Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) User Reviews (2,513)

Surprisingly good

[topdog-64841 · 8/10 · 28 November 2021]

I'll be honest - Marvel movies are not in my top 20 or even 50 but within the Marvel "Universe" I would say that Shang-Chi is in my top 5. I know, it's blasphemy and all that but think about it - is it better than Iron Man? I would admit yes - it's origin story is arguably better, and it's characters are a lot deeper. The Mandarin is a conflicted man, with evil but good as well, like real life. Is this movie better than The Avengers or Ragnarok or Infinity Wars? Hard to say, which means it's right up there with the best (of Marvel) in my opinion.

Plus, I'm a sucker for Chinese movies with the Chinese language being spoken - 1 of my favourite of all times, if not my absolute favourite, is of course 'Hero.' The Chinese language and the artistry of it's culture are magnificent.

All in all, well done Marvel, director Destin, and all those who worked to make this movie a reality. This is not just your average summer action movie; it's close to being a Masterpiece. And the humour is pretty swell too!

Cheers.

beautiful science fiction, fantasy and action movie!

[justwen89 · 8/10 · 17 November 2021]

Everything comes in it beautiful science fiction and beautiful mythical creatures. Sometimes you have creatures that don't seem real, but these just seemed real. Well done! There was a bit of avatar feeling in it. Fighting for the safekeeping of peace. Really beautiful. And self-acceptance was also nicely incorporated.

A Ringer for a Great MCU Flick

[MackMonMay87 · 8/10 · 26 November 2021]

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.

Who knew a superhero film could be so beautiful?

[dominicwood-14504 · 9/10 · 4 September 2021]

I'll start by saying that if you're looking for a great story, you'll be disappointed. Shang-Chi is a pretty standard hero's journey at its core, which is a shame because the story could have been inspired by House of Flying Daggers and other wuxia titles.

So why a rating so high? Because where the story falls, everything else excels.

Shang-Chi is visually spectacular and a real treat for the eyes with some visuals that are incredibly distinct for the MCU. In regards to aesthetics, Black Panther walked so Shang-Chi could run a marathon.

The fight scenes are all amazing. There's one weak fight, but it's meant to be weak, and they're all very long, which is great to see. One of the early ones went on for a solid 5 - 10 minutes, which was unexpected but far from disappointing.

The first actual fight scene is my favourite in the MCU, and I was worried none of the others would top it, but they were all delightful to watch, and I was so glad they did a parallel of it later on. Either way, the writers went hard on the fight scenes and that paid off.

In summary, the story is lacking, but I'm glad in a way because that allowed everything else to shine. And shine, it did. I hope future directors take lessons from the aesthetics and choreography of Shang-Chi.

A new standard!

[mattmaddock · 9/10 · 2 December 2021]

The goal of an MCU solo film is to sell the audience on a new character and power system. This movie does both perfectly, within the first 30 minutes we are drawn to Shang as a character and that lasts throughout the entire movie. The fight scenes have love and care poured into them and I hope they bring this team back for future MCU movies involving Shang because they pay homage to old kung fu movies beautifully.

Not too bad...

[Em72 · 7/10 · 27 November 2021]

Overall this movie exceeded my expectations. I wish I had gone to see it in theatres because visually, this movie is stunning. All the fight scenes, especially the ending would have looked even cooler on the big screen.

But stepping back and thinking about the actual story, it's kind of random, predictable at times and I'm not seeing how they're going to incorporate it into the rest of the MCU.

The other thing is the fight scenes: the choreography, the cinematography, the effects, they were great, and I think they knew that, so they took advantage of it. During the first half of the movie there would be a new fight scene every fifteen minutes that looked fantastic, but seemed to last just a bit too long.

All in all I liked it. The acting was pretty good, the pacing was reasonable, the soundtrack was unique and the visual effects were a strongpoint It was a good movie.

Tony Leung Brilliant performance made the show more than incredible.

