After the successes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Wandavison, as well as the Black Widow “midquel”, Marvel fans eagerly awaited the first Marvel feature film that would take place after Spider-Man: Far From Home, the last film of the Marvel Cinematic Universes’ phase 3. 

Part of phase 4, which appears to be setting up a new generation of heros. With most of the original Avengers dead, retired, or partying in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, new people will be needed to be the new stars of the show. One of these hero’s being the highly-anticipated character, Shang-Chi.

In the comics, Shang-Chi is a master of martial arts and physical combat, but so are many others in the Marvel Universe, so what makes him so special? Although he does not have powers, Shang-Chi is the greatest martial artist in Marvel, able to defeat any non-powered individual, and even many powered ones with his superior skill.

However, was marvel able to properly translate the character from comic panel to silver screen?

So far, the answer seems to be yes. With a 92% critic score and 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has had a successful release, but what did the movie get right and wrong?

The film follows Shang-Chi, Simu Liu, the son of an ancient warlord, Wenwu, who is in possession of the ten rings, which give their user extraordinary power. As a child, Shang-Chi is taught martial arts and, even as a child, becomes one of the most dangerous fighters in the world. 

Wanting a different life, Shang-Chi escapes to America after his mother dies, where he takes the name “Shaun” and begins life in San Francisco. There he makes a new friend, Katy, Awkwafina, who becomes his closest companion.

Many years later, when Shang-Chi is an adult, soldiers working for Wenwu come looking for Shang-Chi and his sister, Xu Xialing Meng’er Zhang. After being captured and taken to his father, Shang-Chi, Xu Xialing, and Katy learn that Wenwu has been led to believe that his mother might be alive, locked in an ancient prison inside a hidden city. From there on, our trio and a few new friends race against Wenwu to get to the hidden city.

The film itself is very accessible for casual Marvel fans, with very little background knowledge needed to understand the film. However, having seen Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame would be helpful.

For people who don’t often watch superhero movies, I still recommend this film, and for bigger fans, it is an absolute must.