For a long time, I thought this movie was the true beginning of the multiverse saga instead of Far From Home, due to its brand-new characters and story. In this movie, we see follow a man named Shaun (his alias for Shang-Chi) who works as a valet parker with his best friend, Katy. However, his past comes back to haunt him when his dad’s old criminal organization—The Ten Rings—comes for him and his secret sister. As more secrets are revealed and old wounds resurface, Shang-Chi must confront his past and stop his dad from unleashing dark supernatural forces upon the Earth. 

Pro/Con #1: The Ten Rings

If anyone should ask me about this film, the first thing that will come to mind are the very artifacts of the Ten Rings. For one thing, the lore behind them is admittedly brief but still enough to draw the audience in. During the opening of the film, Shang-Chi’s mother explained that the Rings were found in a crater, but doesn’t give any other details of where they come from or who they belonged to before Wenwu (Shang-Chi’s dad). While that is mildly frustrating, we pay all the more attention to the Rings because we don’t know anything else. But of course, you don’t simply sell the idea of powerful weapons based on lore alone. That’s why Marvel allowed us to see these ancient relics in action, and their use has created some of the best and unique action sequences in a long time! Simply the way Wenwu and Shang-Chi can manipulate the rings to form shields, add extra strength to one arm, projectiles, and even more is just mesmerizing to watch. It’s also amazing how the rings can stay connected on a line of energy, almost like pulling an actual chain. That’s why I love the final fight scene between Shang-Chi and Wenwu: the many clashes, stand-stills, and other uses of the Rings is absolutely insane! 

However, in spite of how awesome the Rings are, the most disappointing thing is how Marvel hasn’t done anything with them since. After four long years since this movie’s release, we have not seen or heard anything about the Rings; not even an off-handed mention. What makes this especially disappointing is the way they set the Rings up in a post-credit scene: where Wong, Banner, and Captain Marvel analyze the Rings. They point out that they’re transmitting to something deep in space, but they have no idea what it could be. After a grave warning to prepare for what’s coming, Shang-Chi and Katy take Wong out for karaoke and call it a day. After that, I was expecting there would eventually be a reveal that they were calling to Kang the Conqueror or even Galactus, or some kind of relevant tie-in like with the Infinity Stones in the previous saga. But in the midst of the constant releases of new shows, specials, and films, I honestly forgot about the Rings’ homing beacon until writing this piece. I just hope that the Rings become relevant again soon, and not another detail swept under the rug. 

Pro/Con #2: The Characters

Another reason this film is so beloved is because of how well-written these characters are, which includes their satisfying arcs. For example, take Shang-Chi and Katy: those two were hilarious and fun to watch, and their chemistry was so natural with the way they joke and talk to each other. But as the movie goes on, it’s clear that not only Shang-Chi has been running away from his problems, but Katy as well. While Shang-Chi wanted to escape his traumatic childhood where Wenwu trained him to be a killer, Katy wanted to escape adult responsibilities and the terrifying unknown outside her comfort zone. That’s why it was all the more rewarding to watch them both step up to the plate: when Shang-Chi had to confront his own father and then the evil he unknowingly unleashed, and then Katy being brave enough to fire her arrow into the evil’s throat to give the heroes a fighting chance. However, while the protagonists were great, the antagonists were handled just as well. For instance, Wenwu was originally portrayed as a ruthless, almost immortal conqueror and leader of a criminal gang ever since he discovered the Ten Rings. But after finding love and starting a family, he gave it all up to live a happy life with them. Of course, though, that’s usually when everything goes to crap. After his wife was killed, Wenwu immediately reverted back to his old self and hunted down those responsible, then he trained his son to be just as ruthless as he was. But the real kicker is that, even though he planned to keep the Ten Rings reformed this time, all he wanted in the end was to bring his beloved wife back from the dead and make his family whole again. Such a background only makes the guy all the more sympathetic! He may sound soft at times, maybe not even as terrifying as other villains, but that’s only because he was too broken at the loss of the woman who brought light into his world. 

