Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (4½ Stars)

We're used to the way that Marvel characters are adapted for films. The character is moved from the 1960's to the present. His costume is changed to look more realistic. In many cases the skin colour is changed to blackwash the character and make the film more appealing to people of colour. If the person has super-powers, his powers are toned down to stop him looking omnipotent.

That's not what we have with Shang-Chi. The character in the film has nothing to do with the comic book character. Nothing except for the name. He's just a Chinese fighter. Even his ethnicity is changed. In the comics his father is Chinese and his mother is a white American, but in the film both parents are Chinese.

Usually I list the differences between the comics and the film, but in this case I can't do it because everything is different. I'll just say a few things about his family. In the comics his father is the master criminal Fu Manchu. He doesn't have a sister, although he has several half-brothers and half-sisters. Marvel Studios wanted to make a Chinese fantasy film, and they've succeeded in making a good film. There was no need to call the character Shang-Chi. It's not Shang-Chi. They could have called him Johnny Wong, Charlie Chan or anything at all.

By the way, why are they called the ten rings? Shouldn't they be called the ten bracelets? In the comics the Mandarin's rings really are rings, objects of alien origin that were once used to power a starship.

That's the way they should look, as drawn by George Tuska.

Please let me know your thoughts on the film.That's what my comments box is for.