Spider-Man and his Uncle Ben have never tired of telling us – With great power comes great responsibility. But with Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, an age old question (usually posed to the likes of Superman) again pops up. Should man even have such great power? And if he does, how can such a man ever really behave within the limits of morality?
Just a bit of the plot
The story of Shang Chi is certainly a fresh take on the superhero genre. Here are just a few spoilers.
Shang Chi (Simu Liu) trains, not because he has some noble purpose. He just wants to win the approval of his negligent father – Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai).
Wenwu is a warrior who used the Ten Rings and had been running an empire for over a thousand years. He had become arrogant and vain, until he met Leiko Wu (Fala Chen) in a magical forest. To be beaten by her was Wenwu’s first lesson in humility.
What perhaps made Xu Wenwu a decent man again was that he fell in love with Leiko Wu. So much so that both of them gave up their powers to lead a normal life. But then something happened that destroyed the relationship of Wenwu with his son Shang Chi and daughter Xialing (Meng'er Zhang).
The story follows Shang Chi as he comes to terms with his past and finds his inner balance.
More spoilers ahead
What does power do to people?
Coming back to good old Spidey’s need to balance power with responsibility. This film tilts the familiar adage and reveals something more.
Wenwu had wielded the Ten Rings for over a thousand years and in a moment of rage after his wife’s death, he wields them again.
But Wenwu’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t understand his responsibilities. Over the centuries, in this story world, he has kept a low profile and has not become a supreme dictator – He has limited himself to being a petty warlord looking after his own interests (Makes one grateful that no politician has these rings).
Wenwu’s problem is that with his great power has come a lack of vulnerability. That’s why the shock of his wife’s death hits him so hard. Because wielding the rings has meant a long and successful life, but one free from the fear of death for himself.
For such a man to lose someone he loves would be devastating. As the film progresses, we see Wenwu’s weakness – The Ten Rings have impaired his ability to see the truth.
Shang Chi, Xialing, his wife’s sister (The wonderful Michelle Yeoh), and an ENTIRE village is telling him not to open a portal. But Wenwu firmly believes only in himself and thus unleashes the dark dragon into this world thinking that he is freeing his dead wife’s spirit.
To know that you occupy just a small place in this world is something that Spidey understands too well. I love him for it (The Tobey one which I feel really embodies the spirit of the character). This is something that Wenwu never understands.
For a few years when he was in love, he did learn to be human. But having wielded power for so long made him eventually reject this humanity. Holding on to this fragile humanity takes a certain courage and strength vastly different from the one needed to wield a weapon. Because to be human is to learn to live with a broken heart.
From Wenwu we learn that with great power can come great ignorance and suffering.
Who can wield power?
But Wenwu is not the only one in the movie with great power. His wife Leiko Wu has some too. Though she leaves these powers behind in the magical forest, her humanity is always intact within her. This is because her powers are not just a blunt tool. They form a synthesis with nature. They reveal to Leiko that she is a part of this Universe and must live in harmony with it – Not try to conquer it or rule over it.
In the end Shang Chi has to accept the darkness within him and then like his mother, tap into a natural balance. Shang Chi wields the Ten Rings and defeats the dark dragon. But here like Spidey, he is content with being the friendly guy in the neighbourhood.
We are just friends
Another interesting aspect of this movie is that it firmly stays away from building any strong romantic storyline between Shang-Chi and his best friend Katy (Awkwafina). This dynamic of the characters not declaring their love and the audience enjoying the story without being obsessed over it, I think that’s quite cool. Also, it just might be that Shang Chi does not become an asshole like his dad because a friend like Katy always keeps him grounded.
Overall, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is a sincere, well-crafted movie that has some great martial art sequences. But what makes it refreshingly different is its message that having a good heart is perhaps the only superpower that matters.
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