[yeokueipeng · 10/10 · 14 November 2021]

The cgi are rather mudane but Tony Leung Performance was simply brilliant.

Its like his eye can transmit the sorrow Simply brilliant. I think an award should be apt.

The henchmen were rather underwhelming as well but all is saved by Tony's performance Wish there can be more story on the dragon and the evil dragon.

A visual feast.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 1 December 2021]

I am not a big fan of the many, many Marvel films. The only reason I saw this one was that my oldest daughter insisted I watch it....and overall I was impressed by the movie, though I think it was enjoyable more for the insane eye candy than the story itself.

I could talk about the plot but just noticed that there are over 2000 reviews for this film. So, I'll just say that it looked great and would have been great to have seen it on the big screen. The story itself, though enjoyable, wasn't one that particularly grabbed me or impacted on me...possibly because it was so violent and frenetic that the film, as a consequence, lacked intimacy and humanity.

Worth a watch with family

[m-ramanan · 8/10 · 26 November 2021]

RATED 8/10 Language: English Source: Hotstar RECOMMENDED

The story and making is worth to watch in big screen with good sound system. The first half is filled with great actions and funny moments and it get into serious mode in the second half.

The second half is more traditional and sentimental....the decent story and colourful visual makes this so grand... Good movie to watch with family.

Marks a bland start to the new phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe

[Sir_AmirSyarif · 6/10 · 24 October 2021]

Destin Daniel Cretton's 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' marks a bland start to the new phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is a spectacle with regards to action sequence and fighting choreography, but the film misses a solid storyline for an origin story as its titular character lacks personality and does not go through any heroic transformation story arc. Simu Liu has a strong presence as Shang-Chi, yet he is overshadowed by many of his more experienced co-stars.

Simu Liu Brought It

[darth_trek · 8/10 · 23 November 2021]

Really entertaining movie. Actors were great Simu Liu brought it big time he is excellent as the main character. Awkwafina is hilarious and I wish she had more screen time. As far as Marvel movies goes, it's not the best one but still very good.

This could've been great if it wasn't for the cheesy writing.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 7/10 · 11 November 2021]

The story was riddled with holes and plot issues. Since when does Awkwafina's pedestrian character all of a sudden get invited to become part of the MCU team? What's her super power... stupidity? Don't get me wrong, I love her, but her character was lazily written. Then there's the whole daddy issues dynamic - Shang is with him, then against, then with etc.. Then we have these ridiculous dragons fighting, where one scores some power crystals and becomes stronger! This is just infantile lazy writing. There was zero shock value or anything spectacular in the entire runtime, with tedious long middle acts and a bumbling third act. The jokes were cliched and not funny. The funniest parts were Ben Kingsley's character, (of whom was in this for what reasons??) and the ending to go Karaoke - which was the only time I actually cracked a chuckle. You'd think with three writers we'd have something cohesive and coherent. But instead of a Marvel superhero story, we got a Disney evil vs good with dragons thrown into the mix. It's as if they tried too hard to create the Asian version of Black Panther.

It's a shame, because the directing and cinematography were spot on, and great S/VFX - although a little overboard with the CGI i.e. Dragons. The martial arts choreography was outstanding (although again, overboard after the awesome bus scene), and the casting and performances were excellent, especially Leung, who pretty much carried the film on his shoulders. It's a 7/10 from me.

Sort of disappointed..

[daisukereds · 5/10 · 16 September 2021]

I got to admit I wasn't particularly blown away by anything in the movie.. I might even say "I was bored" by it.

Don't get me wrong.. it IS a spectacle! The action is great. The locations are nice, costume design, sound design, etc. But it is overall a soft release not worth seeing in theaters.. specially as a follow-up to what Endgame was.

The biggest problem for me, is how the underwritten lead has muddled personality (for reasons covered in the story) devoid of charm, personality or good dialogue.

