Shang-Chi is one of Marvel Comic's most unknown and underutilized characters in their comics, with his original comics containing a decent amount of racist imagery and embarrassing caricatures of various Asian stereotypes. At it's best, the MCU can turn any obscure group or concept from the comics into gold, and Shang-Chi is no different.
Shang-Chi might be one of the best examples of an idea that's actually better on film than the original source material, with the character's relationships, motivations, and place in the overall Marvel Universe all being improved upon in the film adaptation as opposed to the comics where he's mainly a hand-to-hand expert with no powers or special weapons, and isn't generally of much value to The Avengers.
Simu Liu is charismatic and athletically gifted enough to do solid justice to the lead role. I hope the sequel gives him even more to do with his character and his legacy, but for an introduction, this was great. Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, and of course the legendary Tony Leung all lend their talents to a great cast of characters.
Wen Wu is easily one of the top villain/antagonist characters in the MCU and probably all of comic book films. He's intimidating and masterful as a ruler, but heartfelt and believable as a family man. His presence elevates the entire production as he's a legend of cinema.
There's moments reminiscent of Black Panther, and the third act gets heavy into Chinese mythological imagery, but understand that this is not only meant as a superhero movie, but also a love-letter to Chinese storytelling and culture.
Shang-Chi features some of the best physical/non-super powered fight scenes in the MCU, with the choreography and the cinematography of said action taking a higher level. As soon as I saw the bus fight scene in the opening I had no worries about this part of the movie.
The Ten Rings themselves are not a weapon used in the comics, and are a wonderfully creative, versatile, and visually stunning weapon unlike anything I've ever seen before, and that's not an easy thing to say having seen as much comic book and sci-fi material as me.
Some of the pacing and character development could be a little better, but overall Shang-Chi is on the higher end of Marvel movies, and can also be solidly enjoyed by audiences totally unfamiliar with Marvel in general.
Shang-Chi might be one of the best examples of an idea that's actually better on film than the original source material, with the character's relationships, motivations, and place in the overall Marvel Universe all being improved upon in the film adaptation as opposed to the comics where he's mainly a hand-to-hand expert with no powers or special weapons, and isn't generally of much value to The Avengers.
Simu Liu is charismatic and athletically gifted enough to do solid justice to the lead role. I hope the sequel gives him even more to do with his character and his legacy, but for an introduction, this was great. Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, and of course the legendary Tony Leung all lend their talents to a great cast of characters.
Wen Wu is easily one of the top villain/antagonist characters in the MCU and probably all of comic book films. He's intimidating and masterful as a ruler, but heartfelt and believable as a family man. His presence elevates the entire production as he's a legend of cinema.
There's moments reminiscent of Black Panther, and the third act gets heavy into Chinese mythological imagery, but understand that this is not only meant as a superhero movie, but also a love-letter to Chinese storytelling and culture.
Shang-Chi features some of the best physical/non-super powered fight scenes in the MCU, with the choreography and the cinematography of said action taking a higher level. As soon as I saw the bus fight scene in the opening I had no worries about this part of the movie.
The Ten Rings themselves are not a weapon used in the comics, and are a wonderfully creative, versatile, and visually stunning weapon unlike anything I've ever seen before, and that's not an easy thing to say having seen as much comic book and sci-fi material as me.
Some of the pacing and character development could be a little better, but overall Shang-Chi is on the higher end of Marvel movies, and can also be solidly enjoyed by audiences totally unfamiliar with Marvel in general.