5 Years Ago Today: One Of The Best Superhero Movies Of The 2020s Was Released In Theaters

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• Superhero Movies

In the 2010s, superhero movies experienced a true boom, the likes of which few genres have ever seen before. The Marvel Cinematic Universe absolutely dominated the pop culture landscape, with 2012's "The Avengers" redefining blockbuster filmmaking. However, the 2020s have been more of an up and down ride for the genre, with at least as many misses as hits. But five years ago, Marvel Studios proved it still had the goods with one of the best superhero movies of the 2020s thus far.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" was something of a watershed moment for the MCU when it debuted on September 3, 2021. For one, it finally gave the franchise an Asian-American superhero in a lead movie role. "Shang-Chi" also exceeded expectations at the box office at a particularly difficult time, as theaters were still getting back on their feet after the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. Back then, it was woefully unclear what the future was going to look like. But more important than any of that, Cretton and Marvel Studios delivered a very satisfying and unique comic book adaptation.

The movie centers on Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. Tony Leung plays Shang-Chi's father, the head of the Ten Rings organization, who is also (spoilers) revealed to be the real Mandarin. This came after the "fake" Mandarin/Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) reveal in "Iron Man 3."

More than just a fan-pleasing retcon, though, what Cretton delivered was a meaningful story about self-discovery and family with a healthy dose of ass-kicking action to boot. The film's much-discussed scaffolding fight alone remains one of the most impressive, grounded fight scenes in MCU history.

Shang-Chi is one of the only successful new MCU superheroes of the 2020s

We could sit here and have an argument about the single best superhero movie of the 2020s. Quite a few people would probably say "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and they'd certainly have a leg to stand on. Others might say "The Batman," and others still might fairly argue "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" or even "Zack Snyder's Justice League," depending on who's being asked.

A big part of what makes "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" one of the better superhero movies of the current decade is that it marks the only true out-and-out successful new superhero franchise launch since the pandemic began. For example, Marvel originally had much larger plans for "Eternals" in the MCU before the movie fell well short of expectations in 2021. "The Marvels" certainly didn't pan out in 2023, either, nor did 2025's "Thunderbolts*," at least not to the level Marvel Studios wanted.

This is to say nothing of Sony's failed "Spider-Man" spin-off films, including "Morbius" and "Madame Web." Similarly, DC was unable to generate new franchises with "Black Adam," "Blue Beetle," and "Supergirl" all failing to do well enough financially to justify a direct continuation. "Shang-Chi," on the other hand, was a crowd-pleaser as well as a commercial success, and it warrants a continuation.

To that end, it was announced in December 2021 that Destine Daniel Cretton was returning to direct a "Shang-Chi" sequel, though it has yet to materialize. But that has less to do with Cretton's original film and the Shang-Chi character than it does outside circumstances.

Despite the success of Shang-Chi, we're still waiting on a sequel

Simu Liu has addressed the fact that "Shang-Chi 2" keeps getting pushed back. He's expressed some rightful frustration about it, too, but it's officially still in development and, as evidence that Marvel has interest in keeping the franchise going, Liu is part of the massive cast of "Avengers: Doomsday." Indeed, he's featured prominently in the first full-length trailer for the much-anticipated superhero team-up.

Setting aside the fact that it does feel a little bizarre that a "Shang-Chi" sequel hasn't happened yet, it's hard to deny that this film accomplished what many other superhero movies in recent years have not. Namely, it earned the stamp of approval from both general audiences and critics, delivering a hit that feels worthy of the pre-pandemic MCU days.

There's a reason why "Shang-Chi" is one of the highest-rated post-"Endgame" MCU movies on Rotten Tomatoes. It towers above middling efforts such as "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Thor: Love and Thunder." Is it a perfect movie? Of course not. Many will point out that the third act isn't as strong as the first two, but the same could be said of "The Batman" and plenty of other quality comic book movies from the past decade.

This film's list of positives dramatically outweighs the list of negatives. That's not just me talking, either. That remains the general consensus and, five years later, this movie feels a little more special in light of just how much the superhero genre has struggled. "Shang-Chi" remains a reminder that the genre can thrive if its stories don't get watered down in an attempt to make them overly palatable.

You can grab "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD from Amazon.