Marvel’s Shang-Chi; Was it Worth the Hype? 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released in theaters on September 3.  Before the movie was released, it had most Marvel fans raving. The main character, Shaun, is played by actor Simu Liu. He lives in San Francisco and appears to be a normal young American trying to make the most of the little things in life. He and his best friend daydream about continuing their mediocre job while simply enjoying the company of one another. This introduction seems to be casual; however, there is a twist.  Shaun’s real name is Shang-Chi, and his background is far more profound than one would have assumed. Executing the personality and background of this character is a complex role to take on. Liu does a magnificent job of transforming from one character to another.  As such, Shaun becomes Shang-Chi: a trained ninja assassin, who learned from his father, Fu Manchu. Fu is an unmatched ninja who appears randomly to overturn a magical land with the intention of saving his long-lost, but unfortunately deceased, wife. Shang-Chi feels torn because he values his father’s opinions and emotions but he overcomes that weakness and is forced to challenge his father. 

An interesting aspect about this movie is how it is so different from most Marvel movies. First and foremost, the audience does not have to rely on previous films to understand the complete storyline.  For example, for those who haven’t watched Captain America, when the Avengers describe Captain as “100 years old” or “old man”, one may be confused. But again, this particular film does not rely on the background of other movies. Secondly, the introduction of martial arts from an Asian perspective in the film is a surprising and pleasant addition. Overall, the movie was enjoyable to watch.  However, the pre-release excitement of fans influenced a belief that the movie was going to be absolutely spectacular, and watching the movie was therefore underwhelming. Shang-Chi will be in theaters for a couple more weeks and will be available on the Disney bus on November 12th.