Kung Fu Panda 4 Review

 

Last week I saw Kung Fu Panda 4. Po reluctantly has to face the reality of giving up his status as the Dragon Warrior so he can become spiritual leader and pass on the title to someone else. He also has to deal with a shape-shifting villain who steals other kung fu master's abilities.

I personally liked the movie, but it's painfully obvious that the franchise has run its course. The story is not terrible but it is generic in comparison to the first 2 and even the 3rd one to an extent. I didn't particularly care for the 3rd one, but it still had a more compelling and interesting story than this. The Chameleon was also the weakest villain of the franchise. I found absolutely no point to her origin story. Kai from the previous movie was also weak, but not as bland as The Chameleon. My deepest apologies to Viola Davis who voices the character, and she did great, but that's not really a surprise considering this is Viola Davis we're talking about. It was also very disappointing to witness the absence of the Furious Five.

We also saw the return of previous villains, including Lord Shen, and the one who started it all and; Tai Lung. That to me is an indication of unneeded desperation to get people to see the movie. It's unneeded because Kung Fu Panda is a very popular franchise and they didn't need to pull all those stops to get people to see the movie as people are gonna see it anyway. I did like the small redemption they did with Tai Lung though.

While the writing has dwindled, there was a twist in the movie that was decently done. It wasn't an amazing twist, but it was still good and it did sting for at least 2 characters. For me it was easily the best thing about the movie.

The voice acting was good. Not great, but good.

The dynamic between Po's dads (his biological father and his adoptive father) was absolutely HILARIOUS. They made me laugh almost every time they were on screen and were easily the funniest part of the film. I kind of wish they weren't wasted in this movie.  

And last but not least, the fight scenes of this film were AWESOME. That's the one thing this film does have over the first 3 as it probably had some of the best fight scenes of the entire franchise. Like the dads, they were also wasted in this movie, which is a real bummer.

I did like the movie, but it's sad to see that this franchise will never reach the level of the first 2 movies ever again. Thanks For Reading.