Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | 2021 | PG-13 | – 1.6.4

Why is “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of violence and action, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes many fights with people using super strength and magical weapons leaving many presumably dead but without injuries shown, a fight club scene with several fights taking place and some bloody wounds visible, many scenes of people fighting winged creatures with weapons and powers and we see some dead bodies without visible wounds, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A young man (Simu Liu) leading an ordinary life in the US is forced to confront the past he thought he left behind in China, and has to protect an ancient secret, hidden village from the shadowy Ten Rings organization, which is led by his own father (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung). Also with Awkwafina, Ben Kingsley, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Wah Yuen, Florian Munteanu, Andy Le, Paul W. He, Jayden Zhang and Elodie Fong. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. [Running Time: 2:12]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A man and woman hold hands, they are then shown being married and we see that the woman is pregnant; the man then holds an infant and the woman is shown pregnant again (we see her bare abdomen in one scene).
► A woman wears a low-cut and cropped top that reveals cleavage and bare abdomen. A shirtless man is shown in bed and we see his bare chest, shoulders and abdomen; we see his bare legs to the upper thighs when he gets out of bed wearing boxer briefs. A shirtless man enters a ring at a fight club (we see his bare shoulders, chest and back). Women wear low-cut tank tops that reveal cleavage in a few scenes.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A man on horseback rides toward many armed people defending an edifice: the man creates a glowing force-field to protect himself from incoming arrows and fights with the people on the ground using powerful blasts of energy and we see people being thrown through the air (no blood is shown). Several battles are shown with fighting using swords and one man using energy blasts in a forest and in a castle where a man is thrown out of a window (we do not see injuries or blood). A young boy watches his mother fight with several men (we hear blows and crunches) and we understand that the woman was killed (we see her lying dead among many dead men and no blood is evident) and the man later blames the boy for not protecting her. A man fights with many other men and we see some of them with bloody wounds and burn marks on their faces. Winged creatures attack people and pick them up using slimy tentacles that they use to wrap around their heads and in their mouths; we are told that they are stealing souls that they then feed to a giant demon.
► A man threatens another man on a bus and tells him to hand over a pendant that’s around his neck; the man refuses, the aggressor shoves a woman and the two men fight with many punches, kicks and throws; several other men on the bus join in the fight and one man moves toward him with a sword attached to his arm, he uses it to slash the bus and the driver is knocked unconscious leaving the bus careening through streets; the man climbs on the roof of the bus, the bus takes a sharp turn separating the back car from the front car and the front slams through several parked cars before coming to a stop. A man encounters a woman in a forest and they fight using special powers; they deflect each other’s attacks and the man is eventually thrown through the air by a blast of energy, he is slammed into a tree and lands in a pond (he seems uninjured). Many people speed into a village and villagers stand ready with weapons; a man orders his army to burn down the village and the two groups fight with blades and magical powers. Two men fight and one man is struck in the stomach and thrown through the air a few times; one time the man is thrown into water where he sinks seemingly unconscious before reviving. Many people with glowing spears threaten a man and two women outside a village (they eventually stand down).
► A man hears his dead wife’s voice calling for his help from behind a glowing gate and the man strikes it repeatedly breaking open holes that let out winged demons that attack a village. A giant winged demon with large claws and teeth attacks a man and another man saves him; the demon holds the man and seems to be sucking out his soul (colorful lights move out of the man’s head and into the demon’s mouth) before dropping him to the ground dead. A man rides on the back of a flying dragon that carries him out from underwater where he seems to be drowning and the dragon grabs several attacking winged creatures in its mouth. Many winged creatures attack a dragon and they cover its eyes. A dragon and a giant winged demon fight in midair and a man rides on the back of the dragon. A winged creature grabs a man and sucks out his soul to feed to a giant demon. A woman shoots an arrow into a giant winged demon and the arrow hits it in the throat and disables it; the demon it tied up and a man blows a hole in its stomach blowing it to bits (we see severed body parts).
► A fight club is set up with several rooms where people are seen fighting (we see some bloody wounds and smears on the glass walls); one giant creature fights on an upper level and we see that it has claws and scales and what looks like fins or gills on its head; it fights with a man that conjures up a giant fist that hits the creature in the face and knocks it out. A man and a woman fight in a fight club and the woman flips the man, kicks him in the crotch and hits him in the face (he falls to the floor and we see his bloody face). Men drive through a bamboo forest and the trees move across the road in front and behind them, and the car is slammed by the trees and falls over a cliff leaving one man on the top of the cliff (we see the car in water below). A car speeds through a forest turning sharply to follow a path; it speeds through a waterfall and passes through a portal to a secret village and the driver stops short before hitting a horse-like creature that stands in front of them.
► Alarms blare in a crowded building and people run away; armed people enter and a man and a woman climb out of a window along scaffolding, where the man fights with several people; he is zapped by people with taser sticks, the woman falls when a pole snaps and the man catches her but he drops her when he is tasered and she is caught by another woman and she and the man fight many more people on the scaffolding, until an explosive throws many people off the scaffolding. Two men fight using knives and one raises the knife over the other until another man interrupts the fight.
► A woman describes the decimation of her ancestors by demons that have been locked away behind a magical gate made of dragon scales; we see a flashback and drawings on a wall of giant demons with wings and claws and large teeth; she talks about “The Great Protector” and “soul eaters.” A young boy is shown training to fight and his trainer stands over him with a bamboo stick and hits him on the back; the boy punches a wooden beam and his hands bleed; a voice-over tells us that the boy was taught to kill a man in every possible way and that his father sent him to kill a man when he was 14-years-old, and that he couldn’t go through with it and he ran away. Many people train with weapons (swords, spears, arrows, and a blade at the end of a rope) and prepare for a battle.
► Cars and motorcycles speed through a garage, one car speeds through an exit and another car slams into the door as it is closing. A woman kicks a wall open. A small furry creature without a head or a face and with four wings is shown in several scenes, as well as other seemingly magical beings (a giant lion-like creature, horses with seemingly human-like faces, and others) are shown in a secret village. The eyes in a dragon statue glow and water gushes out of walls in the area. A spinning and glowing portal opens in a bar and two men and a woman walk through it while bare patrons look on in surprise. A woman drives dangerously.
► A man says that he will kill his father. A man talks about someone wanting to kill him. A woman talks about a dead relative and refers to the Day of the Dead. A man talks about his mother dying. A man says, “Prepare the men for war.” A voice-over talks about a person imbued with the strength of a god and eternal life. A person says, “I think these birds are on fire,” as a group of people walk through a secret village. A woman talks about a water map being “vomited.” A woman mocks a man for the name he chose when he ran away from his father and was changing his identity. A woman talks to her young son about having the heart of a dragon.
► A man is shown seemingly being tattooed on the back with a long device.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings LANGUAGE 4

 – 1 obscene hand gesture, 5 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 15 mild obscenities, name-calling (idiot, stupid, silly, freak, dude, Gangnam-style, chicken-pig, evil, weird, sucker, nasty, mega soul sucker, mooch, soul sucking monsters, crazy, circus, Kung-fu goddess), exclamations (wow, freaking, what the…, hey, sucks, calm down, really freaking close, bloody [mild obscenity deleted]), 1 religious profanity (GD), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, oh God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink in a bar in a few scenes, and a man and a woman drink heavily in a karaoke bar and fall asleep there.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Legends, power, greed, family, punishment, legacy, guilt, fear, grief, death of a loved one.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings MESSAGE

 – Without a goal there is no purpose.