Marvel’s cinematic universe never fails to amaze me within its storytelling. Director Destin Daniel Cretton of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” brilliantly tells us the story of Shang Chi (Simu Lu), who rejects his father, Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), to fight evil. The actors within this film are top-tier: with cinematically breaking stage combat, beautiful visual effects and the original motion picture soundtrack, “Shang-Chi” is not a film I regret seeing amidst the pandemic.
The development of the film was introduced from the success of the film “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018, where Asian leads were showcased in Hollywood. This allowed Marvel to expand on the idea of bringing the comics of Shang-Chi to life, which led to Marvel’s first stand-alone movie that features a lead Asian actor.
I was constantly in awe of Cretton’s development in characterization within his writing. This truly allowed Tony Leung to brilliantly be cast into this role. Leung’s performance was groundbreaking, as he portrays a father who has lost the love of his life and will do anything to feel her presence again. When Shang-Chi’s mother passes, Wenwu is determined to go through his wife’s previous home, Ta Lo, to get to a cave where he believes that her soul exists.
Leung’s appearance was one of the most impressive performances that I have seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cretton was able to depict a broken family so clearly, as well as how a family’s downfall emotionally impacted each character. Wenwu creates a family, defeats numerous enemies and undergoes a severe amount of emotional trauma, leading such depth to this character and Leung’s performance.
Cinematically speaking, I was impressed by the stunt choreography that was designed by Brad Allen. Allen was able to take traditional Chinese Kung Fu and beautifully depict it within his stunt work. Allen, who unfortunately passed away due to an illness on August 7, a month before “Shang-Chi” was released in the theaters, is recognized at the end of the film as the film is a memoir to Allen.
Simu Liu does all of his stunts himself, which is not something many actors take on. On Twitter, Liu posted a video to promote the film, with a behind-the-scenes look at the impressive stunt choreography being performed. Liu and Allen’s efforts combined to create an impactful performance and highlight Kung Fu style fighting.
This film was very fast in its pacing, as there was never a dull moment. I found myself to be truly captivated throughout the entirety of the film, especially within the CGI (computer-generated imagery) effects that were used. The Chinese-God realm Ta Lo was animated beautifully, as well as the unique creatures that were found within this village as well. The action and visuals alone within the CGI were very well done.
This is Marvel’s first Chinese-US cross-cultural superhero film, which alone is revolutionary. As the film has already become a box-office hit within weeks, this also marks a very large moment for Asian representation.
I highly recommend that you see Liu and Leung in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which you can currently see in theaters.