What’s up Nerds!

Shang-Chi was just released on Disney+ on November 12th and I finally got to watch it. We usually focus on anime and gaming dandies m fandoms on Nerd Light, but I couldn’t resist an opportunity to talk about a new Marvel movie.

Because we’re still in a panorama I opted to wait for the movie to come out on streaming instead of seeing it in the movies. It did very well in box office it’s first weekend. Shang-Chi made 35.8 million it’s first weekend in theaters and and a whopping 430.1 million total. This was a great comeback for Marvel and Disney after releasing movies only on streaming. I was excited as I heard great reviews of the movie and it did not disappoint.

First I love how the movie kept the traditional Chinese culture and music with a dash of pop culture. I enjoyed the history ride we were on as Shang-Chi’s mother explains some of the lore behind the ten rings. It explains not where the ten rings are from but how they’ve been used over the last thousand years. Shang-Chi is told about some of his father’s past and how he met his mother. I loved the fighting sequence between the parents when they first meet, because Wenwu truly believes he is the strongest on Earth and nothing can beat him. However he is mistaken when Leiko Wu not only beats him but briefly takes the 10 rings in her possession but then returns them. At first I was like “Oh no girl don’t fall for this dude” but he actually hangs up the rings and tries to live a normal life which I can respect.

You find out throughout the story how Shang-Chi’s mother died and how he abandoned his sister after his mission. He was only 14 and his father trained him to be an assassin. Shang-Chi runs away to try to live for 6 or so years in hiding dealing with the shame and guilt from these past events. Katy, Awkwafina’s character, is his close friend that he works with as valet. They are both pretty much young adults with no life aspirations. It changes once his father hunts him and his sister down for the pendants his mother left them. The rest of the story progresses nicely. I enjoyed the pacing of the movie and was glad it didn’t dwell too long on an issue. We see his sister Xialing and we understand why she’s upset with him for leaving. We find out how his mother died and how it caused everyone in the family their own grief that was left unchecked. We also know why Shang-Chi decided to leave his father’s empire and what that did to his mental health. There’s not a whole lot of surprises as far as reveals. Everything is pretty straight-forward and if it’s not initially it’s really not that hard to guess where the story will go. This isn’t Tenet or anything, it’s still a Marvel movie.

Okay so there are some spoilers ahead! Sorry I tried to keep it spoiler free!

I don’t want to spoil too much since it is on streaming for folks to go watch, but the villain is fine. This story has a classic person who you think is the villain and the another revealed villain towards the end. Both fit the story and it’s not spectacular. The first villain Wenwu, is really just dealing with the loss of his wife. He is grieving and instead of getting to the final stage of grief with is acceptance, he is teetering between denial and anger. He needs something or someone to blame so he chooses his wife’s village. He is claiming they are keeping her hostage and he intends to return her back to the family. This was the motivation for all he does in the movie after her death. He also uses the reason to blame his children for her death as well. He blames Shang-Chi for just standing there and doing nothing about it, despite the fact that Shang-Chi was only 7 when it happened. I think the positive of this type of villain is we get to see a logical motivation for wanting to destroy or takeover something, even though his own reasoning doesn’t make sense. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that because someone loved their spouse so much that they would do anything to bring them back even if the source of the information is questionable.

What I think having Wenwu as the villain really accomplished was allowing Shang-Chi to also deal with his grief and past mistakes. In the movie he, Xialing and Katy make it to their mother’s village called Ta Lo. Here he meets his aunt and the people who his mother was raised with and protected. They learn their history and each of them find out parts of themselves. Through this discovery, his aunt guides Shang-Chi to stop hiding. He needs to meet what happened head on so he can move past it and be the person his family needs, including his father. While the father and son don’t see eye to eye most of the movie, there is still a love connecting them even through all the hurt.

I would have liked to see more of Xialing’s story after Shang-Chi failed to come back. We know she was waiting for him, and that she escaped but that’s really all we get for her. I guess they try to make it up to us because she is in the extra scene, but I would have liked to know how she managed to escape and what she did when she first got out. Moving on to Katy’s character. I think the movie only really needed her for one part in the final battle and that’s why she’s there. Other than that, I don’t really see a need for her. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m glad Shang-Chi had a friend through all this but what we see is mostly him explaining to her his past and what he did. When Shang-Chi finds out his father is going after his sister, he plans to leave immediately. Katy invites herself on the journey even though she just witnessed Shang-Chi fighting capable men and a man with a machete for a hand. I understand wanting to know more about him and wanting to help but she was actually no help at all besides being a driver at different points. She didn’t add in intelligence or strength and she wasn’t that skillful of a driver to me. I know some may not agree with me and that’s okay, but I really just though her character could have been better. We get to see a scene with her family and how she feels as though she is not doing or living the way her mom would like for her to. But it’s kind of true. She and Shang-Chi don’t have any aspirations. We eventually see that Shang-Chi is dealing with a lot of trauma in his past, but what’s her reason? I mean she did do what she liked but that was about it. I’m hoping we can see more of Katy’s background.

My favorite character in the movie that I enjoyed the most was Leiko Wu. I loved what she represented to the family and to her village. She was loved wherever she was and that says a lot about her character. I liked how in every scene of her she is graceful and poised. Even right before she dies she handles it with the upmost grace and love for her children and her husband. I also liked the Ta Lo village. It was definitely giving me Air Bender vibes but with a mix of maybe Earth Bender. I think it did it’s job of being “the calm before the storm”. We go there and spend time right before the final invasion and battle and I felt relaxed. Like man I would like to stay here for an extended period of time this village is really cool. Oh and it also reminded me of Goblin Island from Fena the Pirate Princess. Definitely a similar vibe to the ninja village as both have their own versions of fighters.

So do I recommend Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings? Yes absolutely go and watch it! It’s a great movie definitely one of Marvel’s better movies. It gets a full 5 out 5 Nerds from me! If you’ve watched Shang-Chi what did you think of the movie? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Keep nerding out!