Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the latest Marvel blockbuster to hit the theatres, made history when it was officially released on Sep. 3, becoming the highest-grossing film to come out on Labor Day Weekend. On opening weekend alone, the film grossed $94 million, drew rave reviews and earned a 92% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. While many critics had early concerns about the film’s outcome due to its newcomer-heavy cast, it has undoubtedly been another smashing success for the MCU universe.Does the movie live up to the hype? I decided to head to the local movie theater to check it out.
The first thing I noticed was that compared to other films I have seen in theaters since they began reopening was that there were a lot more people. For COVID-19 standards, the theater was relatively full on the night I went, so it was clear that I wasn’t the only one who had heard good things about the film.
As someone who enjoys Marvel movies but definitely wouldn’t venture as far as to call myself a Marvel fanatic (full disclosure: Infinity War was the first MCU movie I saw), I appreciated how easy the story was to follow. The development of the story followed a rather unconventional timeline that revealed the character’s backstories as the action took place, but as someone with very little Marvel knowledge, I never felt out of the loop.
Although other MCU characters including Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel who appear via hologram late in the film were featured, the movie makes sense without knowing much about the Marvel universe. While Marvel fans undoubtedly make up the majority of viewers, this allows the film to appeal to a broader audience.
I also appreciated the balance the film struck between exploring complicated themes and delivering on the action Marvel fans have grown to love and expect. Although I found the visuals in some of the fast-paced fight scenes to be confusing and distracting at times, the hero-villain showdowns left viewers satisfied by the thrill.
In addition to the fight scenes, however, like many critics have observed, the film seemed to stray from the so-called franchise formula. Grounding the character’s background in the Asian-American experience, exploring complicated themes like family loyalty and the conflict between first-generation Asian American children and the wishes of their immigrant parents, the movie tried to shake things up from the normal MCU universe.
In all, I definitely recommend watching the film, even if it’s not in theaters. The film is expected to be released to streaming channels in mid-October.
