Action. Action. Action. I would be bold enough to say this was the best fighting choreography Marvel has ever put on screen. A lot of that has to do with the martial arts feel to all the battle scenes. It’s both visually stunning and also just super cool. Once the first real fight scene broke out, I was hooked on this movie, and it remains that impressive and fun to watch throughout the entire movie. There’s also two really distinct fighting styles that are noticeable in different characters that vaguely reflect some character traits. Keep an eye out for that, because it was a cool aspect of character building. This leads me to the next praise for this movie: characters. Going into this movie was a big test, because it can be assumed Shang Chi would become a new foundational character to the Marvel universe. I can say I’m definitely excited to see more of this character. It can be easy for character personalities to be 2D, but Shang Chi very quickly felt like a real person. Besides the fact that you could easily buy into the character, he was also really cool. It really felt like an origin story, and while he started out really impressive as a hero, the movie left me excited about how he will continue to grow more and more into the role as a superhero. The main supporting characters were also really dynamic. The main friend acted as comic relief but still remained relevant, and the sister exposed some more complexity to their family’s past. The other praise I have is surrounding the movie’s ability to be full of new material for Marvel to tap into in the future, as well as remaining familiar. While the legend of the ten rings and all the characters were new, there were just enough references and tie-ins to remind you that we’re still operating in the Marvel world, and that truly is what makes Marvel so fun: the interconnectedness of everything.

I don’t have a ton of criticism for this movie. My one main issue was that the movie could almost be divided into two halves. The first half definitely presents some magical type elements but remains decently grounded in the real world. However, the second half dove headfirst into a fantastical side of this storyline. It felt about as grandiose as Asgard, but it was a bit weird to see that aspect of the storyline be focused in on after spending half the movie in more of a street fight kind of vibe. The first half of the movie kept the magical aspects in balance with more realistic aspects, but the second half got a little too out there for my taste. However it wasn’t a major enough transition in theme to negate everything I enjoyed about the movie.