Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a refreshing addition to the MCU, not only for its cultural significance but also for the vibrant new life it breathes into the universe. The film stars Simu Liu as Shaun and Awkwafina as his best friend Katy who are aimless valet drivers in San Francisco with not much drive to push them forward. This all changes when Shaun’s father, Wenwu, aka the Mandarin of the Ten Rings army, comes looking for him. Katy soon realizes he is not merely Shaun but Shang-Chi, son of the Ten Rings leader and an elite martial artist.

When I first saw the ten rings being used on screen, I thought they were fascinating as they had a lot of impact and weight to them in their appearance and sound, however as the film goes on, their utilization becomes fairly typical when it comes to Marvel films. They seem to serve more as generic gauntlets, blasters, or general power enhancers. There were only a few moments where I feel like these weapons had their own unique flair, but I would like to have seen a more distinctiveness to their use like something we’ve never seen before. On the other hand, when it came to the more intimate combat, that’s when the film really shined and highlighted its individuality in its fighting style and camera work. The first encounter from Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Leiko (Fala Chen) offers a beautiful fight sequence that feels weightless and airy. Their movements are light and precise but also impactful and technical like an intricate dance that not only reveals a lot about their fighting styles but also their budding relationship. The wide angles and sweeping camera shots gave a lot of gravitas to this scene, making it one of the few standouts. The second fight scene and perhaps my favorite from the movie was the bus scene.

This is when the movie felt different to me and brought a new energy to the MCU. The fight was so fast and dynamic in tandem with the music that I was so tense and on the edge of my seat with excitement. It was up close and personal and allowed every punch and maneuver to resonate and feel important to our character’s survival. The setting allowed us to see Katy and Shang-Chi’s teamwork and made for a fast-paced thrill ride that kept the action flowing. If a majority of the fights had been like these two scenes, then I would’ve been ecstatic throughout the movie, but unfortunately as it progressed, we were met with a lot of sequences that should’ve been amazing but suffered from poor lighting and jump cuts. The bamboo fight scene was great in concept, but the execution left a lot to be desired as it was difficult to make out what was happening while also lacking that previous fluidity. For some reason a good chunk of the fights were poorly lit and by the end of the film, because of the scale, that style of fighting had no place in the movie as it became a chaotic, albeit grand and mesmerizing, CG-fest where too much was happening to appreciate everything. And speaking of CG, this would be a good time to briefly go into the visuals of Shang-Chi.

To start off, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed many of the visuals in Shang-Chi, ranging from the varied settings in San Francisco, to an underground fight circuit in Macao, China, and all the way to the mystical hidden village of Ta Lo. It is in this village that we see some stunning imagery and some of the most vibrant and ambitious CG settings and creatures doing the most intricate moves that it pushes this animation to the limit, which will astonish audiences. Unfortunately, the small downside to so much happening on screen at one time is that the animation, though immensely impressive, starts to buckle under the weight and causes you to lose some of the grounding elements and stakes of more character driven battles in a climax so grand. While what we’re seeing is visually amazing, the culmination of those things coming together in a battle feel too disjointed to make much sense of everything that’s going on. In one moment, there’s an elaborate air and water battle taking place in the sky, while a battle rages below, cutting back and forth we begin to get overwhelmed and yet somehow characters are just standing in an active battlefield staring unimpeded while people die around them. It’s a little too much sometimes to say the least. Like I said before it’s much more engaging when these fights look cool and have character driven emotions behind them that feel tangible, which brings me to my last point regarding characters and story.

I will say the that the film is very well cast, however I found that in terms of characters, it lacked in some of the emotional beats surrounding Shang-Chi’s family. As fragmented as their family is supposed to be for the plot, when it came time for the family to regroup and express their grief, anger, or fear, I found it to mostly fall flat and come off too stoic, but I guess that would make sense for a family of trained killers. That’s not to say the film doesn’t hit any emotional beats because it does; there are moments with Wenwu and Shang-Chi, Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), and Shang-Chi and his mother, that resonate, but never them as a complete unit. Speaking of Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing, though she is given some character development, she mostly takes a backseat in the film when placed against the charisma and strong friendship of Shang-Chi and Katy. Awkwafina as Katy offered a lot of comedic relief along with another character, but it felt balanced in a way that didn’t ruin some of the more serious scenes. Though it suffers from some slow pacing in the middle, the story was very neat and well executed, and it expanded the universe while delivering a fun and exciting origin story. Shang-Chi, much like Black Panther, is undoubtedly a groundbreaking film for its representation, and with its great cast, action, and spectacular effects it is a valuable inclusion to phase four of Marvel that will hopefully surge new life and stories into the MCU moving forward. Definitely go see this one in theaters.