A polished, crowd-pleasing superhero origin film that stands out for its martial-arts choreography, family melodrama, and a magnetic central villain. It’s not the most inventive Marvel entry, but the action has real shape and the emotional core gives it more personality than average.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Action · Adventure
Wed · 2h 12m
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Simu Liu, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Awkwafina
Overview
Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
Director
Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast
Simu Liu, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Awkwafina
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, crowd-pleasing superhero origin film that stands out for its martial-arts choreography, family melodrama, and a magnetic central villain. It’s not the most inventive Marvel entry, but the action has real shape and the emotional core gives it more personality than average.
Best for
Viewers who want superhero action with strong hand-to-hand combat
Fans of family drama wrapped in fantasy adventure
Audiences who appreciate charismatic antagonists
People looking for a lighter, accessible entry point into Marvel
Skip if
You’re tired of origin-story structure and CGI-heavy finales
You want a more grounded martial-arts film with less fantasy
Marvel humor and quippy side characters usually don’t work for you
You prefer smaller-scale stories over franchise spectacle
Overview
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is one of Marvel’s more satisfying origin stories because it knows what it wants to be: a sleek action movie with family wounds at its center. The early sections are strongest, balancing intimacy, mystery, and a sense of inherited duty before the film opens up into bigger fantasy territory.
Worth noting
The fight choreography is a major draw. It has a cleaner, more readable physicality than many modern blockbusters, and the bus sequence in particular gives the movie a burst of personality. The cast helps too, especially Tony Leung, who brings real gravity and melancholy to a role that could have been just another comic-book villain.
Bottom line
The movie does lean on familiar Marvel rhythms, and some of the comedy undercuts its best dramatic material. But even when it slips into formula, it remains easy to watch, well-paced, and visually confident enough to justify the ride.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Quintin (3.5★) · 18397 likes
After applauding at the credits, this guy beside me told his buddy that Shang-Chi is the best foreign film he's ever seen.
Jay (3★) · 14386 likes
writer: so the villains motivation is being desperately in the mood for love casting director: boy do i have an actor for you
davidehrlich (3★) · 8759 likes
Tony Leung has these giant-ass magic rings that allow him to live forever …and we're supposed to think this is a BAD thing? okay marvel.
dodi (4★) · 7232 likes
if i have to see one more female character hanging by one hand and saying “let me go” in a marvel movie… they will be paying my therapy bills
Patrick Willems (3★) · 5808 likes
Another Marvel movie that would be twice as good if it had cost half as much
Themes
family conflict, legacy and inheritance, identity, martial arts, superhero origin story, mythic fantasy, father-son tension, redemption
Topics
superhero, martial arts, fantasy adventure, family drama, origin story, action choreography, mythology, blockbuster, identity, redemption