New Marvel movie Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings broke labor day records with $90 million. 

Shang-Chi, a martial-arts master, is the son of the infamous Mandarin in the Marvel universe. He has to confront his past as he’s drawn into the complicated life associated with the Ten Rings organization. This film is a celebration of Asian culture and the Martial Arts with a beautifully diverse cast and is a large step in Asian representation on screen.

“It was one of the best movies that I have ever seen. The fight choreography was amazing and I loved the Iron Man references and the one thing that could have made it better would be a stan lee cameo,” Nate March commented. Many are very impressed with the movie’s inventive fight choreography and attention to detail in every move. Senior Micheal Baysah also enjoyed the action, “The fight scenes were the best I’ve seen in any Marvel movie so far. The movie had twists and turns with a great story and complex characters, definitely recommend watching.” 

Another loved part of the movie was the representation of Asian characters and strong women leads. The producers’ goal was one very similar to when Black Panther was in the works: to show little kids a hero to look up to and relate to, who looks like them. One relatable character, Katy Chen, is a first-generation Asian-American. In one scene you can see Shang-chi remove his shoes before entering her family’s apartment (a typical Asian custom) and joining their family for breakfast. They then enjoy their breakfast porridge while Katy’s Waipio (maternal grandmother) chats about gathering items for Day of the Dead. This is one scene out of many that showcases the little things that are in their day in a life. 

While the movie had very impressive Kung Fu and Martial arts scenes, it also was a large step for the post-covid movie industry. Marvel Studios were nervous about the movie since it is their first theaters-only release since the start of the pandemic, and they were using it as an experiment to see how well it did. This was a necessary step since Black Widow lost a lot of revenue from being released in both theaters and Disney+. Their fears were proved unfounded since it’s already raked in close to $150 million at box offices worldwide and rising, and it is the biggest Labor Day weekend opening for a film since 2007. 

It’s in theaters only now and will be available later this year on Disney+. You can look forward to the next new Marvel movie, Eternals, coming out Nov. 5.