The next issue is the humor, which didn't land for me.. Not once. The supporting lead Awkwafina isn't her normal "loud" self that's supposed to be funny every time she opens her mouth. Her role is very supportive and a little dramatic. And while I questioned myself why was she even there for, it doesn't ultimately matter. She is another forgettable character that is given more importance than the role deserves.

Finally, the third act is weak. There's a balancing problem with stakes. You can't feel tension or weight to any action. And there's a lot of superficial "I can't do it" until they can.

In the end, this feels like a very safe plot, written in a way to appeal to china (considering how the Mandarin is portrayed), that ends up appealing to no one specific. Certainly doesn't feel like a Marvel movie.. but it was bound to happen if we are to be introduced to different aspects of the narrative. But it also doesn't feel like a comic book. It's more generic than that.

Better than I expected!

[crom-dubh · 8/10 · 6 December 2021]

This was just a lot of fun. The story wasn't as tight as it could have been, but I found myself enjoying the whole movie regardless. The fight choreography was bangin', and all the action was just very well directed. Everything felt purposeful and exhilarating. The beginning of the movie feels like a straight-up martial arts movie and then as it progresses we get more and more fantasy elements working their way in which felt like a nice contrast. The music definitely felt like it added a lot here. I kept being reminded of how mixing different elements in with the more traditional orchestrated sounds really worked for Black Panther's soundtrack, and I honestly think this film did it even better. I think that, all in all, this is probably the best thing Marvel has produced since Endgame.

Amazing movie!

[marcel-107-170390 · 9/10 · 29 November 2021]

Truly an amazing movie! This movie depicts family very well. The visual effects are stunning, the martial arts are incredible, and there is just enough humor in it to relieve some of the darker notes. I can't wait for the sequel!

Solid first half, messy second half

[briancham1994 · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

I liked the first half of this film and I thought it was a fine addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The backstory with the father and the mother was a nice wuxia inspiration and a cool way of introducing the Chinese theme to Marvel. The protagonist and Awkwafina had a believable friendship that struggled to balance enjoyment with living up to expectations. The tensed family relationship was a great focus as the father's gravity and charisma almost matched that of Thanos and feels like a truly deep human being. Throughout, the fight choreography was amazing, especially the bus scene.

The second half was an obligatory CGI mess that takes the focus away from the family relationship. The epic legendary city of Ta Lo (Chinese version of Wakanda) is about thirty people living in a wooden village. That's all that stands between the world and a world-destroying demon, apparently. The hyped up final battle involves about ten soldiers with tasers. Wasn't the Ten Rings supposed to be a world-spanning empire? The fight between the dragons was so fast-paced that I couldn't tell what was going on.

That said, there are flaws that occur in both of the halves. The Ten Rings (the organisation) is very vague in its nature and impact. Why are they so feared? How have they taken over the world? What are they capable of? Show, don't tell! The Ten Rings (the artifacts) don't seem to do much beyond flying around and projecting energy. This is cool, but it seems like a step down from other cosmic jewellery and probably didn't deserve the praise in the post-credit scenes.

P. S. Trevor and Morris were definitely highlights of the film! Keep this up, Marvel!

Loved it

[parkercpk · 10/10 · 21 November 2021]

Asian representation without compromising on storytelling. Great cinematics and CGI. Can't wait to see what the Marvel team delivers next. Perfectly executed!

Beginning of Phase 4

[melwinbauer · 6/10 · 23 November 2021]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings takes place some time after Avengers Endgame is the beginning of phase four of the marvel cinematic universe.

Shang-Chi is an alright movie. It has some great fight scenes with some incredible fight choreography and epic large-scale battles. It is also has some good comedic scenes that made me laugh a couple of times. Where Shang-Chi suffers is when it comes to the plot. I didn't find the story very compelling and I didn't get that attached to the characters. It's a story that I feel has been done many times before.

