Cinema for Brunch KUNG FU PANDA 4 Review

A new partner and new villain aren’t enough to justify the existence of “Kung Fu Panda 4”, a forgettable entry in the beloved franchise.

Synopsis

Po must train a new warrior when he’s chosen to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. However, when a powerful shape-shifting sorceress sets her eyes on his Staff of Wisdom, he suddenly realizes he’s going to need some help. Teaming up with a quick-witted corsac fox, Po soon discovers that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places.

Review
Is the fourth time really a charm? Some franchises (John Wick, Mad Max) would say yes, other franchises (Shrek, Terminator) would say hell no. Unfortunately, Kung Fu Panda 4 finds itself on the latter as a disappointing entry in the adventures of affable panda Po (Jack Black). Almost a decade since its previous entry, director Mike Mitchell brings back the top-grossing animated adventure for a fourth entry in which Po is faced with the decision of retiring and finding a new successor to become the Dragon Warrior. Po, who has been enjoying the glory of being a hometown hero, is hit with a hard truth to face – he has to rest on his laurels and pass the mantle he has fought so hard for to someone else. A tough pill to swallow but Po finds himself up for the challenge….until he crosses path with a bandit fox Zhen (Awkwafina) who he must team up with to defeat The Chameleon (Viola Davis), an evil sorceress who wants to open up the spirit world and take all the secrets and powers of past warriors to take over the world and – you know the rest.

When it comes to animated films, I give my credit to the writers. The ability to churn out valuable lessons for the kids that see these films give them somewhat of an important value. That and the fact that they are money-making machines for the box office. The important lesson put forth in this film (written by “Kung Fu Panda” mainstays Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger and “Shrek Forever After” scribe Darren Lemke) is that humility is just as much a virtue as glory. When we first catch up with Po, he is basking in all the attention he is receiving. He’s a hometown hero, his proud papas Mr. Ping (James Hong) and Li Shan (Bryan Cranston) sing his praises and everyone wants to take a hand-painted picture with him. All of this changes once the unflappable Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tells Po it’s time to hang up the hat and pick a replacement. Do you have the power to let power go? A great question for an animated film to ask however, lessons aside, “Kung Fu Panda 4” has a side-plot problem…in which the main plot feels like…a sideplot.

The big bad of this entry, the Chameleon, is a worthy opponent of silly, affable Po. She has an intimidating presence (mainly in fact to Viola Davis’ great vocal performance, continuing her flow of playing great villains, see: Hunger Games), having the ability to transform from being as small as a chameleon to as large as an elephant. Teaming up to take her down, there is a great sidekick relationship with Po and Zhen, leading to some solid punchlines and banter between the unlikely couple. Solid characters aside, the film as a whole is very generic. The plot is cookie-cutter and all of the action feels strangely localized – there are but a few locations in this film and this doesn’t feel like a grand adventure. It instead feels like a side-mission with stakes that don’t seem more dire than usual. The addition of Awkwafina does the film a good service as she bounces great off Jack Black’s animated performance. With her turn in the recent live-action “Little Mermaid,” Awkwafina has proven that her colorful voice can be a great addition to family-friendly films like these. All this aside, this entry doesn’t add much to the franchise and proves that someone with an undeniable charm like Jack Black can only take a generic cash cow sequel so far.

Closing Thoughts
“Kung Fu Panda 4” is a disappointing entry in the “Kung Fu Panda” universe. Po is as affable and goofy as ever and has a worthy villain in The Chameleon but this is not enough to make the film necessary. The whole plot of taking down the Chameleon feels like a forgettable side-mission to what could be a great plot of finding a worthy successor to wear the Dragon Warrior crown. Even though both plots resolve themselves by the finale, the film just a can’t-see-the-forest-for-the-trees issue. Awkwafina and Viola Davis are great additions to the voice cast but their impressionable voices can only do so much for this unnecessary and forgettable sequel in a beloved franchise.

Trailer