Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’ jabs, flips Asian American film cliches

By TERRY TANG and MARCELA ISAZA
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s Simu Liu’s time to take out baddies and be the hero as the titular “Shang-Chi” in Marvel Studios’ first Asian-led superhero flick. “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings,” which opens Friday, has all the bells and whistles of a Marvel tentpole — huge fight sequences, dizzying stunts and sweeping locales. While Shang-Chi can high-fly kick and punch any opponent, is the “master of kung fu” powerful enough to make Hollywood finally bury tired story tropes and support projects by actors and filmmakers of Asian descent? “Shang-Chi” comes at a time when Asian Americans are looking for escapism in the wake of hate crimes tied to the pandemic.