Before heading into the movie theater to watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, my excitement levels were overflowing into my bucket of popcorn. This film had ranked second within my most looked forward to Marvel projects debuting this year, and it did not disappoint. Ican say with full confidence that this is one of the best origin movies released from Marvel.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is such an enjoyable movie to watch, especially on the big screen. The movie follows Shang-Chi ten years after he escaped from his father until he is drawn back into the Ten Rings organization. Accompanied by his best friend, who is trying to quickly take in this once hidden aspect of his life, they go to warn his sister of the men sent by their father. Things quickly go awry when they are taken back to their father’s compound and hereveals his true intentions. Unfortunately, his intentions are not pure, and Shang-Chi and Xialingneed to stop their father before it ends disastrous for the world.

I first have to talk about the acting throughout this movie because of how talented the cast is.Simu Liu (Shang-Chi) naturally takes on the great responsibility of leading this film. Liu breathes life into his character who is such a strong lead that is ready to take on more adventures in future installments. The best friend energy between Simu Liu and Awkwafina (Katy) is palpable with the comedic banter yet the tenderness displayed in their actions. Tony Leung’s (Wenwu) performance is a defining strength for this movie because of the way he brought alayered complexity to his character. Leung knows how to the pull the emotion forth from the material elevating the villainous and humanity aspects of his character. Meng’ er Zhang exudes the energy of a powerful woman, though beautifully etched within her character is the pain from her life. The cast alone is a perfectly good reason to go see this film.

I had high expectations and I was a little nervous that the movie was going to miss the mark. It does not and it exceeds at introducing the audience to this corner of the MCU that is rich of storytelling. The cinematography is beautiful and elevated the immersiveness of the story, especially the opening sequence with Tony Leung and Fala Chen (Leiko Wu). The action sequences were some of the best within the MCU, much like the great fight sequences from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but elevated because of the immense ability the characters possess. The character relationships had history and heart that could be felt through the screen,such as the two scenes toward the end that made me tear up. The opportunities for these characters after this installment are exciting and it seems like it will be one rememberable journey. There are so many moving components of this story that interweave to create this filmthat were wonderfully executed. The anticipation to watch how it would all play out filled me with such giddy excitement. I was absolutely thrilled to be in a theater and be able to watch what an amazing job the director, Destin Daniel Cretton, the cast, and the crew had created.

If you’ve seen Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and would like to delve deeper intothe movie whether for easter eggs or more discussions, then check out these two platforms. NewRockstars is a YouTube channel that dissects storylines and theories about all Marvel projectsand they’ve made videos directly relating to the final battle and the two end credit scenes for Shang-Chi. Phase Zero is a podcast with weekly episodes that discuss all information relating to Marvel, but their last episode specifically included director Destin Daniel Cretton and star SimuLiu as guests. Phase Zero can be can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever podcast can be found.

Not every MCU installment hits the mark, but this one surely does and even earned certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie broke box office records for becoming the biggest Labor Day weekend opening ever as it grossed over $94 million in the United States. This is a fantastic movie to go see this week or weekend with your family and friends!