Get ready for a movie that makes new changes to the superhero genre with a full out Asian cast and crazy fighting action sequences with martial arts! Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a Marvel superhero action packed film with a heartfelt emotional storyline and brilliant cast of well-known actors. The film includes Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michelle Yeoh, Meng’ er Zhang, and Benedict Wong. You can go see the film at the nearby movie theaters like Whitewater Cinema, and others in nearby towns.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings starts off with the martial arts master Shang Chi played by Simu Liu who was hiding away in San Francisco from his father. The Mandarin with powerful magical rings is the leader of the unknown organization the Ten Rings, and must confront him. He left his past behind, living a whole new life in San Francisco with a best friend named Katy played by Awkwafina, and now they have come back to bring him home. He fights them back with a huge amount of awesome martial arts action sequences that were inspired by almost every Jackie Chan film; the IP Man series; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Kung Fu Hustle; and had the cinematography of The Matrix movies. Shang Chi must confront his past in order to stop his father from unleashing darkness onto the world, find himself, fix his family, become the hero he was meant to be, and save the world. 

I enjoyed the movie for its martial arts fighting sequences, the chemistry between Simu Liu and Awkwafina in their friendship, Simu Liu’s charismatic vibes as an actor, Tony Leung’s acting as the villain, the beautiful cinematography, and magical sense of mythology with the unique creatures that are featured. The humanity shown by Tony Leung as The Mandarin is so well done, and emphasized the theme about the importance of family. The way Simu channeled his character’s conflict-filled past into his acting felt similar to Matt Damon’s character from the movie Good Will Hunting, and it was a powerful performance. And there are a lot of moments with comedy to make you laugh hard in this film to take a breather from the serious moments and action scenes. 

The real reason why this movie is important is because it is the first superhero movie to have an all out Asian cast, breaking Asian stereotypes, making them important, and showing that they are also heroes too! It’s a movie that will make you want to watch it a couple of times. By the end of the film you’ll want to be a cool martial arts fighter like Shang Chi. This movie kicks some serious tail and you’ll be kicking your way out of the theater after the show!