Shang-Chi Movie Review: A Visually Impressive Film with Heart

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a roll with films in the past few years. And their newest movie is no exception. Shang-Chi is an impressive film that delivers action, heart, and visually stunning moments that are worth watching.

Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings tells the story of Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), who thought he left his father’s Ten Rings organization in favor of a “normal life” in San Francisco. However, when his father’s organization comes to find him years later, Shang-Chi has no option but to confront his past.

Take a look at the Shang-Chi movie trailer below.

Shang-Chi Movie Official Trailer

What I Liked And Didn’t Like

I have high expectations with Marvel movies. And this one didn’t disappoint.

From a production standpoint, Shang-Chi feels like a fresh addition to the MCU. The environments are lush. The music is evocative. And the fight cinematography and combat style work quite well in creating a fantasy feel.

All of that being said, there were a number of things that the film could have improved.

The action sequences were mixed with a ton of CGI. It was distracting (though visually quite impressive). There’s a lot happening, which took away from the focus of the story for me. In TV speak, it felt like shark-jumping.

I wish that Shang-Chi could have narrowed its vision more around legacy and loss. Instead, it relies heavily on visual effects, which to some degree – it has to. It’s a Marvel film after all. But still, it was just A LOT – especially in the last 20 minutes or so of the film.

My other main issue the writing could have been stronger. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. The script needed some additional edits as a number of the jokes felt forced or lazy. And the dialogue, overall, didn’t give the cast much to work with.

That being said, Awkwafina shines like the rare gem she is. She does a fantastic job at keeping the story grounded and being a relatable character for the audience.

Simu Liu’s portrayal of Shang-Chi is also palpable. While he doesn’t have the overt charisma that we see with a number of other superhero characters, he has a natural likeability to him that makes him enjoyable to watch in this role.

Shang-Chi Movie Overview

Despite my criticisms above (this is a movie review after all), I really enjoyed this film. It’s action-packed, emotionally engaging, visually stunning, based on Marvel Comics, and it has Awkwafina. That’s more than enough for me.

While Shang-Chi feels like it could be a stand-alone film, I’m excited about how these characters will play into the MCU moving forward.

The release date for Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi is September 3, 2021 (In theaters and on Disney+).