Shang-Chi wasn't for me but it's comedy and fight scenes make up for some of it's flaws. If you are familiar with the Marvel franchise I assume you somewhat know what to expect and for you I can recommend it. Although the movie isn't that great, I still think it's good enough to the point of where it's worth watching just to keep up with the larger plot of the MCU. For those not invested in the MCU, I don't believe that this movie is the one you should start with.

something unique and fresh

[laviniadallam · 10/10 · 2 September 2021]

After 10 years of almost every movie being.armed combat, this one is fresh and the perfect start for phase 4 (yes, the start is with black widow but is something "old", too related to the previous phases), i loved every single moment, i got chills, i laughed. The soundtrack is astonishing, as the.cinematography. The best of the mcu if i may. Loved the colors. The fighting sequence leave you attached to the screen as they seem like they are dancing. All combined is something else, completely new and i can't wait to see more of simu liu as shang-chi because he was.brilliant.

Go see the movie!!

It was okay...

[jasminn_tan · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

I really liked that the actors spoke their native language, Mandarin, because it would've felt too Americanized otherwise. But there was something unfinished about this movie and I'm not sure what it is. The pacing was alright, a little too slow or fast at times, and as far as storylines go, it was not as exciting as I thought it would be. The fight scenes were great though, especially the final grand battle scene.

ALMOST a Superhero-Masterpiece

[kian_soltani · 9/10 · 24 November 2021]

This movie is really good! In fact the first half of the movie is almost flawless. Incredible combat scenes and a great family drama story set-up which promises an emotional climax and confrontation.

SPOILERS:

Where the movie fails to become a masterpiece is the last 20 minutes. Throughout the whole movie the conflict between father and son is at the forefront and is the real emotional driving force of the story. And what a great idea for a superhero movie to tackle such a deep and relatable topic.

There is even an important line of foreshadowing by Shang, the evening before the final battle: -I'm going to kill my father-. What a strong statement and what a setup.

But then the climax of the movie turns out the be a fight between 2 dragons.. the father dies by pure bad luck couple of scenes earlier.. killed by a random monster.

A HUGE MISSED OPPORTUNITY

If they had kept the emotional conflict and the father&son dynamic as the climax of the movie, it COULD have become a masterpiece, which would have been more then just a great super-hero movie, it would have become timeless.

HERE'S MY PITCH FOR THE LAST 20 MINUTES:

1) the father tries to open the gate. Shang-Chi fights him. Shang gradually wins the upper hand in the battle as he taps into his mothers skills.

The father doesn't give in and continuously tries to open the gate. -If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me- he yells. Now Shang-Chi is confronted with the moral dilemma of choosing to save the world or the life of his father.

2) Shang-Chi choses to defeat his father, however he doesn't kill him just wounds him badly and takes the rings off him.

It is too late however, the gate has Already opened and the monster comes through and goes straight for the village

3) The father realizes his mistake and has a moment of emotional breakthrough as he realizes his wrongdoings and how he has let his son down as a father. He asks for forgiveness. They exchange a few deep words before Shang rushes off.

4) with the help of the rings and the village dragon Shang-Chi manages to defeat the Monster.

5) The gate is still open and it needs to be closed. It gets established that closing it also kills the person who does so.

6) Shang doesn't hesitate for a second and rushes to the gate to sacrifice himself. Just before getting there his father pushes him out of the way and closes the gate in his stead. He dies saving his son and everyone else and redeems himself and ultimately heals the broken bond he had with his son.

...aaaaand scene.

Now THAT in my eyes would be a worthy arc for the father and emotional climax which pays off the great build up the movie does.

Ten Years too Late

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 14 September 2021]

I've said this before about Marvel movies: they are a victim of their own success. "Shang-Chi" had to follow up a decade and a half of quality MCU movies, so the same movie that would've been a smash 10 years ago isn't viewed quite the same today. The movie was good, but it failed to really separate itself.

"The Legend of Ten Rings" as a title already sounds too much like LOTR. And in fact it was something like it in that he with the rings had the power. Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) had the ten rings which gave him near omnipotence. With the ten rings he could defeat entire armies and live forever. He decided to use the rings to become a tyrant.

