Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 17, 2021

Disney's march towards making sure every Marvel character headlines a movie (and turns millions in profits) continues with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The title character finds his origins in the 1973 debut comic and makes the transition to the big screen in 2021 as the latest MCU entry (at least the latest to land on Blu-ray; the MCU keeps a-chuggin' with Eternals already in theaters). And, it's a good one. The film shows command of the entertainment medium, offering a robust hybrid of intimate characterization and superbly developed action. While there's nothing necessarily "new" in the movie in terms of how it goes about its business, it at least builds a fully enjoyable film that should satisfy both hardcore MCU vets who have seen every film multiple times or relative newcomers seeking an escape into a high grade movie experience.

San Francisco valets Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) are about to have their lives turned upside down. An everyday bus ride turns deadly when the pair are suddenly attacked by a brute of a man and several henchmen. Shang-Chi, to Katy's surprise, dispatches the attackers, who are affiliated with the organization known as The Ten Rings, with a resplendent display of martial arts mastery. He reveals his true history, raised by his father Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) and trained in the art of assassination. Shang-Chi, with Katy at his side, tracks down his sister Xu Xialing (Meng'er Zhang) and the three find themselves hurtling towards a desperate battle against Shang-Chi's own father with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Shang-Chi doesn't bring anything new to the MCU table, at least in terms of its aesthetics; it offers a suite of familiar special effects and core choreography styles that see it seamlessly mesh into the larger Marvel movie world atop which it stands (24 films below it, to be exact, and surely soon to be in the center of a much larger stack). The danger is that the film would lack identity by essentially building up through a very familiar string of narrative events and action elements, but because of strongly defined characters and excellent performances, the film, like so many of its MCU brethren, overcomes whatever familiarity burdens might be in play. The result is hardly the best film in the larger MCU franchise but a very agreeable one, a picture with everything in order from the top-down. That's to be expected at this budget and within this universe, but it's always nice to have that confirmation, anyway, and find the film to be fully engaged and committed to every last detail morsel. And by its core story, its subtle and overt tentacle extensions to the rest of the universe, and its mid credits scene (which is not to be missed!) Shang-Chi indeed fully engages with the total world around it.

Even within a core story arc familiarity the film proves engaging for its home run character depth and interactions (particularly the father-son relationship) and action scenes. Simu Liu and Tony Leung are terrific in their shared time on screen together; the actors embody not just core characteristics but a soulful connection that is vital to transform the story from words on a page into living, breathing characters whose confrontations are defined by so much more than crude actions and dialogue. That both actors can dig so deeply in one another's presence, and away, is testament to both their skills as actors and the excellent writing building them up. Shang-Chi doesn't cut corners in character development, and these actors deliver titanic performances that ground it all in the human soul. The action is first-rate, too, particularly a trendsetting early bus battle that must be ranked towards the top of MCU action. The finale, while reminiscent of something out of Black Panther, makes for a fitting conclusion to a very good film.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Disney's 1080p transfer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings looks very good. The digitally sourced production shines on Blu-ray. It's clean and efficient and well capable of revealing fine point detail with ease. Intricate clarity to clothes and faces impress while various San Francisco interiors and exteriors reveal superb definition even at distance. The picture holds to excellent textural output throughout. Colors delight with bold output and neutral contrast. Color temperature likewise holds center, looking neither warm nor cool. The image reveals plenty of vivid natural greens, well saturated clothes, and healthy skin tones. Black levels are impressively deep and whites are crisp. The image shows very little source noise and certainly no compression related issues. This is might not stand apart from other blockbusters on Blu-ray of a recent vintage and digital origins, but this is every bit the 1080p transfer it should be. No complaints here.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney releases Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack (the UHD features Dolby Atmos). Unfortunately, the track is fairly typical of a Disney MCU film. It's never wanting for aggressive surround mix integration and clarity, but it lacks volume at reference level and it certainly lacks low-end depth where greater power, such as when Xu Wenwu wields the Ring powers in combat at film's start, should define the experience. Every action scene fails to even get up to par. A severe car accident at the 4:30 mark offers very little dynamic depth or intensity, and the extended fight scene to follow suffers a similar fate. Again, surround and immersive content is fine (if not hushed) but the track needs far more push and oomph. Perhaps nowhere is the lack so obvious as the bus fight sequence in chapter four. It's a shame, because there is obviously a very rich and should-be rewarding sound design at play here; Disney just chooses to render it largely null and void by its home video engineering decisions. Even beyond action the track just can't muster much serious power or volume; a karaoke scene around the 14-minute mark just sounds fully flat and disinterested in creating a living, breathing atmosphere. Dialogue is clear and center focused, so there's that. At least essential clarity is fine and with the volume cranked up a bit some core essentials will play well enough, but expect another flat and listless listen from Disney.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disney's Blu-ray release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings includes a commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a pair of featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy voucher are included with purchase.

• Building a Legacy (1080p, 8:53): Looking at the lack of progressive social content in source comics from the 1970s, the importance of having an Asian Marvel superhero, physical training, building key action sequences, shooting locations, digital creature creations, costume design and construction, and more.
• Family Ties (1080p, 7:28): Exploring core story details, The Mandarin's and The Ten Rings' places in the film and history in the MCU, character motivations and progression, Tony Leung's work and presence in the film, and the father-son relationship depicted in the film.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:10): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 14:23 total runtime): Included are They're Waiting, Take a Shot, Apology, I'm Here, Pep Talk, Greatness, Escape Tunnel, Two Sons, Postcard, Just Friends, and Do It Yourself.
• Audio Commentary: Director Destin Daniel Cretton and Writer Dave Callaham explore the film in detail.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is likely to get lost in the shuffle at some point in the future when it's not the featured new release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, buried under the avalanche of various Iron Man and Captain America and Avengers films, which is a shame not just because there's a lot to like here but because the film is wonderfully emblematic of everything that makes the MCU so good. Disney's Bu-ray delivers tip-top video, typically neutered audio, and a decent collection of bonus content. Recommended.