have been at the center of the MCU. This becomes the core of Shang-Chi, inspired by the conflicting character of Wenwu, who has all the power in the world, but has lost the one thing his heart longs for. Shang-Chi’s story works without the glitz and flair of the superhero genre.
In an almost deliberate attempt to set him apart from the other superheroes in the MCU, there is something strange about surrounding the Titanic character along with many others who are strong and charismatic. Aside from Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina and Meng’er Zhang – all seem similar to Simu Liu on occasions. Let’s hope that future movies give us more opportunities for Shang-Chi to cheer up rather than laugh at his expense.
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here
.