Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay he wrote with Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, and stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi alongside Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung. In the film, Shang-Chi is forced to confront his past when his father Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings terrorist organization, draws Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing into a search for a mythical village.
A film based on Shang-Chi entered development in 2001, but work did not begin in earnest until December 2018 when Callaham was hired. Cretton joined in March 2019 and the film's title and primary cast were announced that July. This revealed the film's connection to the Ten Rings organization, which previously appeared throughout the MCU, and its leader Wenwu who was adapted from the problematic comic book characters Fu Manchu and the Mandarin. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the first Marvel Studios film with an Asian director and a predominantly Asian cast. Filming began in Sydney in February 2020 but was put on hold in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in August and ended in October, with additional filming in San Francisco. Brad Allan and other members of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team coordinated the fight sequences.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on August 16, 2021, and was released in the United States on September 3 as part of Phase Four of the MCU. It grossed over $432 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2021. It set several box office records and received positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the exploration and representation of Asian culture which differentiated the film from the rest of the MCU, as well as the action sequences and Leung's performance. The film received various accolades, including a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 94th Academy Awards. A sequel is in development.

Plot

A thousand years ago, Xu Wenwu discovers the mystical ten rings which grant godly powers including immortality. He establishes the Ten Rings organization, conquering kingdoms and toppling governments throughout history. In 1996, Wenwu searches for Ta Lo, a village said to harbor mythical beasts. He travels through a magical forest to the village entrance but is stopped by a guardian, Ying Li. The two soon fall in love, but the Ta Lo villagers reject Wenwu so Li chooses to leave with him. They marry and have two children, Shang-Chi and Xialing. Wenwu abandons his organization and locks away the ten rings.
When Shang-Chi is seven years old, Li is murdered by Wenwu's enemies, the Iron Gang. Wenwu dons the rings once again, massacres the Iron Gang, and resumes leadership of his organization. He makes Shang-Chi undergo brutal training in martial arts but does not allow Xialing to train, prompting her to secretly teach herself. When Shang-Chi is 14, Wenwu sends him to assassinate the Iron Gang's leader. After completing his mission, a traumatized Shang-Chi runs away to San Francisco and adopts the name "Shaun".
In the present day, Shang-Chi works as a parking valet with his best friend Katy. They are attacked on a bus by the Ten Rings organization who steal a pendant that Li gave to Shang-Chi. Shang-Chi travels to Macau to find Xialing, fearing that the Ten Rings will go after her matching pendant. He reveals his past to Katy who insists on helping him. They find Xialing at a secret fight club which she founded after escaping from Wenwu at 16. The Ten Rings attack the fight club and Wenwu arrives to capture Shang-Chi, Katy, Xialing, and her pendant.
At the Ten Rings' compound, Wenwu uses the pendants to reveal a mystical map leading to Ta Lo. Wenwu explains that he has heard Li calling and believes she has been held captive in Ta Lo behind a sealed gate. He plans to destroy the village unless they release her. When his children and Katy object, he imprisons them. They meet former actor Trevor Slattery, whom the Ten Rings imprisoned for impersonating Wenwu, and his hundun companion Morris. They escape and Morris guides them to Ta Lo, which exists in a separate dimension with various Chinese mythological creatures.
The group meet Li's sister Ying Nan who explains the history of Ta Lo: thousands of years ago, the village's universe was attacked by the soul-consuming Dweller-in-Darkness and its soul eaters, but was saved by a Chinese dragon called the Great Protector who helped seal the Dark Gate to the Dweller's world. According to Nan, the Dweller-in-Darkness has been impersonating Li so Wenwu will use the ten rings to open the Gate. Shang-Chi, Xialing, Katy, Slattery, and Morris join the villagers in training and preparing for Wenwu's arrival, using outfits and weapons crafted from dragon scales that are effective against the soul eaters.
Wenwu and the Ten Rings arrive and attack. Wenwu overpowers Shang-Chi, pushes him into the nearby lake, and attacks the Gate with the rings. This allows some of the Dweller's soul eaters to escape, with the Ten Rings allying with the villagers to effectively fight them. The Great Protector revives Shang-Chi and bears him from the lake to battle the soul eaters. Wenwu and Shang-Chi fight once more, and Shang-Chi gains the upper hand but chooses to spare Wenwu. The Dweller-in-Darkness escapes from the weakened Gate and attacks Shang-Chi. Wenwu saves Shang-Chi but is killed by the Dweller-in-Darkness; he bequeaths the rings to Shang-Chi before he dies. Shang-Chi, the Great Protector, Xialing, and Katy slay the Dweller-in-Darkness. Afterward, Shang-Chi and Katy return to San Francisco where the sorcerer Wong summons them to Kamar-Taj.
In a mid-credits scene, Wong introduces Shang-Chi and Katy to Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers and the group discusses the origins of the rings. They discover that the rings are acting as a beacon to something. In a post-credits scene, Xialing becomes the new leader of the Ten Rings, despite telling Shang-Chi that she would disband the organization, and begins training women alongside men.

