Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

2. The Wonky Pacing

Shang Chi
Marvel Studios

Another frequent MCU issue is prevalent here - the pacing feels a little all over the place.

Though the first act is a brilliantly breakneck introduction to Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and company, things slow down considerably for the more uneven - if still entertaining second act - ahead of a third reel that basically sprints its way through a gigantic CGI battle.

Even with its fairly straight-forward plot and generous 132-minute runtime, it has a lot of characters and concepts to acquaint the audience with, and overall there's not much of a smooth cadence to how it all plays out.

Giving the second act a little more urgency while giving the finale more room to breathe probably would've benefitted the film overall.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.