Review: 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' shows the smart way to introduce a new character, and his gorgeously rendered world, into the Marvel universe.

The Marvel universe makes a strong step into the world of martial arts movies with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” introducing a new character and an ancient culture with beautiful visuals and smart storytelling.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton starts with the legend — a set of magical rings that bestow immense power on the person who wields them. For centuries, that person has been Wenwu (played by the Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung), a warlord who over the centuries has built up an army of assassins, called the Ten Rings. (Sharp-eyed Marvel movie fans, and people who read the comic books, will have noticed their logo before.)

Wenwu, we’re told in the prologue, gave up that power when he fell in love with Jiang Li (Fala Chen), guardian of a secret village deep within China. As we learn, Wenwu and Jiang Li had two children — a son, Shang-Chi, and a daughter, Xialing — whose lives changed radically when their mother was killed, and their father went back to his violent ways.

Fast-forward to today, and Shang-Chi (played by Simu Liu) is apart from his father and sister, living in San Francisco. He works as a parking valet at a fancy hotel, alongside his best friend Katy (played by the comedian and actress Awkwafina). But his old world intrudes when members of the Ten Rings attack Shang-Chi on a city bus — prompting a ferocious action sequence that’s 20% “Speed” and 80% Jackie Chan-style martial arts. (Half of Twitter has remarked on how Liu’s use of his jacket as a weapon emulates Chan in “Rumble in the Bronx.”)

Shang-Chi heads to Macau, with Katy along for the ride, for an uncomfortable reunion with Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), who’s running an underground fighting arena. (There are some nice MCU surprises on the undercard, by the way.) This leads to another Chan-esque action sequence, a free-swinging fight utilizing the bamboo scaffolding on the side of a skyscraper.

Eventually, Shang-Chi and Xialing are reunited with Wenwu, who wants his children to take part in his plans to conquer their late mother’s village, and harness the power it’s keeping from the world. This is as much synopsis as I’m going to give, because there are some surprises revealed at about this point in the story that add to the movie’s fun.

And this is a fun movie. Cretton — best known for his low-budget collaborations with “Captain Marvel” star Brie Larson, such as “Short Term 12,” “The Glass Castle” and “Just Mercy” — absorbs the world-building lessons Ryan Coogler imparted in “Black Panther,” and captures a variety of settings of Asian life. Credit production designer Sue Chan (“Shirley,” “Colossal”), costume designer Kym Barrett, and a host of other artisans for capturing San Francisco’s Chinatown, the neon glow of Macau and the splendor of Jiang Li’s timeless Chinese village.

Cretton also deftly handles the tone shift, as the movie’s action moves from the kinetic modern fighting style (embodied by Jackie Chan) to the graceful choreography of the wuxia genre of martial arts. (Ang Lee’s 2000 hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is the best known example of wuxia films that Western audiences would recognize.) Cretton isn’t trying to be all things to all martial-arts fans, but he’s creating an entertaining sampler that should prompt movie fans to go search for more in the genre.

If they take on such a search, digging up Tony Leung’s back catalog is a good place to start. Leung is a superstar in Hong Kong and China, having worked with such directors as Ang Lee (“Lust, Caution”) and Wong Kar-Wai (“Chungking Express,” “In the Mood for Love,” “2046”), and starring in the “Infernal Affairs” series (the movie that inspired Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed”). “Shang-Chi” is Leung’s biggest Hollywood movie, and he gives it a darker edge than most Marvel villains.

Liu, who starred in the popular Canadian sitcom “Kim’s Convenience,” is a real find, with an unassuming charm that makes Shang-Chi a relatable hero. Pairing Liu with Awkwafina, who brings some street-smart wit to the serious-minded script (credited to Cretton, Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham), is an added benefit.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” isn’t quite as groundbreaking as “Black Panther” — what movie could be? — but it gets a lot right. It’s a solidly constructed superhero origin story, steeped in a beautifully rendered view of the hero’s cultural ties, with some strong performers (some I haven’t mentioned), and a connection back to the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. Best of all, it makes you want to see Shang-Chi’s next adventure.

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‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, September 3, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and for language. Running time: 132 minutes.