For those still reeling from the loss of some of our favourite superheroes, the likes of WandaVision and Loki, have acted as a bridge from the Marvel Cinematic Universe of old to the scary unknown of the new. And whilst it may offer something of a comfort to know that familiar faces are still there, with Hawkeye coming to Disney+ in November and Spider-Man: No Way Home coming to cinemas in time for Christmas, it’s hard to deny that the age of the Avengers is truly over and a new era has begun.
Enter Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.
Marvel’s first asian-led offering perfectly balances the old and the new. Heavily influenced by the martial arts movies of yesteryear, Shang-Chi takes an ancient culture and brings it to the forefront of the modern day superhero fandom. Stealing a trick from the Thor handbook, director Destin Daniel Cretton cast a relatively unknown actor as his leading man and, much like Tom Hiddlestone and Chris Hemsworth, Simu Liu took his opportunity and ran with it.
Child of the infamous Wenwu, ancient master of the Ten Rings, Shang-chi had something of a complicated childhood. Living for a thousand years, the power of the rings helped Wenwu forge an empire built on fear and destruction that swayed and influenced events the whole world over. But, as is always the case, the power hungry are never sated and Wenwu turned his attention to the mystical village of Ta Lo, where it was said a greater power was hidden.
But instead of power, Wenwu found peace and love, putting away the rings and settling down for a life of familial bliss. But when his wife was killed, the vengeful killer returned and he trained Shang-Chi and his sister to become deadly assassins. At the age of fourteen, Shang-Chi was sent on his first assignment but instead he took the opportunity to run and hide. Ten years later, Shang-Chi aka ‘Shaun’, is now living in San Francisco and working as a valet with his best friend Katy but when his past finally catches up with him he must step up and become who he is destined to be.
In all honesty, after thirteen years and some twenty-odd instalments, I’m kind of going through the motions a little bit when it comes to the MCU, watching every film and series churned out like some cinematic version of Pavlov’s dogs, but I have to say that once I accepted the fact that I was watching yet another origin story, Shang-Chi was good enough to rekindle some of that excitement and anticipation that the MCU used to instill on a regular basis.
The casting of Simu Liu was a bold and risky choice but it paid off in dividends. He handles the film’s many fight sequences with ease and brings an immense likeability to the role that transcends beyond the ‘hero’ part of his character, much in the same way as Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same and yet totally different. As his best friend Katy, Awkwafina is more than a quirky brand of comedic relief and the stereotypical best friend sidekick, she actually winds up playing quite an important role in the story.
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung – a veritable legend of Hong Kong cinema – takes on the mantle of Wenwu in his first English language film, delivering a two-dimensional villain that is complex and nuanced, driven as much by grief, anguish and despair as he was by power and control. Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu and a grossly under utilised Michelle Yeoh help round out the cast, with some familiar faces also making appearances.
As the film is an origin story, there were times where the pace dragged a little bit but, drawing from the likes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ip Man and even The Matrix, we are treated to a smorgasbord of martial arts and expertly choreographed fight sequences that more than make up for the occasional lull.
The film is visually stunning and beautiful to look at. There is a sense of magic and mysticism that is excellently delivered whilst still managing to stay firmly grounded. Knowing that the multiverse will be coming to the MCU, I am interested to see how this will translate into the fourth phase of Kevin Feige’s grand plan for the cinematic universe. It really seems that magic will be coming to the fore and that is quite exciting.
