Mr. Movie | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings delivers fantasy and fun

Most of us love complexity in a movie when that complexity isn’t just mumbo-jumbo gobbledygook.

In the case of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” complicated makes sense.

Xu Wenwu is immortal. He found 10 rings eons ago that made him one of the most powerful people on the planet.

But instead of using the rings for good, he chooses evil.

One day he finds Ta Lo, where the inhabitants guard a giant door holding back creatures that could destroy the world.

Wenwu wants them unleashed to enhance his power.

He’s stopped in his quest by Ying Li, who easily counters his might.

Stunned by her skill and beauty, he keeps returning and they fall in love. She quits guarding the door, and he stops being a bad guy — sort of.

And that forever changes the life of his family.

Wenwu trains Shang-Chi to be a warrior and an assassin.

He’s very good but not wanting that kind of life, he splits and hides in San Francisco where he is best buds with Katy.

After a few years of peace, Wenwu sends a group of soldiers to get him. That doesn’t go too well for them because Shang-Chi is a great warrior.

Together he and Katy head out to find his sister and to figure out how to handle an angry father.

She soon learns his anger has to do with what Wenwu wants behind Ta Lo’s huge door.

Fantasy and fun

A very charismatic, and relatively unknown, Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi.

He’s buff, tough and quite athletic. He’s also skilled in drama and comedy. The great thing about his performance — and that of his co-stars — is he doesn’t take the role too seriously.

In other words, this is fantasy and fun, and he and the others have a blast with their parts. Their chemistry helps the unbelievable be more believable.

They’re having a good time, and so will you.

The producers brilliantly cast Awkwafina as gal pal Katy.

Her humor is somewhat awkward and out of place at times, but like her role in, “Ocean’s 8,” she does action movies really well and is a great sidekick.

Tony Leung makes Wenwu an exceptional, low-key, almost likable villain.

Meng’er Zhang plays Shang-Chi’s sister, and Fala Chen is the wonderful and beautiful, Ying Li.

Michelle Yeoh is the woman in charge of Ta Lo, and there’s a small part for Ben Kingsley as an actor hired to play a terrorist.

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Kingsley performance not own a movie. His part is so silly it should have been left out.

Special effects

The special effects are what you expect. Lots of green screen shooting and plenty of animated creatures doing what animated creatures do in martial arts and Marvel movies.

The same can be said for the action sequences of the actors. Sometimes it’s like watching a ballet. Beautiful yet violent.

The real star of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is director Destin Daniel Cretton.

He’s an exceptional storyteller. You know him from his work in “Just Mercy,” ”Short Term 12,” and “The Glass Castle,” and his co-writing of “The Shack.”

Helping him with the script is Dave Callaham (“Mortal Kombat,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Zombieland: Double Tap”). He’s exceptionally good at creating characters and is known for creating the characters of the three “The Expendables” movies.

Andrew Lanham has worked with Cretton several times and helped with writing on “Just Mercy,” “The Glass Castle,” and “The Shack.”

Their screenplay and Cretton’s imaginative directing takes the overdone, martial arts genre and makes it work very well.

Some of the action sequences are not only very creative but they’re fun. That goes back to actors having as much fun making those scenes, as you will have watching them.

Marvel has hit a home run with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

The producers are so sure about this one that they are already planning sequels. The added scenes at the end of the movie suggest there may be several.

That’s good news if they’re close to as good as this one.

Rated PG-13 for sometimes extreme violence and mature themes. It’s playing at the Fairchild Cinemas Pasco, Southgate 10 and Queensgate 12 and at the AMC Classic Kennewick 12.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings delivers fantasy and fun."