Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Review

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a comic book movie based on the Marvel Comics' character Shang-Chi, and the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (aka the MCU). The movie is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is written by Destin Daniel Cretton and David Callaham and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

The story is the past has come back to haunt Shang-Chi. The mysterious Ten Rings organization has been causing a lot of damage as of late, and Shang-Chi wants to put a stop to them. However, he'll have to go through a lot of trails in order to put a stop to this dangerous group.

Initial Reaction

I'm gonna be fully honest, this was one of my most anticipated movies but after a while the excitement just started to go down. The biggest reason is, the trailers and the marketing just weren't good. It all made the movie feel like it was going to be generic. And the last MCU movie I saw that being Black Widow wasn't very good but, like many movies before I was going to give it a chance.

Cons

One awful aspect of the film is the humor. Dear lord, I have never been so silent when it came to jokes in my entire life. There was one joke I liked, but it was not worth sitting all the way to the final battle to see. Speaking of the humor, this film shares an exact problem that I had with Black Widow. And that's because of these humorous moments you have no idea what tone this film is going for. One moment I'm being told a story about a family that was broken apart because of a tragic event, then what seems like it came out of nowhere a character or characters will make some sort of joke. So now all of a sudden I'm in a more lighthearted moment. The tone is unbalanced that I'm surprised the script even went pass filming. Now to tell you my final issue with this movie and that is this a very forgettable film. I've heard lots of things about how this MCU movie is forgettable or how that MCU movie is forgettable, but I truly believe this one will be a very forgettable Marvel Studios film. Cause other than the mid-credit scene (which I'll get into later), there's really nothing about this movie that's gonna help it be talked about in the next few weeks or even for this entire month. Even if this movie is gonna be apart of some big overarching story much like the previous films were for The Infinity Saga, I'm not gonna feel an absolute need to watch this again even if it essential chapter one.

Middle Ground

One decent thing about Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the action. I did very much enjoy that final fight near the end of the movie. The middle portions of action I thought were okay, I was somewhat invested in them. The worst one was the bus fight scene. That scene was really trying to be Jackie Chan fight scene but it lack the charm and the charisma. It also didn't help we had really bad rap music, unnecessary slow-mo, and a REALLY unfunny joke involving some sort of Twitch streamer....yes, that was actually in the movie, and it's as dumb as it sounds. Another okay thing was the mid-credit scene. It was interesting, it did get more curious. But it really didn't need a joke in it (again, the freakin' humor is this movie is what really hurts it).

Pros

Now there are three positives about the film. One of those were the performances. Despite how weak everything is, the actors and actress were clearly doing their best even though the script isn't up to par. What I also enjoyed was the very beginning about how Shang-Chi's mom and dad meet. That was a very good story with a very good tone to it. That opening sequence really does it's job of hooking you in. The last thing I'll give credit for is the post-credit scene. It made curious about what's gonna happen with the Ten Rings after this, and better yet, it was played 100% straight with no jokes whatsoever.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is definitely at the very bottom of my list from bad to good MCU movies. The jokes REALLY needed to cut of the film entirely, the tone is complete mess, and despite what reviews are saying this isn't going to be a memorable movie regardless of critics calling it a "triumph". The alright parts were the action and the mid-credit scene. The real good stuff was the acting, the beginning, and the post-credit scene.

My final rating is Bad.

So yeah, don't even bother this one folks. Even if you are a major MCU fan. Anyhow, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Sept 6th for part two of my Road to The Matrix: Resurrections with my review of The Matrix Reloaded. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.