The Mosley Review: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

I bet I've used this analogy before, but it is totally warranted for this film. The film was like a 3 layered cake. The bottom layer was your base and everything you expect from a Marvel film. It has the comedy that is fun, but takes away from the more dramatic parts when it doesn't need to. The second layer is where you have the heart of the character's origin story that is both by the numbers, but breaks the mold in so many refreshing ways. The villain of the story is also so well fleshed out that you can empathize with him. The top layer is where it really gets satisfying with its burst of an all new flavor that hasn't been served in quite sometime. Martial arts films have always delivered such beauty and history within their visuals and fights scenes and this film does that in spades. Every fight scene is gorgeously choreographed and beautifully shot to where you follow the action, feel each punch and move with the characters without shaking the hell out of the camera. This has by far the best fight scenes I've ever seen since The Raid films. The icing on this cake is perfectly toped with a cherry that signifies the amount of care taken by the amazing cast. This film should not be this perfect and yet I am completely perplexed by its effortless delivery.

Simu Liu was outstanding as Xu Shang Chi. I liked that he wasn't the hero type right off the bat and the fact that we had time to learn his story and see him grow was excellent. His charm and physicality reminded me so much of the great Jackie Chan in his earlier days. Awkwafina was fun as his best friend Katy and she was a handful at times. She almost became the plucky side kick that delivers all the jokes and then quickly has nothing else to do, but I'm so happy that she had a purpose in the film and wasn't wasted. Their chemistry was perfect and I can't wait to see more of them. Meng'er Zhang was strong and powerful as Shang's sister estranged sister Xu Xialing. She represented the other slice of life Shang could've had and I loved their interactions. She was a true force and I loved that underneath all that strength was the sister that just wanted her brother to return. Fala Chen really was the heart of the film as their mother Ying Li. She brought to the life the mysticism and beauty this story deserved and you truly fall in love with her. Michelle Yeoh was graceful, powerful and the badass she is known to be and as Ying Nan, she was unstoppable. She embodied the wisdom and skill a leader of a secret realm should be and it was great to see in Michelle in action once again. Marvel has had a problem with their villains being so shallow. Outside of Thanos, Killmonger or Loki, none of them have really had as much depth, but now that problem has been solved. Tony Leung was fantastic as the Shang Chi's father Xu Wenwu and I loved the amount of emotional depth that was brought to his character. You understand his point of view and you empathize with him. There is so much pain in his eyes and you feel his heart harden once tragedy befalls him. I can finally say that we have another great villain that was somewhat miss understood.

The score by Joel P West is truly wonderful and fun! It follows the traditional sound of Chinese film and has the right mix of epic and mythic tones as the film progresses. The cinematography was beyond wondrous with the vast array of colors and the way the fight sequences are filmed. Like I said before, my biggest fear was that the camera was gonna shake so bad that you couldn't look at the screen almost like the Bourne films. All of those scenes were wonderfully shot and felt like the filmmakers TRULY studied how to film martial arts on camera. The bus fight was great, but the bamboo scaffolding fight was by far my favorite as it felt like a love letter to icons like Jackie Chan and Jet Li's style of using the environment as a story element. This was one of the most well backed cakes the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever delivered to us and I can't wait to have another slice. Definitely stick around for both end credits scenes. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!