In 1996, Wenwu enters a magical forest, where a woman named Ying Li fights against him, not wanting him near her village. However, the feud ends. Then the two fall in love, marry each other, and had 2 children: Shang-Chi and Xialing.
Shang-Chi loses his mom at age 7, and then is forced into learning intense martial arts until age 14, when he is sent away to San Francisco. His new “name” becomes Shaun.
Years have passed, leading to the present day. Shang-Chi goes to work at the hotel, where he does the valet parking service with his friend, Katy, who doesn’t know anything about his past.
Later, they board a bus, where a fight breaks out, and then everyone takes part in the chaos. This is due to the ten rings, which have caused the attacks. The rings also try to steal a pendant, that Shang-Chi’s mother had given him before she died.
Furious, Katy insists that Shang-Chi reveals details about his past. Not long after, Shang-Chi reunites with his Xialing, but during a wrestling competition at a fight club. Xialing also attempts to hurt Shang-Chi when she first meets him again after many years of not seeing him.
The two siblings also reunite with their father, Wenwu, who whisks them and Katy to China, where he claims that Li is calling to him from the afterlife.
They have to travel through complicated paths at the right times, or else, the trees smush them, while in a forest to get to their destination. There, Shang-Chi meets his maternal aunt, who gives more information about Tao Lu during the past millennium.
All the people there have to fight, especially with sea dragons that will threaten them as they work toward their goals. Unfortunately, Wenwu becomes an enemy to Shang-Chi—his own son, during this intense time. Will any of the characters achieve their desires?
Unlike other MCU films, this one pleased me a lot. In fact, it’s the first Marvel movie that I truly enjoyed.
The story begins lighthearted and even humorous, whether it’s when Katy and Shang-Chi sing “A Whole New World” during karaoke somewhere or when a random passenger captures and shares updates about the bus fight on his social media platform.
Which reminds me… I found it odd that no one got arrested from the bus battle, especially since it got a lot worse as the vehicle hit cars.
Nevertheless, everyone came out just fine, but barely. In real life, the driver and all the passengers would have been arrested. Oh, well – movie logic, and plot matters more.
Regardless of the beginning, the story intensifies with action, fantastic elements, like magical beasts, and much more after the first (presumably) ⅓ the movie. Twists, turns, and surprises come up frequently as well.
One thing I disliked was when Wenwu acted as a villain toward Shang-Chi. I understood how much he missed his wife, but I didn’t feel that gave him an excuse to mistreat his own son that far.
Yet, the scenes with the sea dragons drew me in. Not only was it because of their intensity levels, but how I also worried about Shang-Chi, and if he what would happen to him, especially as he tried every heroic deed possible.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a super-engaging watch. I rate the film 5 out of 5 stars.