Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

release year: 2021
genre: superhero action
viewing setting: theater, 9/4/21

synopsis: A young man has a secret past, which he must return to in order to piece together a mystery and save the world.

impressions: This was pretty damn good. It touched on the main Marvel cinematic universe, but mostly did its own thing: a mix of martial arts, mysticism, magic, and monsters. There was also plenty of humor, and some cool settings and ideas. I hope this is the shape of things to come from Marvel.

acting: Simu Liu is the main character, who is far more than he appears to be. "Akwafina" is his friend, who provides the majority of the humor here, and does it very well. Meng'er Zhang is Shang-Chi's sister, who's a formidable fighter in her own right. Tony Leung is their father, who's hit both ends of the good/evil scale. Fala Chen is their peace-loving mother. Florian Munteanu (the main antagonist from Creed 2) is a sword-armed henchman.

final word: Outstanding non-cosmic-in-scope superhero movie that has everything.

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