He was willing to put his rings aside and grow old for the love of his life, a woman he found after living 1000 years. I thought it was a bit strange that it took the man 1000 years to find his true love, but I didn't dwell on it.

Stranger than him taking a thousand years to find his true love was the woman who fell in love with him. She lived in a secret magical village in Macao that was totally isolated from the rest of the world. She was a gentle benign character who had powers herself and was able to defeat Wenwu when he came to essentially conquer her village. Somehow, through their Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-esque battle they fell in love. Maybe that makes sense for him being that he finally found someone who could defeat him, but it didn't make sense for this nearly pure woman to fall for a man with a 1000 year history of tyranny.

Still, they wed, forsook their powers and started a family.

Their family would be unceremoniously destroyed when an old foe of Wenwu--a vicious gang--came by their house to get their pound of flesh and killed Wenwu's wife, Li (Fala Chen). Li could've attempted to barter with them for some sort of material exchange for their past losses, but instead she immediately decided she'd try to fight the entire gang and lost her life in the process. That would cause Wenwu to don the ten rings again and return to tyranny.

So, if you're keeping score on Wenwu's wife, 1.) she was smitten with a man who came to destroy her village and 2.) she chose to fight an entire gang with no powers to speak of and with no attempts to negotiate.

I recognize that it was a plot device to advance the plot, but it could've been done a lot better and with more tact. Her character never struck me as someone impulsive and/or not able to judge character yet she exhibited both flaws.

Most of what I've covered was garnered throughout the movie via flashbacks. The real main character was Saun aka Shang-Chi (Simu Liu). He was the son of Wenwu and Li. Years later we see an adult Saun. He lives in SF and is a valet. He is violently thrust back into the life he ran away from when his father's goons came for the pendant around his neck given to him by his mother. It was at this point we learned his backstory, of which I've given some already. We find out he also has a sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), who Disney not so subtly informed us she had to train herself to become a fierce warrior because of her gender. The two of them had been split up for close to twenty years when Saun ran away after being trained to be an assassin by his father. He was fourteen at the time and she was ten when he promised her he'd be back. He never came back and when they met again in Macao as adults she held the same ten-year-old bitterness against him for running away as though a fourteen-year-old should've been more reliable. She greeted him with a butt-kicking that was twenty years in the making. It's clear that it never crossed her mind that he may have been killed, or maybe she would've considered his death a betrayal as well. Either way it was a completely childish way to handle reuniting with your long lost brother.

The two of them would join forces along with Saun's friend Katy (Awkwafina) and really quickly to stop their father. He was going to use the ten rings to breach a portal to another dimension which contained some soul-sucking demons.

The introduction of demons to the movie did offer some excitement. It upped the stakes of everyone involved and thrust another Marvel character into the role of saving the world.

Saun would save the world with the help of his friends and family. Some would die, but the most important characters lived. I was somewhat satisfied with the movie. The acting was commendable and Awkwafina was good as the comic relief. "Shang-Chi" may just be the placement of a singular brick to build to something bigger, I just hope what Marvel is building towards is worth it.

Movie for children only

[lucaseduardoalcantara · 1/10 · 16 November 2021]

As an adult, I think this movie is a complete mess. The ancient master gets knocked out quickly while the car driver woman with 2 days of training saves the day. Everybody should point this as a big problem so maybe they would stop making this kind of situation in several recent movies. But people are always praising and giving good scores. I really can't understand. The film industry will not improve this way.

Fun and entertaining

[beachside-60315 · 10/10 · 9 December 2021]

Finally! A fun and entertaining movie without all the garbage Hollyweird offers. Great special effects and story line. Best movie I have seen since the Covid outbreak.

Awesome

[mvp-95349 · 10/10 · 14 November 2021]

Great effects. I have waited for the movie to arrive on Disney plus and I honestly am upset I haven't watched sooner! Great movie. The cast made the movie very fun and I enjoyed the Creatures and dragon!