Cast

A skilled martial artist who was trained at a young age to be an assassin by his father Wenwu. Shang-Chi left the Ten Rings organization for a normal life in San Francisco, and changed his name to "Shaun". Director Destin Daniel Cretton characterized Shang-Chi as a fish out of water in the U.S. who attempts to hide that with his charisma, and does not know "who he really is". Cretton also compared Shang-Chi to Matt Damon's character Will Hunting from the film Good Will Hunting, with both characters combining masculinity and vulnerability, and having secrets and superpowers that they do not understand. Cretton said the film was a journey for Shang-Chi to discover his place in the world, and Liu added that Shang-Chi's identity struggles are the core of the character rather than his martial arts skills. Liu performed many of his own stunts since the character does not wear a mask, and put on of muscle for the role while working on his flexibility. Liu was knowledgeable in taekwondo, gymnastics, and Wing Chun. Additionally, he trained in other various martial arts, including tai chi, wushu, Muay Thai, silat, Krav Maga, jiu-jitsu, boxing, and street fighting for the film. Jayden Zhang and Arnold Sun portray Shang-Chi as a child and teenager, respectively.
  • Awkwafina as Katy:
A hotel valet and Shang-Chi's best friend in San Francisco who is unaware of his past. Awkwafina described Katy as relatable, with a "real heart" and dedication to Shang-Chi, who is "thrust into a world where she doesn't really know what to do discovering things about herself". Katy has difficulty committing to a direction in her life, something Awkwafina felt was a relatable struggle for a lot of Asian Americans due to their own expectations as well as those of their parents and society.
  • Meng'er Zhang as Xu Xialing:
Shang-Chi's estranged younger sister and Wenwu's daughter, who was excluded from the Ten Rings organization by her father due to his traditional gender bias. Xialing is an amalgamation of several comic book characters, particularly inspired by Zheng Bao Yu. This was Zhang's first film role, and she said the character was vulnerable behind her tough exterior. She originally had a red streak in her hair but Zhang asked for this to be removed during filming after discovering the style's association with the "rebellious Asian girl" stereotype; the streak was removed from existing footage in post-production with visual effects. For the role, Zhang trained in MMA, tai chi, and rope dart. Elodie Fong and Harmonie He portray Xialing as a child and teenager, respectively.
  • Fala Chen as Ying Li: Wenwu's wife and the mother of Shang-Chi and Xialing who was a guardian of Ta Lo. Chen studied tai chi for the role.
  • Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist: A member of the Ten Rings who has a machete blade for his right hand.
  • Benedict Wong as Wong: A Master of the Mystic Arts participating in a cage fighting tournament with Emil Blonsky.
  • Yuen Wah as Guang Bo: One of the leaders of Ta Lo.
  • Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan: A guardian of Ta Lo who is Shang-Chi and Xialing's aunt.
  • Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery:
An actor who previously took on the guise of the Mandarin and was abducted by the Ten Rings, becoming a "court jester" or Shakespearean fool for Wenwu. He has a close relationship with the mythical hundun Morris, and journeys to Ta Lo with Shang-Chi. Cretton felt it was "essential to hear admit how ridiculous that whole situation was", as seen in the film Iron Man 3 and the Marvel One-Shot short film All Hail the King, feeling that having Slattery apologize for impersonating Wenwu was the perfect way to apologize for the racial stereotypes surrounding the Mandarin. Kingsley enjoyed revisiting and developing the character, with Cretton saying Kingsley was able to portray "a Trevor who has actually benefited from being in prison and has come out a clean and sober version of himself".
  • Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu:
Shang-Chi and Xialing's father and the leader of the Ten Rings. Wenwu is an original character created for the Marvel Cinematic Universe who replaces Shang-Chi's original comic book father Fu Manchu, a "problematic character" associated with racist stereotypes to whom Marvel Studios does not hold the film rights. In the film, Wenwu has taken on many different names, including "The Mandarin", which is a name that producer Jonathan Schwartz noted comes with audience expectations due to its comic book history. He said Wenwu was a more complex and layered character than the comic book version, with Cretton adding that there were problematic aspects of the Mandarin's comic book portrayal that he wanted to change. He felt Leung avoided Asian stereotypes and a one-dimensional portrayal by bringing humanity and love to the role, describing Wenwu as a "fully realized human" with relatable reasons for his bad decisions. Leung did not want to approach the character as a villain, instead hoping to explore the reasons behind why he is "a man with history, who craves to be loved", describing him as "a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot". This was Leung's first Hollywood film after a long career primarily in Hong Kong action cinema.
Also appearing in the film are Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, Xialing's right-hand man and announcer at her underground fighting club; Jodi Long as Mrs. Chen, Katy's mother; Dallas Liu as Ruihua, Katy's brother; Paul He as Chancellor Hui; Tsai Chin as Katy's grandmother; Andy Le as Death Dealer, one of Wenwu's assassins who trained Shang-Chi in his youth; Stephanie Hsu and Kunal Dudheker as Soo and John, married friends of Shang-Chi and Katy; Zach Cherry as Klev, a bus rider who livestreams one of Shang-Chi's fights ; and Dee Baker as the voice of Morris, a hundun who befriends Slattery. Jade Xu reprises her role as a Black Widow named Helen from Black Widow, while Tim Roth provides uncredited vocals for his The Incredible Hulk character Abomination. Mark Ruffalo and Brie Larson appear, uncredited, in the mid-credits scene, reprising their respective MCU roles of Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel.