Shang-Chi: an uninhibited action film that fulfills its mission (review)
Between precise combat sequence and impeccable comedy scene, this Marvel is a success.
Released in 2021 in cinemas, Shang-Chi and the legend of the 10 rings is broadcast for the first time unencrypted this Sunday on television, on TF1. So what is the film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and carried by Simu Liu ? Here is our review.
Deadpool could have appeared in Shang-Chi and made his first steps in the MCU
Marvel is finally back on the big screen. The Covid parenthesis and the triumph of the series (WandaVision, Falcon and The Winter Soldier or Loki) suggested that the real center of gravity of the caped heroes had ended up sliding definitively towards the small screen. The very mediocre Black Widow hadn’t really reassured… And here comes Shang-Chi and the legend of the 10 ringsa modest blockbuster for the Marvel team, but spectacular and very entertaining enough to restore our faith.
Descended from a long line of Chinese warriors, Shang-Chi fled his father, Wen Wu, a notorious mobster, and left China to live anonymously in the United States. At the start of the film, it is under the name Shaun that he lives in San Francisco. A modest concierge, he only thinks about partying with his friend Katy. But when a gang of thugs tries to snatch his pendant, Shaun is forced to reveal his true identity. And after an incredible fight sequence on a bus, Shang-Chi leaves to face his past. Helped by his sister (who organizes free fights in Macau) and his aunt (Michelle Yeoh, matriarch of an isolated magical village in China), the blended family must prevent WenWu from taking control of the earth thanks to ten magic rings…
In the MCU galaxy, there are the big, bloated films and the more modest parentheses, supposed to present a new character. Shang-Chi clearly falls into the latter category. Fun, uninhibited, ideally crafted, Destin Cretton’s film combines impressive action scenes and functions as a breath of relaxation, away from the five-year plan planned by the parent company.
The intelligence of this production lies in the fact that, for their first Asian superhero film, Marvel cleverly pays homage to the entire spectrum of HK cinema. So we move on from a great Wu Xia fight (which evokes Tiger and dragon) to a “Jackie Chan-style” scene (the bus sequence) before flirting with supernatural romance and ending with an epico-fantastic delirium that almost pastiche Tsui Hark. But the lethal weapon of the film, the real one, is Tony Leung. He plays the mean dad, and the Hong Kong star’s beauty crushes it all. As usual with him, minimal effects create maximum disruption. Seeing him imperceptibly frown, or throw a deadly kick, immediately summons to the spectator’s mind his best roles (glamor In the mood for Love to the insane Foolproof). And her duel against Michelle Yeoh will delight all fans of the genre…
In short, between the teen comedy, the family romance, the digest of Chinese cinema and the new stone in the MCU building, Shang-Chi wins on all counts.
Shang-Chi 2 confirmed by Marvel, with the same director
