So I guess I'm just reviewing Marvel movies now. Which in this case means I will be posting way more often 😭. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. He directed such films as Just Mercy, and Glass Castle both of which I have not had the pleasure of watching. With all that said, this film like many marvel films accomplishes what it set out to do. This is a fantastic origin story based on character development.

Ok so let's get the basic stuff out of the way. I have a personal passion for speaking mandarin. I love it. I love it 👏 . Before watching Shang Chi I had a superfluous idea that maybe I'll get to hear some mandarin maybe I won't. And I can honestly say half the movie is in subtitles. I'm exaggerating of course, but they are very heavy-handed with the whole Chinese market.

I think I would consider myself an Awkwafina fan, but I wasn't really sure what they were going to do with her character. After about a third way through I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of screen time she got. So yea we're introduced to Shang Chi (Shawn) and his crazy best friend. They are completely satisfied with their "normal" lives until the main conflict happens. The first act of the film worked very well in making me care about the backstory and wanting to know more. Simu Liu did a good job at being relatable. I am beyond excited about his future in a potential Avengers 5 movie.

This film is about characterization. There are a lot of new characters entering the MCU. Simu Liu is an incredible actor. The character felt very fresh. They stayed true to Chinese culture by making family super important. They also made sure that people understood some of the complexities of being American born Chinese (ABC) as seen with Awkwafina's character. I would say that this film had a lot of similar elements to that of Black Panther. We explored a new location, we explored new characters, and we explored new lore.

The biggest drawback to this film is very pronounced among all Marvel films. All marvel films are setting up the next one, and the next one after that. So although the films are well made, we leave feeling kind of empty. We have to wait for the next one. Avengers End Game was fun in the sense that it felt like the culmination of 20 films finally had a conclusion.

I can't stop saying good things about this movie. I can't wait to see it again which is more than I can say for Black Widow. I give this movie a 9/10.