Written by Akira
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been out for a week now and I can already say that it is easily one of my favourite Marvel films to date. With the loss of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers I felt my connection to the Marvel universe waning, but Shang-Chi has brought with him the fire to ignite Phase 4.
Shang-Chi is one of, if not the most, stunning Marvel films I have ever witnessed. It’s clear that this film was made through the eyes of someone who loves and respects Asian culture. In the first ten minutes there is a fight scene reminiscent of House of Flying Daggers which highlights the beauty and unique style of Chinese cinema.
The casting choices made were absolutely spectacular. We have giants like Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung who are amongst the finest actors of their generation and have provided us with decades of outstanding cinema alongside Simu Liu who’s breaking ground as the first Asian superhero to hit the big screen and Meng’er Zhang who just made her Hollywood debut. And not a single one feels out of place.
When Parasite Director Bong Joon-ho made the case for the western world to embrace subtitles and open themselves to the experience of foreign films, he was right. Having half the film in Mandarin elevates the experience and it strengthens the theme of duality that runs through the film.
Walking out of the cinema, I found it hard to think of anything I didn’t like about the movie.
Simu Liu’s parents were right; 84% only on the Tomatometer? What happened to the other 16%? Well now it’s sitting comfortably at an audience score of 98% and I think that’s about right.