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| Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings - 2021 |
Coming up next is 2021's "Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings", the story of a young man who ran away from home as a teenager and must return to stop his father from unleashing a terrible calamity upon the world.
The film's cast includes Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Ben Kingsley, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Tsai Chin, Florian Munteanu, Ronny Chieng, Benedict Wong, Brie Larson, and Mark Ruffalo.
A thousand years ago, a man named Xu Wenwu found ten rings, which gave him incredible power. With them in his possession, he became invincible and immortal.
Fast forward to 1996 and Wenwu is looking for even more power. He goes to a place called Ta Lo, where it is rumored that an even greater power resides. It must be true, for the guardian of its gates, Li, does not seem to fear him.
They battle it out with Li emerging as the victor over Wenwu. He can't comprehend how she can defeat him so easily.
Over time, Wenwu and Li fall in love, get married, and eventually start a family. Li leaves Ta Lo behind, and Wenwu stops wearing the rings, believing he has finally found something to grow old for.
Sadly, because of events in Wenwu's past, Li is killed. Wenwu is devastated, vowing vengeance on his wife's murders. He starts his son, Shang-Chi, on the path to becoming an assassin, and he distances himself emotionally from his children, who eventually run away from home.
Before she dies, Li talks with Shang-Chi about her home in Ta Lo. She tells him of the village's Great Protector, and even gives him a pendant so that he can find his way home if he should ever feel lost.
Fast forward to the present day, and we find Shang-Chi (now known as Shaun) working with his best friend Katy as a valet at an upscale San Francisco hotel.
While riding to work on the bus one day, Shaun is accosted by a group of men from his father's assassin ring, known as the Ten Rings. They want his pendant. He is able to fend them off successfully, thoroughly confusing Katy who thought she knew her best friend and didn't know that he had such mad fighting skills.
Though he's able to walk away with his life, Shaun loses his pendant. Shaun's priority now is getting to his sister in Macau so she can warn him that the Ten Rings are after her pendant, too. He tells Katy his whole backstory en route.
They fly to Macau, and once on the ground, they set off in earnest to find Shaun's sister, Xialing.
Xialing is not thrilled to see her brother. She feels that he abandoned her when he left all those years ago. In the interim, she's started an underground fight club.
Their father catches up with them, and Shaun, Xialing, and Katy are bundled off to Wenwu's fortress compound.
Wenwu tells his kids why he needs them. He hears his wife's voice in his head and she's calling to him, saying that she's imprisoned behind a gate in the village of Ta Lo.
Using the pendants, Wenwu unlocks a secret map that shows the way to Ta Lo. His plan is to march in and set his wife free. If the residents won't allow it, he'll burn everything to the ground.
Wenwu honestly believes his wife is speaking to him. He can audibly hear her voice. When his children express misgivings, Wenwu has them and Katy locked up.
With the help of a slightly delusional actor and a mysterious "chicken pig" named Morris that actually comes from Ta Lo, Shaun, Xialing, and Katy are able to escape.
Morris guides the group to Ta Lo by navigating them safely through a treacherous forest maze. Everyone is awestruck at what they find in Ta Lo, a completely different universe than theirs. Morris is thrilled to be back home.
Shaun and Xialing meet their aunt, Nan, for the first time. She welcomes them to Ta Lo and they explain why they've come. Nan tells them about their "mother's voice" and what it really is.
Behind the gate that is guarded by the village lives the Dweller in Darkness and his hoard of soul suckers. If unleashed they will destroy everything in their path in both worlds. The village has guarded them there for four thousand years. The Dweller in Darkness knows that the ten rings has the power to release them and so calls to them from beyond the gate.
Well, you know what happens. Wenwu arrives intent on freeing his "wife". Shaun and Xialing try to talk sense into him, but he won't listen. His troops and the village go to battle.
Wenwu is successful in unleashing the horrific soul suckers and ultimately the Dweller in Darkness.
The Dweller in Darkness kills Wenwu, but before he dies he passes the ten rings on to Shaun.
With them, and with the help of the Great Protector of Ta Lo, Shaun is able to defeat the demonic being once and for all.
After everything is over, Shaun, Xialing, Katy, and the village honor those who died in battle. The Great Protector circles around, watching over all.
Shaun and Katy return to normal life. That is, until a man named Wong arrives and summons them through a portal to the astonishment of the onlookers.
Cast rundown:
Simu Liu..........................................Shaun/Xu Shang-Chi
Tony Leung......................................Xu Wenwu
Awkwafina........................................Katy Chen
Ben Kingsley.....................................Trevor Slattery
Meng'er Zhang..................................Xu Xialing
Fala Chen.........................................Li
Michelle Yeoh....................................Ying Nan
Tsai Chin..........................................Waipo
Florian Munteanu...............................Razor Fist
Ronny Chieng....................................Jon Jon
Benedict Wong..................................Wong
Brie Larson.......................................Captain Marvel
Mark Ruffalo.....................................Bruce Banner
And that's it for Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. A mid-credits scene shows a conference between Wong, Shaun, Katy, Captain Marvel, and Bruce Banner. They have figured out that the ten rings are actually much older than previously thought. They are also acting as a beacon, calling something. But nobody knows who or what.
A post-credits scene shows that Xialing has taken over her father's Ten Rings operation. However, she has expanded it to allow girls to train alongside guys.
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