Eastern action meets Western superhero formula

Whether coming from a wuxia novel set in the distant past or a contemporary kung fu movie, Chinese martial arts heroes – with their commitment to a moral code, not to mention their incredible abilities – offer a counterpart to Western superheroes. In 1973, Marvel Comics combined the two archetypes with the introduction of Shang-Chi, a character whose powers came from a lifetime of training in the fighting arts. Now the industry is set for another convergence, as Marvel launches its first Asian-led superhero film, Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings, a project that mixes Chinese and North American storytelling and the power of the stars.

The MCU is extraordinarily popular in China, which is why so much of this new movie takes place there. However, basically Shang-Chi is an Asian American superhero story. The themes of the return to the sources, the heritage and the balance of cultures and identities are found throughout the film. The soundtrack is multicultural, featuring both traditional Chinese music and southern hip-hop. The screenplay, from director Destin Daniel Cretton and co-writers Andrew Lanham and Dave Callaham, traces some of Marvel’s most callous portrayals of Asian culture, while also creating an inspiring message about creating your own destiny and accepting it. things that make you you.

For Shang-Chi (Canadian TV actor and stuntman Simu Liu) and his sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), it’s a loaded proposition, given that their father, Wenwu (Tony Leung), is a supervillain. millennial who used the ten mystical rings of the title to build his reputation as the formidable linchpin of the underworld. After the death of the family matriarch Jiang Li (Fala Chen), an accomplished martial artist from a remote and fantastic village, Wenwu devoted himself and his son to revenge, while neglecting his daughter. (Leung’s heavy is an original character, a composite of two problematic Marvel Comics adversaries, including one whose earlier, confrontational appearance in the MCU is addressed via a revisionist callback and a subplot.)

Ten years after a teenage Shang-Chi was sent overseas to hunt down his mother’s murderer, his name is Sean and works as a valet in San Francisco alongside his best friend Katy (Awkwafina). But as usually happens in these movies, fate has bigger plans. Driven mad by grief, Wenwu has retreated on a delusional quest to save his wife by destroying her sacred ancestral home, which will unleash unstoppable forces of darkness in the process. So Shang-Chi, Xialing, and Katy set off on a journey between realms, on a mission to save their family – and the world – with the help of their long-lost aunt, Jiang Nan (Michelle Yeoh), and a menagerie of magic. beasts.

In some ways, Shang-Chi is a mix of martial arts film genres: a first scene pays homage to Zhang Yimou’s gracious and graceful films, while a dramatic bus chase later simulates the derring-do of one of Jackie Chan’s early vehicles. . Shang-Chi’s reunion with her sister takes place in an underground battle ring with a ’90s raver, Mortal combat kind of vibe, and later father and son will enter a grimy, fluorescent-lit gangster lair straight out of an 80s John Woo movie. But where those movies (Mortal combat except, of course) highlighted the practical effects and amazing skills of highly skilled stuntmen, Shang-Chi insists on interrupting or burying the stunt work, led by protege Chan Brad Allan, who tragically deceased earlier this month, with mountains of glaring CGIs.

It’s not always the case. Even if Shang-Chi cuts a punch as often as it hits one, an extended fight streak taking place in a half-built skyscraper observes Liu and Zhang from above in longer takes that allow at least a few seconds of choreography of uninterrupted combat. And while the climax of this movie is as chaotic and unintelligible as any other MCU movie, at least Shang-Chi has benevolent dragons and brave lions instead of the ugly metallic trash of Black Widow. The first half of the film is funnier and more down-to-earth than the second, which changes from modern action to mythical fantasy with an emphasis on Chinese folklore, some real, others imagined.

But at the same time Shang-Chi eks some dread – and a few “awwws,” in the case of a winged, faceless, oddly cuddly creature named Morris – out of his fantastical elements, ultimately, his greatest assets are human. It refers to stunts, yes, but more often to Tony Leung, who exudes the kind of movie star charisma that critics sometimes complain about is waning. Leung isn’t exactly challenged here, but he brings soul to the emotional shallow depth of his character, a classic Marvel villain in the sense that he’s sympathetic until he’s not. . Among the youngest actors, Awkwafina stands out thanks to his natural gift for comedy. Yeoh’s talents, on the other hand, are mostly wasted. Cretton, directing his first blockbuster after a series of human-scale dramas like Short term 12 and The glass castle, knows how to let the actor be funny. So why hire a legendary action star and then devote most of her screen time to the exhibition?

Living up to the expectations of Asian American Marvel fans eager for their own MCU movie had to weigh in Shang-Chiwriters and directors of. This anxiety is reflected in the story itself: after receiving an extraordinary power, Shang-Chi’s first instinct is to run away from it. This moment of human vulnerability suggests that there is a point of view somewhere inside this gigantic, sprawling and tightly controlled slab of blockbuster product. For every serious emotion, however, there is a concession to the stereotypical demands of the genre and the studio. Shang-ChiThe hero of is becoming himself, but the film is lost inside the machine.