Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Action and humor are fun

Cons: Very predictable story

The Bottom Line:

Po’s next adventure

Is mostly predictable

But still fun for fans

“You Have Got to Workshop Those Proverbs.”

I haven’t watched any of the Kung Fu Panda movies in a long time.  (And I didn’t even know there was a recent show, or I’d forgotten about it if I knew.)  But I was curious to see what they were going to do with Kung Fu Panda 4.  I did wait until the movie hit streaming, but I’m glad I watched it since I enjoyed it overall.

This movie opens with Po (voiced by Jack Black) being the Po we all know and love.  He’s saving the day in ridiculous ways and helping his dad open his new noodle restaurant.  However, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) says that it is time for Po to pick the next Dragon Warrior so that Po can take on his new role as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.  Po has no desire to do that, however.

So it works to his advantage when word that a powerful sorceress, The Chameleon (Viola Davis) is back and terrorizing a village.  Po decides that this should be his final Dragon Warrior adventure.  Since he doesn’t know the territory, he agrees to let Zhen (Awkwafina) help guide him.  Zhen is a thief who doesn’t seem to want to give up her ways.  Can Po reform her?  Will he defeat The Chameleon?

I’ve got to say, I was disappointed that we didn’t see much of the supporting cast.  There was a subplot with Po’s dad’s that was okay.  It wasn’t terribly original and pretty much was there to help with the climax, but it had some entertaining moments.

Not that the main storyline was terribly original, either.  I pretty much knew where it was going after about 20 minutes – at the end of act one.  But that’s never a problem if I’m having fun.  And I had fun.  The big scenes were well done and the jokes worked to make me laugh.  I wasn’t fully engaged, but I was having fun.  Granted, the entire franchise hasn’t been terribly original.  I just feel like the first movie had more fun along the way.

I will say, it took me a while to warm to Awkwafina’s voice work in the movie.  You know how sometimes, the voice actors come across as they are reading a script?  That’s how I felt about her character.  I’m not sure if I warmed up to her performance or she got comfortable with the voice acting, but by the end, I was buying her character.

The rest of the cast?  They were fine.

Likewise, the animation was good.

If you are a fan of this franchise, you’ll want to check out Kung Fun Panda 4.  It’s fine for fans, but it won’t change the minds of anyone who isn’t a fan of the franchise.