“The Kung Fu Panda 4 Experience: A Candid Review”
So, Kung Fu Panda 4 is indeed the fourth film in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Eight years after the Kung Fu Panda Trilogy wrapped. Is it 8 years? Yes, 8 years after Kung Fu Panda 3 came out. Wild time flies! Po is still the Dragon Warrior, but he needs to become the spiritual leader. Kind of feels like Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad when he was promoted to ASAC and he was like, “I like being on the field.” As he needs to become the spiritual leader, he needs to find a successor. All the while, there’s a new villain out there, a chameleon who can turn into other forms, other enemies. That might have been voiced by Ian McShane for the sake of that Nostalgia.
What Worked and What Didn’t: A Critical Analysis
Okay, what I liked about this movie: Jack Black is great in here. He was always great casting as Po. I like how they did Po in here. It would have been easy to be like, “Oh, it’s been 8 years, obviously he’s become lazy, he has to relearn how to become the Dragon Master.” This is 2024 Hollywood storytelling, man. I go into these movies expecting a severe lack of imagination, so I can only be surprised. That said, Po is still badass. He’s a lovable sort of clumsy as Po is, but they do a solid job of riding that line, making him feel like Po in that sense. But also, when there’s a fight going on, he is the most skilled one in the room, generally speaking.
Character Dynamics: A New Direction
I mean, you have a Badd in here who’s essentially chameleon and Shang Tsung, one character, two Mortal Kombat references. Fourth Kung Fu Panda film. But I enjoy the fact that he was still a master. He was still an effective and efficient fighter. The Furious Five, completely missing, completely gone from the film. The movie does address the fact that they’re on other Kung Fu missions, laying the groundwork for spin-offs possibly. But for the sake of this movie, they’re just gone. Yes, the five have been replaced in Kung Fu Panda 4 by one support character voiced by Awkwafina. That’s a choice. And it is exactly how it sounds.
Here it is: Awkwafina voices a character in an animation in which she’s a sidekick. It’s exactly how it sounds. You really do see the contrast among voice acting and voice actors. Jack Black as Bowser and also Po, they’re not the same character. They don’t feel the same. Awkwafina’s character in Kung Fu Panda 4 is exactly what you think Awkwafina’s character would be. From the information: voiced by Awkwafina. Yeah, Scuttle from The Little Mermaid live-action only. Dollar Store SL Cooper this time.
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Audience Perspective: Is It Worth the Watch?
See, the Kung Fu Panda Trilogy, I was going to call it solid. It’s actually great. Kung Fu Panda 4 is like; did it need to happen? Not really. It’s another fourth installment that probably didn’t need to happen. That springboards off of a Trilogy that is, in fact, great. That is to say, it’s made for kids and you absolutely see that in here. I make the argument the previous Kung Fu Panda films are made for kids and adults.
It deals with solid human themes that are relatable for adults but also great for kids. Kung Fu Panda 4 is fine for kids, I guess. As someone who doesn’t have kids, but I genuinely feel like they’re probably going to be entertained. They’re probably going to laugh or chuckle. You’re going to be like, “Those are bad jokes.” A lot of the humor in this movie that did work was wrapped into the animation, that really slick, really fast one-frame animation.
Conclusion: Final Thoughts
Speaking of the animation, I thought the action sequences were a lot of fun too. But when we’re talking about written jokes, written dialogue for the actors, man, they were bad puns and dad jokes. And a lot of them had that overconfident pause for the audience’s laughter, hoping they’d laugh while the audience just isn’t laughing. So, it’s just an awkward pause. You’re sitting there in the theater like, “Come on, guys, laugh. Make it better.” The movie is also insanely predictable, which it didn’t have to be.
If they had the Furious Five in here, it would have lent itself to not knowing where the movie was going to go. Po has to choose a successor. He has five friends, all of which are warriors, all of which can be the successor. Who’s he going to choose? Where’s it going to go? I don’t know, it’s a tough call. It would have made Po feel like that groom who has to choose a best man among his best friends. Instead, in this movie, oh, he has one new friend, no other options. Wonder where the movie’s going to go.
Recommendation: For Parents and Non-Parents Alike
The real lesson in Kung Fu Panda 4 is don’t be so good in gung-ho for the sake of your job and the company you work for that you elect to go out of town for the job when a position is going to be opening up right around the corner. You might miss out on the promotion. That’s the real lesson right there. Well, seeing it that way, you kind of put it into perspective. Maybe it is more relatable for adults.
The best part: the movie is 90 minutes long and it feels like 90 minutes long. It’s not a 90-minute-long movie that feels like 2 hours, and it’s definitely not a 2-hour movie. I appreciate the fact they’re like 90 minutes in and out. We should stay in that pocket. Look, in the end, and not to sound like a broken record, but if you have kids, this is probably a fine 90 minutes of white noise to plug them into, and they’ll probably be entertained. But if I’m speaking for all the fun uncles and grumpy curmudgeons out there who
don’t have kids, why would you watch this? Some fun action sequences and slick animation aside, it’s another case of a forced fourth installment that doesn’t justify its own existence and doesn’t live up to the trilogy it’s springboarding off of. The more I think about it, the more I got to say, Kung Fu Panda 4 probably be a better time with flask in pocket. Yeah, now we’re Dragon Warriors. Alright, so Kung Fu Panda 4, have you seen it? What did you think about it? Or how do you rank the Kung Fu Panda movies, favorite to least favorite, whatever they are, whatever you think? Comment below, let me know.
