The Marvel film with the highest audience score on Rotten Tomatoes

“Shang-Chi” introduced the main character, played by the handsome Simu Liu, as the son of an immortal gangster named Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung). The ten magic bracelets that he wore up and down his arms and that he could control with his mind granted Xu immortality. Shang-Chi trained in martial arts as a child and was expected to become an assassin for Xu, but Shang-Chi left the family business due to moral objections and became a valet in San Francisco. Shang-Chi’s backstory is slowly revealed to his best friend Cathy (Awkwafina) after they run into some high-octane super-soldiers on the street one morning.

What follows is a complex Marvel adventure involving a magical bamboo forest, murderous dragons, a resentful sister, a hidden kingdom, and a portal to hell. Michelle Yeoh has a small role and Ben Kinsley returns, reprising his role as Trevor from Iron Man 3.

“Shang-Chi” has been well received with a 92% rating based on 344 reviews. No one included him in the year’s best lists, but almost everyone gave him a pass. Additionally, many people logged onto Rotten Tomatoes to give it a positive review, giving it a 98% audience score, now called the Popcornmeter. More than 10,000 people gave it a thumbs up. However, you can take this number with a grain of salt; you don’t have to watch a movie to give it a positive or negative score on Popcornmeter. Indeed, certain films tend to be subject to reviews by online “fans” who just want to move the needle on the films they object to, inconspicuously.

But still, 98% is impressive, even with salt.

In terms of critical ratings, “Shang-Chi” ranks ninth on the MCU list behind “Thor: Ragnarok” (93), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (93), “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” (94%), Avengers: Endgame (94%), Iron Man (94%), Agents of SHIELD (95%), Black Panther (96%), and Miss Marvel (98%).