Marvel’s first Asian-led movie Shang-Chi is attracting extremely positive reviews.
TheWrap’s Todd Gilchrist said in his review, “If Marvel Studios has thus far made slow progress in developing solo adventures for its many superheroes of color, it takes another successful stride, if not quite as sizable as Black Panther, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a film that builds simultaneously on the lexicon of 50 years of Hong Kong action films and the thematic boilerplate of MCU origin stories.”
ComicBookMovie’s Rohan Patel called the film a “genuine triumph for Marvel Studios” and the Observer’s Oliver Jones described Shang-Chi as a “groundbreaking step of representation in mega-budget filmmaking.”
POCCulture’s Ron Seoul-Oh said the film allowed Asian Americans to “finally feel like a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
IGN’s Laura Sirikul particularly praised stars Simu Liu, Awkwafina, and Tony Leung who collectively “bring multi-faceted characters to life.”
“Despite pacing issues, [the movie] delivers a hugely entertaining step in the right direction for Asian representation.”
Slashfilm’s Hoai-Tran Bui described Leung’s antagonist portrayal as “Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best ‘villain’ yet.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in theaters on Friday 3 September.
In other news, Sandra Oh has discussed Asian representation and the risky nature of stereotyping.