Yet, while these characters are amazing, that unfortunately leads to others being overshadowed and largely forgotten. Xialing, Shang-Chi’s sister, is a good example of this. Before I get too deep into this, I would like to point out that her role in the story was still significant in bringing the family together, helping take down the evil, and then taking over the Ten Rings. Plus, I deeply sympathize with her sibling relationship and how it fell apart after Shang-Chi ran away. And yet, I barely remember any scenes with the character. It could be the lack of significant screen time, but it just felt like her character wasn’t as deeply fleshed out as Shang-Chi or anyone else. Throughout much of the movie, the spotlight was more focused on the main protagonists and their arcs. Meanwhile, we get the basic story of how she felt hurt that Shang-Chi left, and how she trained herself to fight since her dad wouldn’t allow her to train. While her rejection and isolation are also sympathetic, we don’t get anything deeper than that. We also don’t see any growth from that either, unless you count her aforementioned usurpation of the Ten Rings. On the other hand, we got to see the nearly two-hour exploration of Shang-Chi confronting his past, Katy finding herself, and even Wenwu sacrificing his immortality to let his children live to fight another day. But again, we don’t see much growth from Xialing aside from her helping to fight the evil and prepare to run the Ten Rings her own way. 

Pro/Con #3: The Culture Blend

With superhero movies like this, you wouldn’t normally think blending fantastical stories with real-world culture would go so well. But I would argue that the creators behind this film found a perfect balance between the two! First of all, the movie opens with Shang-Chi’s mother narrating Wenwu’s story and how they met, but in Mandarin. Not only does it sound poetic and beautiful, but it doesn’t distract from the story due to the setting. With the time period and the costume designs, it almost makes you feel like you’re watching a documentary than a Marvel movie. Aside from that, there are many other Chinese customs and traditions that the movie portrays well: the importance of names, the emphasis on family, and even a small scene where Shang-Chi takes off his shoes before entering the apartment of Katy’s family. In fact, in said apartment, Katy’s grandmother mentioned an empty seat and certain items reserved for her deceased husband for The Day of the Dead. While it’s funny for her to leave a whole bottle of wine, some cigarettes, and some chips for him, it’s very informative for anyone who isn’t familiar with Chinese culture. Then, of course, there’s the dragon: The Great Protector. It perfectly resembles an Eastern dragon: no wings, four limbs, and even the snout and its whiskers. Plus, it looks awesome when it fights the great evil, and seeing it fight alongside Shang-Chi is absolutely stunning. 

With that being said, though, there is one small kink in this otherwise perfect balance. First and foremost, this is a Marvel film, which means there’s going to be lots of action and acts that defy science itself. This would inevitably mean that, as the movie goes on, they would focus less on the cultural references and more on the supernatural elements. For example, when watching scenes such as Wenwu vs Shang-Chi, one might notice the martial arts they both use. However, for people who absolutely love fight sequences, they’ll just pick up on how awesome their moves are. As another example, take the Great Protector vs the Dweller-In-Darkness. Is anyone going to see two mythical creatures fight, or are they going to notice two huge monsters duke it out? Heck, they might not notice or even remember the smaller references mentioned in the previous paragraph, because they came for a good fight and connection to Endgame. Now, I’m not saying that they need to shove references in our faces every five minutes, because then no one will want to listen to them. Overall, it would’ve been nice to see just a bit more integration between Chinese culture and this movie. However, this will not in any way ruin the experience for anyone. Like I said before, they already did an amazing job balancing the two elements, this is just a personal preference and only because these references can be fascinating. 

Conclusion

This was an absolutely amazing movie! Not as amazing as past movies, but it’s still a fantastic start to the Multiverse Saga. They had a great story, with no unnecessary elements or trashy dialogue, just Marvel like it used to be. And with the general present opinion of Marvel at the moment, we need more stories like this.