Film Review - Kung Fu Panda 4
Images courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Kung Fu Panda 4 rarely surprises but that’s not a bad thing. While the script feels somewhat tired it doesn’t get in the way of the film’s kinetic and funny action sequences which are the core of the film. Kung Fu Panda 4 revisits Jack Black’s character Po as he is told by his teacher Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) that he must pass on the title of Dragon Warrior and mentor a new hero to take his place. As this occurs, a sinister villain, “The Chameleon” (an under-utilised Viola Davis), appears.To track her down Po must team up with career criminal Zhen (Awkwafina) to find her. Awkwafina is certainly a worthy match to Jack Black’s charisma and they share an enjoyable amount of chemistry as master and student.
The problem is that Kung Fu Panda 4 suffers from a lack of character development and since the villain lacks teeth, the stakes feel perilously low. Po’s two dads (James Hong and Bryan Cranston) empty-nest their way through a familiar b-plot of parental anxiety. Master Shifu is grumpy. Po is naive. The film aims to advance the franchise into one where Po is a wise teacher to unlikely hero Zhen. It’s a pleasant concept, but there’s never a sense that Po is having to pass on the role of hero out of any true necessity. He’s just as capable of defeating villains as ever, no less skilled in his kung fu, and he’s not seemed to have noticeably aged since the earlier Kung Fu Panda films. Since Po doesn’t learn anything or seem noticeably challenged it’s hard to feel invested. These characters grow in only perfunctory ways, and as a result the film is more routine than it is re-invigorating. Predictability isn’t necessarily a mark against a children’s film, but even kid’s franchises must move on and grow up.
The saving grace in all this is the numerous fight scenes which are each so densely filled with incredible visual gags that it’s easy to forget how by the numbers the script is. The Kung Fu Panda franchise has always worn its martial arts cinema inspirations on its sleeve and the influence of Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow movies is stronger here than ever. Each sequence is better than the last and contains much of the emotional weight, and all of the laughs that the dialogue alone doesn’t deliver. Certain set pieces are amongst the most dynamic and funny in the franchise. If the rest of the film delivered just a fraction of the energy present in its action scenes, then this would be the best Kung Fu Panda movie hands down. As it is, Kung Fu Panda 4 is a worthy sequel and enjoyable film, even if it doesn’t quite live up to its potential.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is screening in cinemas from 28th March. For tickets and more info, click here.