 Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, the 25th installment in the biggest film franchise in history, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what is so special about Shang-Chi is that it is the first movie to kick it off in the fourth phase of the MCU. I mean, sure we had Black Widow but was that really a phase four movie? I mean it literally took place in 2016. In addition to being the first real movie of phase four, it's also significant and probably even more so for the fact that it is the first movie in Marvel to feature an Asian as the lead superhero. Well, there have been other Asian superheroes in the past like Wong, Mae, Quake, and we even have Cersei from the upcoming Eternals movie. This is the first time we get to see an Asian as the main lead in a movie. And Shang-Chi could not have been led by a nicer and funnier guy. Saimulu is a Canadian-Chinese actor most notable for his role in Kim's convenience. And you can tell he's not some out-of-touch rich celebrity. He's a normal guy like you and me and you can tell that he's living his dream of being a superhero. Then of course, there's this famous tweet years ago before he was cast, asking Marvel about Shang-Chi. And then there's this tweet about how Asian parents always expect too much from their kids. It's funny, Saimulu could have literally been just a random dude lurking subtle Asian traits. Minus the six pack and the movies are good looks of course. Now the movie itself was amazing. There were parts that were a little cheesy, but I guess that comes into territory when you do martial arts and superhero movies, let alone when you combine that into one. The movie is set in China and for most of the movie, they're fighting this underground ninja society that has shaped society for thousands of years through assassination and other means. You know what this sounds like? It sounds a lot like DC's League of Shadows or Hydra or the Red Room. One thing though, I've always found that modern day ninja tropes were sort of cringy. It was cringy in Snake Eyes. It was cringy in Daredevil. Nolan barely made it work in Batman. We need more modern ninjas like this. The cinematography was gorgeous. Whenever they were in Talou or whenever Shang-Chi's mom and dad had their fight slash romance scenes, they were absolutely beautiful. Like a scene straight out of a Chinese painting. Additionally, there were so many elements that were something that you could relate to growing up Asian. Karaoke, dim sum, DDR, immigrant parents disappointed in their kids career choices, Dragon Ball references, the awkwardness of being Chinese but not being able to speak Chinese, the intense rivalry between siblings in order to impress your parents. Are you sensing a pattern here? If you boiled the movie down to its basics, it's about an Asian boy failing to meet his father's high expectations but eventually forging his own path. See, we're not that different. My parents wanted me to be a doctor. Now they have to settle for a second-rate YouTuber. What's crazy was how separate and how different it felt from the other MCU movies. It made some references to the rest of the MCU but it really felt like a different series. I mean, there was Wong in Abomination and of course, Trevor, probably the best callback in MCU history. Ben Kingsley was absolutely phenomenal. Honestly, the best part of the movie. Talking about phenomenal actors, let me just say that Tony Lung, the guy who plays Shang-Chi's dad was absolutely amazing. He just commanded attention whenever he was on screen. Great actor. And with the ending, it seems like they're gearing up for a connection with Eternals and or the Quantum Realm, which makes it increasingly obvious that Galactus is going to be the next big bad. But what I really want with Shang-Chi is to team up with Danny Rand, the immortal Iron Fist protector of Kun Lun, sworn enemy of the hand. My biggest gripe about this movie is that the first Asian-led Marvel movie was a martial arts movie. For the longest time Asians have been typecast into silly stereotypical roles. Asians were always meant to be the goofy sidekick, the mathner, the comic relief. The only time a male would be suited to be a lead is if they were a martial arts actor. And if they were a female, they were seen as some exotic sex object, a mean dragon lady, or the rebellious punk with the purple streak in their hair. This effectively reduced Asians to nothing more than a gimmick, unless as actual people with a real story. Now let me be clear, I love martial arts movies, Crouch and Tiger here and Dragon, Fearless, Hero, Ip Man, Rush Hour, I'm just saying that there's more to our history and story as Asian people than just martial arts. However, despite all that, I do think that this is a step in the right direction. Now Asians are almost never male leads in Hollywood movies, and this is the part where people come in and complains it. If you want to watch an Asian movie, go to Asia. Asians don't need representation in America. You ever see a white person asking for representation in a Chinese movie? Well here's the thing, me and millions of other Asian Americans, we're not from Asia. Those stories in Asia weren't made about us. Do the millions of Canadian or American-born Asians not deserve representation because we weren't born in Asia? Which is one of the reasons why Shang-Chi was so monumental, despite it being a martial arts film. And I'm excited to see what the future brings. Speaking of the future, Park Seo-Joon is coming to Captain Marvel 2, and of course we'll see Gemma Chan in The Eternals. But what I'm really excited for is Silk, which according to rumors could be starring Park Sodam or Suzy. So have you guys seen Shang-Chi? And what do you guys think? Also guys, remember to check out StayWare.com and use my code AZNT at the checkout for 20% off. Their mission is to raise awareness about mental health, and 10% of their proceeds will go to mental health programs. So thanks, and I'll see you guys next time.