ReviewShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings movie review: Simu Liu, Tony Leung face off in Marvel’s first Asian superhero origin story

From battling multiple assailants in the best sequence set on a moving bus since Speed to a fight on the side of a high-rise building, the action never lets up

Simu Liu excels as the ‘reluctant’ hero who can’t shake his troubled past, and his martial arts skills are breathtaking throughout

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Simu Liu in a scene from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (category: IIA), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. Tony Leung and Awkwafina co-star. Photo: Marvel Studios

Published: 1:45pm, 27 Aug 2021Updated: 12:59pm, 2 Sep 2021

4/5 stars

“From sun up to sun down, I was taught every possible way to kill a man,” says Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), the first Asian superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Or perhaps that should be “reluctant” hero.

It was his ruthless father Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), whose intense powers come from 10 magical rings, that forced him towards this deadly lifestyle. But after fleeing, Shang-Chi, who now goes by Shaun, has been hiding out in San Francisco, working as a parking valet alongside his boisterous friend Katy (Awkwafina).

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an action adventure that perfectly showcases Liu’s remarkable martial arts skills.

Take the stunning early scene, when Shang-Chi and Katy are attacked by members of the Ten Rings, the army formed by Wenwu. “Bus boy”, as Shang-Chi becomes known when footage of the fight goes viral, fends off multiple assailants in the best sequence set on a moving bus since Speed.

The action doesn’t relent when Shang-Chi, with Katy in tow, resolves to go to Macau and track down his sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) after he realises his father is coming for them both.