Shang-Chi, the master of unarmed weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization.
Comic-book movie fatigue is settling in. There’s only so much you can do with the fundamental structure of a Marvel adaptation. You’d have to look to streaming shows like “WandaVision” and “Loki” to see any sort of deviation from the formula — and even then, it’s mostly a lot of huffing and puffing to disguise what is essentially the same thing, over and over again.
Kudos to filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, and his army of co-writers (seriously, how many people does it take to write what is essentially an algorithm-driven plot?) for not even attempting to pretend like they’re revolutionizing the genre. In “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, they embrace the tropes but do so with enough vigor and skill — as well as a sense of mythical enchantment not usually present in gritty Marvel fare — to ensure its quaintness is what makes the film so charming/appealing. The most revolutionary thing about “Shang-Chi” is its refreshing lack of sermonizing. It just happens to have a predominantly Asian cast, and — gasp! — actual extended passages where characters speak in their native language.
The plot becomes increasingly more involved as it evolves from “young man and potential love interest embark on a quest to save his sister from their immortal father” to “a hero rediscovers his powers and must use them to save a magical parallel universe while coming to terms with his past.” Said hero is Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), his almost-girlfriend is Katy (Awkwafina), and together they must fight hordes of bad guys to get the titular rings back from Shang-Chi’s power-hungry, somewhat-loony dad. The driving force behind it all is Shang-Chi’s deceased mother, oh, and there’s yet another world, containing slimy flying beasties.
An extended fight in a bus with broken brakes brings to mind “Speed”; another one high up on a building’s scaffolding makes one think of Jackie Chan doing similar stunts, sans SFX, in “Rush Hour.” The fight sequences thrill, yet the centerpiece is arguably the land of the Ten Rings organization. Cretton and Co cunningly incorporate aspects of Chinese mythology into the narrative, with creatures of lore grazing emerald fields, bamboo forests threatening to shred and swallow their victims, and, yes, enormous dragons battling it out. It’s hard to believe that this assured mega-sized feature — which pays homage to old-school martial arts flicks, while imbuing them with a palpable sense of wonder, as well as that Marvel-lous gloss — is directed by the guy who’s helmed “The Glass Castle” and “Just Mercy.”
Simu Liu makes for a compelling hero, although he’s missing the spark that quite a few of his Marvel counterparts possess (e.g.: Dr. Strange’s wackiness or Iron Man’s humor). He’s an earnest hero, and we love him for it. Awkwafina establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with, owning the film’s biggest laughs. My favorite part was a hilarious, unexpected extended cameo by a previous Marvel character, which makes you wish they were in every sequence.
The humor-relief sidekick, the overabundance of special effects, the extended final battle, the predictable story beats, the stretched-out running length: it’s all present in “Shang-Chi.” One can’t help but wonder how much better the film would have been had it attempted something even bolder, had it not made us question whether each kick or background was as digitally rendered as its creatures. Still, compared to the lackluster stuff we’ve been seeing in theaters this year, Cretton’s old-fashioned blockbuster earns at least seven out of its ten coveted golden rings.
In Theaters Friday, September 3rd
