Disney released the next Marvel movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, introducing the newest character for their series. Simu Liu plays the role of Shang-Chi aka Shawn, a seemingly normal car valet in San Francisco. This is the first Marvel film with an Asian-led cast. Awkwafina plays Shang Chi’s friend and side-kick, Katy, providing comic relief in the plot. Other co-stars include Tony Leung as Wenwu, Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, Ben Kingsley and Ronny Chieng.
The movie showcases choreographed martial arts scenes throughout as Shang-Chi and his sister, Xialing, are captured by their father, Wenwu, who is the leader of the Ten Rings organization. The heavy-handed Wenwu forces Shang-Chi, Xialing and Katy in his search for a mythical village where he believes his deceased wife is held hostage. The legend of the Ten Rings is revealed as is the relationship between Wenwu and Yeng-Li, the village guardian. The two fall in love, but Wenwu is not accepted into Yeng-Li’s community, so they leave their special abilities behind in order to be together. They have two children: Shang-Chi and Xialing. Yeng-Li is killed by Wenwu’s enemies and thus takes up the ten rings again that give him his immortality and special powers. A dangerous creature in the mythical village of Ta Lo uses Yeng-Li’s voice to call out to Wenwu to save her, drawing all to the mythical village of Ta Lo.
Characters from previous Marvel Universe films make an appearance in the film. Mark Ruffalo as Dr. David Banning, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and Benedict Wong as Wong the Sorcerer from Dr. Strange make an appearance to determine the origins of the ten rings. Other previously seen characters are Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin as seen in Iron Man 3 and Abomination are last seen in The Incredible Hulk. These appearances may seem insignificant at the moment, but their significance will become clearer in future Marvel movies. Everything has its place in the Marvel Universe.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an action-packed film setting up the path of the next phase of movies from Marvel. The credits revealed that there will be another Shang-Chi movie in the future. This movie is definitely a must-see and will not disappoint Marvel fans. Don’t forget to stay until all the credits roll. Don’t miss out on the two post-credit scenes.
