Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

"It's everything I've wanted a Marvel film to be; because it kind of is what the fans want, it has the stuff that's gonna make you enjoy your popcorn and people will feel like they're entertained. But you can tell there's more. You can tell they were reaching for a fresh perspective."

- Chris Stuckmann

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay he wrote with Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, from a story by Cretton and Callaham. It stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi alongside Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung. It premiered in Los Angeles on August 16, 2021, and was released in the United States on September 3, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.

Plot
Martial-arts master Shang-Chi confronts the past he thought he left behind when he's drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Why It Has the Ten Rings

 * 1) It explores another origin story for Marvel, this time, its Asian with Shang-Chi in this movie.
 * 2) Simu Liu's performance as Shang-Chi is fantastic and fits the role for the most part. He also did most of his own stunts.
 * 3) Emil Blonsky / Abomination from The Incredible Hulk returns in this movie after not appearing during Phase Two and Three.
 * 4) The choreography of the action sequences are perfect, much like other MCU as well as non-MCU movies, especially the bus scene.
 * 5) Excellent musical score.
 * 6) Unlike a similar Disney movie that also came out in September, this movie does a good job at representing an accurate representation and staying true to the Asian culture.
 * 7) It fixed the problems of Ben Kingsley's character, Trevor Slattery, the fake Mandarin from Iron Man 3.
 * 8) Shang-Chi's father is really entertaining and fantastic villain as Wenwu/The Mandarin, who is a sympathetic character who often leads the Ten Rings from the first Iron Man film.
 * 9) Just like Nakia from Black Panther, Xialing isn't the type of female character that always needs rescuing and is a very capable warrior.
 * 10) The ending is somewhat extended and sad, given the fact that in most fantasy films, the other characters on the good side who have died are brought back to life, making it less formulaic.
 * 11) Good direction by Destin Daniel Cretton.
 * 12) Decent pacing.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While Wenwu is a good villain, having the movie's ultimate antagonist be some mindless, world-destroying monster is a bit of a letdown.
 * 2) Katy can be kind of an annoying character in the movie's early stages, though she does improve towards the end.

Critical response
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings received very positive reviews, with many praising the choreography of the action sequences, exploration and representation of Asian culture, and the performances from the cast, particularly Liu and Leung. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 259 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The verified audiences score was 98% based on 10,000+ ratings. The website's critical consensus reads, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings isn't entirely free of Marvel's familiar formula, but this exciting origin story expands the MCU in more ways than one.", while the Audience Says section reads, "Shang-Chi covers new cultural ground for the MCU without losing any of the action, comedy, and emotion Marvel's movies are known for.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 91% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 78% saying they would definitely recommend it. On IMDb and Letterboxd, the film has ratings of 8/10 and 3.9/5.

Box office
As of September 19, 2021, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has grossed $176.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $143.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $320.6 million. The film earned $13.2 million worldwide from IMAX, which was a Labor Day weekend record.

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Trivia

 * In May 2021, a Chinese state media report excluded Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as Eternals, from its list of upcoming MCU films releasing, which Variety noted "added to rumors" that the films would not be released in China. In September 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that a theatrical release in China was unlikely due to comments Liu made in an interview with the CBC in 2017, referencing negative comments from his parents about living in China.
 * This was the first-ever live-action appearance of the Marvel character Shang Chi.
 * This is Simu Liu's first role in a movie. Before being an actor, he was a stock photo model.