Shang-Chi e la leggenda dei dieci anelli

This was just a lot of fun. The story wasn't as tight as it could have been, but I found myself enjoying the whole movie regardless. The fight choreography was bangin', and all the action was just very well directed. Everything felt purposeful and exhilarating. The beginning of the movie feels like a straight-up martial arts movie and then as it progresses we get more and more fantasy elements working their way in which felt like a nice contrast. The music definitely felt like it added a lot here. I kept being reminded of how mixing different elements in with the more traditional orchestrated sounds really worked for Black Panther's soundtrack, and I honestly think this film did it even better. I think that, all in all, this is probably the best thing Marvel has produced since Endgame.

I'll start by saying that if you're looking for a great story, you'll be disappointed. Shang-Chi is a pretty standard hero's journey at its core, which is a shame because the story could have been inspired by House of Flying Daggers and other wuxia titles.

So why a rating so high? Because where the story falls, everything else excels.

Shang-Chi is visually spectacular and a real treat for the eyes with some visuals that are incredibly distinct for the MCU. In regards to aesthetics, Black Panther walked so Shang-Chi could run a marathon.

The fight scenes are all amazing. There's one weak fight, but it's meant to be weak, and they're all very long, which is great to see. One of the early ones went on for a solid 5 - 10 minutes, which was unexpected but far from disappointing.

The first actual fight scene is my favourite in the MCU, and I was worried none of the others would top it, but they were all delightful to watch, and I was so glad they did a parallel of it later on. Either way, the writers went hard on the fight scenes and that paid off.

In summary, the story is lacking, but I'm glad in a way because that allowed everything else to shine. And shine, it did. I hope future directors take lessons from the aesthetics and choreography of Shang-Chi.

Overall this movie exceeded my expectations. I wish I had gone to see it in theatres because visually, this movie is stunning. All the fight scenes, especially the ending would have looked even cooler on the big screen.

But stepping back and thinking about the actual story, it's kind of random, predictable at times and I'm not seeing how they're going to incorporate it into the rest of the MCU.

The other thing is the fight scenes: the choreography, the cinematography, the effects, they were great, and I think they knew that, so they took advantage of it. During the first half of the movie there would be a new fight scene every fifteen minutes that looked fantastic, but seemed to last just a bit too long.

All in all I liked it. The acting was pretty good, the pacing was reasonable, the soundtrack was unique and the visual effects were a strongpoint It was a good movie.

The best marvel movie after Endgame. The story is a bit cliché but the rest is absolutely amazing. The fight scenes are the best in the MCU in my opinion. Simu Liu as Shang-Chi is perfectly chosen and all the other characters are nice and the all the actors do a good job. Act 3 is on another level that we haven't seen before in MCU and the visual effects are spectacular, by far one of the best origin stories from Marvel!

I'll be honest - Marvel movies are not in my top 20 or even 50 but within the Marvel "Universe" I would say that Shang-Chi is in my top 5. I know, it's blasphemy and all that but think about it - is it better than Iron Man? I would admit yes - it's origin story is arguably better, and it's characters are a lot deeper. The Mandarin is a conflicted man, with evil but good as well, like real life. Is this movie better than The Avengers or Ragnarok or Infinity Wars? Hard to say, which means it's right up there with the best (of Marvel) in my opinion.

Plus, I'm a sucker for Chinese movies with the Chinese language being spoken - 1 of my favourite of all times, if not my absolute favourite, is of course 'Hero.' The Chinese language and the artistry of it's culture are magnificent.

All in all, well done Marvel, director Destin, and all those who worked to make this movie a reality. This is not just your average summer action movie; it's close to being a Masterpiece. And the humour is pretty swell too!

Cheers.