Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
After a forced 18-month break from releasing new content, Marvel and the MCU have come back in full force already releasing 4 original series and 2 original films in a matter of months with more on the schedule. The newest of these releases is Destin Daniel Cretton's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Introducing audiences to the newest hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings transports audiences to San Francisco where the innocent Xu Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is making ends meet and holding onto his youth alongside his friend Katy (Awkwafina). After an attack however, it becomes revealed that Shang-Chi has a relationship to a powerful weapon called the ten rings and the group protecting it also called the Ten Rings. Both Shang-Chi and Katy must leave San Francisco and embark on a classic MCU battle of good vs. evil.
As the MCU has grown and expanded, so have the criticisms of the world growing flat and stale. While this feels rather unfair to put onto the franchise as a whole considering the diversity found between films and characters, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings embodies these criticisms in the worst of ways. While no one could or even should try to negate what the film means in the lens of representation on the blockbuster level, as a film it is an experience that fails on nearly every level.
The immediate thing to stand out from the film is simply how bland it feels, Every aspect of the film lacks originality with 2021 alone much less the MCU as a whole overshadowing nearly every piece of the film. One of the clearest examples of this is the action. The action genre releases dozens of large-scale releases each year with well-directed hand-to-hand combat. Marvel this year even released Black Widow which used this style of combat causing the fighting within Shang-Chi to feel rather paint by numbers at this point. There is no tension or thrills when the good guys get into a brawl with a nameless side-villain and ends up overcoming the odds with little to no long-term repercussions or meaning. Historically, Marvel has been able to overcome this with superpowers offering fresh dynamics within fights or incredible directing in projects such as Captain America: The Winter Solider or the Daredevil series but Shang-Chi largely lacks either. Exposing Destin Daniel Cretton's lack of experience with directing action, the film feels a bit too in over its own head not just with the hand-to-hand combat scenes but also the references and inspiration from classic martial arts films that the film attempts to weave into its action. It is sloppy and boring which is one of the worst fates an action movie can have. It might not be embarrassingly bad or anything, but it is undeniably dull with even the coolest fight of the film which takes place on a bus being outdone by Nobody earlier in the same release year.
The story itself is equally boring. Not just has the origin story been done to death in the MCU alone but the film coming out the same summer as Mortal Kombat and Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins does it no favors. While this comparison is not meant to reduce the identities of these films, they all do share similar story beats causing Shang-Chi to feel even more unoriginal than it normally would. It doesn't help that Simu Liu tragically fails in the leading role at both the comedic and dramatic sides of his performance. At the very least, the MCU is known for the charisma of its actors yet Simu Liu is immediately flat. These elements come together to make Shang-Chi easily one of the most boring features of the MCU so far with its viewing experience honestly feeling like a chore.
With its average and paint by numbers plot, the one thing to make Shang-Chi truly stand out to wide audiences is its place within the MCU. Even this however ends up feeling disappointing. With dozens of stories in progress of being told, at this point filler films that don't directly evolve the plot feel like a waste of time. The MCU has audiences hooked but needs to get to the point before they lose the interest of those casual audiences. The idea that it might be another full decade before established narratives reach a proper conclusion is a truly terrifying thought. Even on a base level, its MCU identity hurts the film for fans as its opening location of San Francisco has already been used as a sandbox for destruction within Ant-Man and the Wasp making the location itself feel dull. It is possible to use a city and find multiple angles to embrace multiple stories such as how New York City has been handled between projects like The Defenders and the Spider-Man films, but Shang-Chi does the bare minimum here also.
For those who are fans of basic and paint-by-numbers martial arts origin stories, Shang-Chi will be perfect but for anyone expecting anything fresh or new, keep looking. Shang-Chi immediately falls close to the bottom tier of Marvel films with the project being both uninteresting and instantly forgettable. It is truly a shame that a project so socially important and meaningful had to turn out so painful.
As the MCU has grown and expanded, so have the criticisms of the world growing flat and stale. While this feels rather unfair to put onto the franchise as a whole considering the diversity found between films and characters, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings embodies these criticisms in the worst of ways. While no one could or even should try to negate what the film means in the lens of representation on the blockbuster level, as a film it is an experience that fails on nearly every level.
The immediate thing to stand out from the film is simply how bland it feels, Every aspect of the film lacks originality with 2021 alone much less the MCU as a whole overshadowing nearly every piece of the film. One of the clearest examples of this is the action. The action genre releases dozens of large-scale releases each year with well-directed hand-to-hand combat. Marvel this year even released Black Widow which used this style of combat causing the fighting within Shang-Chi to feel rather paint by numbers at this point. There is no tension or thrills when the good guys get into a brawl with a nameless side-villain and ends up overcoming the odds with little to no long-term repercussions or meaning. Historically, Marvel has been able to overcome this with superpowers offering fresh dynamics within fights or incredible directing in projects such as Captain America: The Winter Solider or the Daredevil series but Shang-Chi largely lacks either. Exposing Destin Daniel Cretton's lack of experience with directing action, the film feels a bit too in over its own head not just with the hand-to-hand combat scenes but also the references and inspiration from classic martial arts films that the film attempts to weave into its action. It is sloppy and boring which is one of the worst fates an action movie can have. It might not be embarrassingly bad or anything, but it is undeniably dull with even the coolest fight of the film which takes place on a bus being outdone by Nobody earlier in the same release year.
The story itself is equally boring. Not just has the origin story been done to death in the MCU alone but the film coming out the same summer as Mortal Kombat and Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins does it no favors. While this comparison is not meant to reduce the identities of these films, they all do share similar story beats causing Shang-Chi to feel even more unoriginal than it normally would. It doesn't help that Simu Liu tragically fails in the leading role at both the comedic and dramatic sides of his performance. At the very least, the MCU is known for the charisma of its actors yet Simu Liu is immediately flat. These elements come together to make Shang-Chi easily one of the most boring features of the MCU so far with its viewing experience honestly feeling like a chore.
With its average and paint by numbers plot, the one thing to make Shang-Chi truly stand out to wide audiences is its place within the MCU. Even this however ends up feeling disappointing. With dozens of stories in progress of being told, at this point filler films that don't directly evolve the plot feel like a waste of time. The MCU has audiences hooked but needs to get to the point before they lose the interest of those casual audiences. The idea that it might be another full decade before established narratives reach a proper conclusion is a truly terrifying thought. Even on a base level, its MCU identity hurts the film for fans as its opening location of San Francisco has already been used as a sandbox for destruction within Ant-Man and the Wasp making the location itself feel dull. It is possible to use a city and find multiple angles to embrace multiple stories such as how New York City has been handled between projects like The Defenders and the Spider-Man films, but Shang-Chi does the bare minimum here also.
For those who are fans of basic and paint-by-numbers martial arts origin stories, Shang-Chi will be perfect but for anyone expecting anything fresh or new, keep looking. Shang-Chi immediately falls close to the bottom tier of Marvel films with the project being both uninteresting and instantly forgettable. It is truly a shame that a project so socially important and meaningful had to turn out so painful.