Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) * * *

Directed by:  Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring:  Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Fala Chen, Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a comic book unknown to me, so I went into the movie with a fresh perspective and no expectations.   This was to its advantage.   It is almost a given Shang Chi will at some point rely on expansive CGI and an all-out battle of the armies of good and evil, but before that we are treated to a compelling story, a complicated villain, and fight scenes reminiscent of some of the joy of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films.

The Shang Chi is actually a San Francisco-based valet named Shawn (Liu), who is leading an unassuming life below the radar with his gal pal Katy (Awkwafina) by his side.  There are reasons for this.  Shang Chi's father Wenwu (Leung) is (or was) the leader of the Ten Rings, a shadowy organization which inserted itself into world affairs.   The Ten Rings is likely responsible for every high-profile assassination in the last thousand years.   Wenwu himself is 1,000 years old, thanks to the ten rings he wears on his forearms which give him eternal life.  But when the power-hungry Wenwu meets up with his future wife Jiang Li (Chen) in a magical forest village (and finds she is more than his match in the fighting department), Wenwu gives up his life of power to settle and raise his family.   Jiang Li is later killed by some of Wenwu's old enemies and Shang Chi and his sister Xialing (Zhang) are sent away for their safety.  

The enemies soon encounter Shang Chi on a San Francisco bus which erupts into a melee, with Shang Chi breaking out his long dormant martial arts skills while Katy takes over the bus driving duties when the driver is shot (shades of Speed).  This is quite a virtuoso fight scene and there are more to come when Shang Chi visits Hong Kong to warn his sister of the danger, only to find she's no slouch at taking care of herself either.   The battles atop a scaffolding overlooking the city give us thrilling stunts clearly inspired by Jackie Chan's improvisational use of anything lying around as a weapon.

The middle sags slightly when Shang Chi and his family locate their long-lost family in the forest hideout where his father met his wife.   Wenwu believes he hears his dead wife calling to him from the village to destroy it and he is of course conflicted by his desire to avenge those he thinks killed her and his family who is trying to stop him.   The final battle has plenty of CGI for those who love it.   It isn't CGI run amok.   We are still able to follow who is doing what to whom, which you can't always say about Marvel battles.

We care about the characters and the villain is allowed to have feelings and more than one dimension.  We see where Shang Chi and Katy fit into the Marvel Universe and after this stirring introduction, I say welcome to the Marvel Universe!