Following the release of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow in July, there was a lot riding on the MCU debut of the Master of Kung-Fu, Shang-Chi. Now before I get into the movie, if you’re not a big Marvel fan like myself, or you don’t read the comics, let me give you a little bit of history.
Shang-Chi was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, he debuted in Special Marvel Edition #15 in December 1973, during the Bronze Age of comics. The character finally received his first solo comic in 1983. Since that time, Shang-Chi has had numerous solo comics, but has appeared in multiple big storylines, and has joined forces with the likes of the X-Men, the Heroes for Hire, as well as The Avengers. Shang-Chi is an expert in multiple unarmed and weaponed based Wushu (Chines Martial Arts) styles which include, the gùn (long Staff), Nunchaku (nun chucks), and the Jian (sword). While he does go up against many different Villains in Marvel Comics, one major storyline the reoccurs throughout Shang-Chi’s time in his comic history is the battles against his villainous father Zheng Zu, an ancient Chinese sorcerer who has discovered the secrets to immortality. While his father wants him to join him, and be by his side, Shang-Chi has been against it due to his fathers’ villainous acts.
(Special Marvel Editon #15/Marvel Comics 1973)
Now that you know a small bit about Shang-Chi, let’s get into his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The first Asian-led superhero film in the MCU. The movie stars Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu, who is known for his role as Jung Kim in CBC’s Kim’s Convenience. He made his intentions known to Marvel Studios in December 2018, after he posted a tweet, expressing his interest in joining the MCU. At San-Diego Comic-Con 2019 when the movie was announced, he made his first appearance under the Marvel Studios banner when he was announced as the title character. The movie also stars actor and rapper Awkwafina, Ben Kingsley, Benedict Wong, and the North American debut for Hong Kong legend Tony Leung.
When it was announced that movie theatres could re-open, I made the choice that this would be my first movie to see in theatres since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, and it did not disappoint. Following Marvel Studios formula when debuting a new character, Shang-Chi’s first movie is an origin story. Although we find out more about his past throughout the movie, it begins with stories about his villainous father Xu Wenwu and the mystical weapon, the Ten Rings, and the Ten Rings organization. Now if you watch the MCU, you may remember that the Ten Rings were the ones who kidnapped Tony Stark all the way back in Iron Man (2008), and later appeared again in Iron Man 3 (2013) when A.I.M founder Aldrich Killian’s failed experiments were covered up as terrorist attacks done by the fictitious version of the Ten Rings, and their founder the Mandarin. Returning to present day we meet Shang-Chi, currently known as Shaun living his life in San Francisco California, not sure what his next move in life is, while making a living as a parking valet. Now I am not one to spoil movies for people, so in a short summary. Things happen where Shang-Chi must confront his past, and return home to save his sister, which ends up being a lie, and throughout the rest of the movie, he learns things about himself and his family’s past he did not previously know, which help him find out who he truly is, and become the Hero he was born to be.
How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/A1kwjvwyIw
— Simu Liu (刘思慕) (@SimuLiu) August 9, 2021
(Simu Liu/ Twitter)
As I said earlier there was a lot riding on the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It was being reported that if the movie didn’t do as well as expected, it would cause the release of The Eternals in November, and Spiderman: No Way Home in December to be pushed back even more. Well, the movie has been hot since it was released on Labour Day weekend and hasn’t looked back. It’s known that the Labour Day weekend is quiet for movies, which was a huge reason for concern. Shang-Chi broke the Labour Day weekend record and grossed $94 million dollars domestically and saved the two upcoming movies from being pushed back more.
There were a few things that caught my eye about this movie. First, was in my mind, the authenticity of the Martial Arts. While doing some research for this article, the stunt team were graduates of the Legendary Jackie Chan Stunt Team. Marvel Studios wanted the martial arts to be as authentic as possible, so they brought in Brad Allan, who was the first non-Asian to be on Jackie’s stunt team, he has appeared in about a dozen of Jackie’s films. Unfortunately, Brad passed away in August before the films release, the movie was dedicated to him. The work that Brad Allan, and the rest of the team did was phenomenal, the actors looked like they had been practicing Martial Arts for years prior to the film.
The music was another thing that I loved about this film. The film and soundtrack were curated and produced by the music collective known as 88rising, a record label that focuses on Asian, and Asian-American musicians. Along with 88rising, artists such as Anderson .Paak, Rich Brian, Swae Lee, Saweetie, 21 Savage, Rick Ross, and DJ Snake are also featured. It was mentioned in a press release by Marvel studios that 88rising worked close with director Destin Daniel Cretton, to develop the sounds of the film’s world. The music for this film worked so well, the songs were strategically placed throughout the film, and seemed to play perfectly with what was happening in the scene that was playing at the time.
Finally, the special effects. The creatures we see throughout the film looked majestic and looked as real as it gets. Some, if not all the creatures we see come from classic Chinese Mythology. The special effects during fight sequences were top notch, I give huge props to the special effects department for this film, they took their time with their work, and did a fantastic job on the movie.
(Photo: Instagram/@simuliu)
Now if you’re not a big MCU fan, I encourage you to check this movie out. You won’t be disappointed. If you’re looking to get into the MCU and are not sure where to start, you can start all the way at the beginning with Iron Man. You can also just start with Phase 4, which is the Phase of movies we are in. If you do that, Start with WandaVision and continue from there. Marvel has stated how its important to watch everything released in phase 4 in the order they come out in. They are connected more now, then any of the movies have been in the past.
Oh yeah, if you check the movie out, stay for the entire credits. There is a mid, and post credits scene that you don’t want to miss. You may also see some big-time characters make their returns, I won’t tell you who, you’re going to have to see the movie to find out.
-Kosta Pappas