This past Saturday was Texas A&M’s return to college football at full capacity, with them playing their first game against Kent State. While I was excited that the atmosphere that football brings to our campus was back, I had little interest in seeing a game I knew was going to be a blow out.
So instead, my roommate and I went to see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
To put it simply, the movie was phenomenal.
I honestly didn’t think it was going to be better than Black Widow or any other solo Marvel movies due to the fact that Marvel wasn’t promoting it as heavily as they did with most of their other movies. I went in with the mindset that not many people would be wanting to see this movie as it was about a new hero and didn’t tie in much with the other stories going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet; however, I was sorely mistaken. Even on a Saturday night when college football was dominating the town, the theater was still packed.
Shang-Chi, in my “professional” cinematic opinion, was better than Black Widow and is hands down my favorite solo marvel film to date. That’s saying something.
To start off, the fight scenes were absolutely enthralling. I have a tendency to get bored when there is too much action, but the way the scenes were filmed, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen. They were so well-thought out and so intricate. It was amazing to see these scenes that weren’t CGI, like how Endgame was. The actors in the movie legitimately learned how to fight and train and that made these scenes mean so much more.
More importantly, the plot was extremely well-developed. Even though the story had elements of magic, hidden worlds, and mystical creatures, it seemed to work so well that I can see how it fit into the Marvel world and never thought once that it was “too weird” and “too unrealistic” as it just made sense.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you, let me say one last thing. There were some scenes were I was laughing so hard at the great use of humor in the script and other times where I felt my heart clench at some sad scenes. This movie is an emotional rollercoaster everyone should experience
The family aspect that the film had was beautiful. It painted a beautiful and, at times, tragic picture of the main character’s family. The villain was amazing, and you could see why he did what he did. While I might’ve been so upset that he was causing such tyranny, I could see through the character to see his motivations and understand where he was coming from. It wasn’t from a place of evil necessarily, but more out of desperation, grief, and love.
If you have the chance to go to the movie theaters this weekend, I recommend Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with an incredible 10/10. Stop reading this and order your tickets!