Marvel’s Phase 4 is officially upon us and in full swing with the recent releases of WandaVision, Black Widow, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and now Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Though Shang-Chi, the newest member of the MCU, was a much shorter movie than others (2hrs 12mins), it made its impact clear.

Throughout the film, key bits of foreshadowing was dropped, some of which were expected and others would be happy little surprises. I can say with certainty, I am now far more excited for the next Marvel movie than I was before watching Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Now, as the film is newly released, I will avoid any images outside of what has been shown in trailers and I will avoid narrative spoilers. Otherwise, to those of you who wish to be kept as much in dark as possible on these things, you have been warned.

I want to target some of the overall good and bad qualities of this film as it stands in comparison to prior films. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has that unique MCU sensation, but there was something different about this production. Some things I liked and some things I didn’t care for but, of course, you can be the judge of your own tastes.

Firstly, let’s talk about the overall objective of the movie. Shang-Chi appears to be coming into the MCU by joining the new Avengers Team. This much should be a given. He seems to have a close connection with certain present team members throughout the film foreshadowing this.

Of course, those of you familiar with the comics will already be aware of the divergence of the MCU coming up. Specifically, regarding the Dark Avengers and the Young Avengers teams. Given the context of Shang-Chi’s story (and age), he will likely tie into the Dark Avengers.

Phase 4 is already showing us that there is a new Avenger’s Team being developed, as most of the other members have moved on in some way or another. So, Kevin Feige is paving the way for the new team line-ups. With that, we are led to the question: “Who will become the leader or leaders?”

With Falcon canonically becoming the next Captain America it would be safe to assume that he will become the leader of the next era. This is the bridge that will connect the massive change that is Phase 4 after the Snap.

The Snap has been a cornerstone topic of every Marvel production since Endgame, as it will eventually tie in the mutants and even the MCU’s “Monsterverse”. With the release of WandaVision, the darker side of the MCU is officially blooming, gloriously. For more on this, be sure to go visit The Cosmic Wonder’s YouTube channel.

Now, this means several things are going to change. Namely, a massive up-scale in super-powered characters, both new and old. As the newer, powered characters come into the picture some older, more powerful characters have also come to the forefront.

This is the significance of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as the narrative delves into a story that has a canonized history of several thousand years. It brings with it a much more far-eastern-inspired, fantastic, and supernatural aspect to the MCU, beyond what Dr. Strange has already tied in.

Thus, we can assume a direct connection will be developed between Shang-Chi, the team, and the developing dark heroine, Wanda, becoming a villain in proxy to her grief. Now, all of this, as I said, means a lot of change is coming to the MCU, including the method of production and narration. Now, let’s dive in and dissect some things from Shang-Chi’s film.

Even though the film was shorter overall than some of its predecessors, such as the behemoth that was Endgame, there was a great measure of spacing of events and narrative. As an introductory film, they used a parallel narrative to consistently drive exposition without drying it out.

This paralleled narrative was well developed and clear in its usage (unlike Netflix’s The Witcher season 1). Easy to follow and emotionally gripping, it only added to the film and brought a depth of understanding that would otherwise require another film or even another hour of pure exposition.

In addition to the strong storytelling, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings maintained a constant level of excitement. Without exaggerating, almost every five minutes of the film had some form of combat. It was heavily engaged in eastern martial arts and was far more in-depth than anything from prior films. If you are looking for a Marvel film that is heavy on combat, then this will be one of your favorites by far.

Shang-Chi, like all MCU films, retained several previously mentioned characters from other films going even as far back as Phase 1 and tying up some loose ends. In this sense, Feige’s promise to keep everything connected is certainly apparent, as no stone is left unturned.

What’s more, the character development and combat in this film were stellar, to say the least. It’s a fast-paced production with methodical character development. Even though the attention is focused on Shang-Chi’s character, every character feels rounded and has clear development.

This is true of both sides of the film’s conflict, especially considering a morally grey antagonist whose reasoning and passion are relatable. Built ever stronger via the paralleled narrative, we are connected not only to Shang-Chi but to his antagonists as well.

The evil actions were driven by feelings of love, a desire to do good (somewhat), and create a stronger climatic introduction to this new MCU character. Combined with the heavy use of eastern mystical arts and cultural references I am excited to see how they will tie this in with the Avengers.

Now, let’s dive into some of the not-so-great aspects of the film. While the overall pacing of the film was fantastic, the last thirty or forty minutes felt rushed. Some of character development and acquisition of skills seemed shallow compared to other parts of the film. It appeared they had gone overtime or over budget at this point, despite having Disney/Marvel at their back with more than a $150 million budget.

What’s more, this final development was some of the most important of the film as it led to a fully realized protagonist. This had less to do with Shang-Chi though, and much more to do with Katy, his friend.

Every character had a deep development of their skills and weapon prowess. Yet, in Katy’s case, she picked up a bow (with minimal training) and immediately began to hit bullseyes and devastate enemies. It created a sense of disbelief for me, personally.

Katy was a pivotal character in the film and best friend to Shang-Chi, but her final developmental moments in the film felt so rushed. It was almost as though somebody just glossed over her character. Now, in fairness, this development happened in a collaged format, but the sentiment remains the same which could have been remedied with an additional scene.

Finally, the one thing that stood out to me as complete nonsense was the reach of a particular weapon. If you have seen the film then you know exactly what I’m talking about. It just created a complete sense of disconnect from the fight scenes where it was most noticeable.

Now the combat scenes overall were amazing and beautifully choreographed. It just seems, again, that this one aspect was overlooked. Especially when it could have been fixed with a simple use of character juxtaposition.

As far as Marvel movies go, I had high expectations and I was mostly blown away. The combat was everywhere and all-absorbing to where your eyes are glued to the screen. The character development is iconic of the MCU and leaves you yearning for the next film before you even leave the theatre. However, in comparison to the standard that we are used to with Marvel movies and their budget, parts of the film just seemed to have fallen flat.

Most everything was fantastic, but some things just stand out as questionable compared to some other MCU films, whether it was sloppiness or simply rushed production. Despite that, I will most certainly watch this film again once it releases on Disney Plus.

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Chang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Strong Storytelling
• Great Spacing of Events and Narrative
• Lots of Exciting Combat
• Stellar Character Development

Cons

• Last Thirty or Forty Minutes Felt Rushed
• The Reach of a Certain Weapon Created a Disconnect