Kung Fu Panda (B or 3/4 stars)
I enjoyed 'Kung Fu Panda' when it came out in 2008. I wasn't bowled over by it. But it was vibrant & fun. Now, 'Kung Fu Panda 2' (directed by Jennifer Yuh) arrives this Memorial Day weekend and ... it's not quite as good as the 1st (though, my opinion appears to be in a slight minority). At the conclusion of the first 'KFP', cuddly, overweight panda bear Po (voiced by Jack Black) became a Dragon Warrior. As 'KFP2' begins, he still lives in & protects the Valley of Peace, and is continuing his training under the tutelage of Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), whose latest lesson is about attaining 'inner peace'. Po doesn't get it, but he's going with the flow of his Master's teachings, anyway. Joined by the charismatic Furious Five - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), & Crane (David Cross) - Po sets out on a destiny-filled mission to stop a group of bandits terrorizing a local village.
The bandits (wolves) are after the metal needed by their megalomaniacal master, Lord Shen the peacock (a devilish Gary Oldman), whose weapon of mass destruction needs it. What's his weapon of mass destruction, you ask? Gunpowder; as in, the gunpowder in fireworks. In addition to him wanting to rule the world {ha}, Shen is afraid of pandas; as his soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh), a ram, once prophesied that he would die at the hand of one. To this, Lord Shen attempted genocide of the entire panda population (at a time when Po would have been a baby). So when Lord Shen learns that the Furious Five is led by one of the pandas that 'got away' (he was really given-up by his mom for safety; adopted by his goose father), he makes it his primary goal capture & kill our loveable Po. If Po can uncover the secrets of his panda family, only then can he gather the strength & willpower to defeat Lord Shen before he can conquer China.
You know, I quite liked the 1st 30 minutes or so of 'KFP2'. And I found the final 15-20 minutes to be quite poignant (making good use of my tissues). But there is a 35 min. stretch in the middle of the film that failed to engage me. Jokes fell flat, action sequences became exhausting, & my mind was drifting. THAT is a shame, because I really thought I'd be loving this from beginning to end. But let's not get too negative ...
How's the animation in 'KFP2'? Well, it's absolutely beautiful. Rich, colorful, & unique. Whether it's the character design, detailed foregrounds & backgrounds of Chinese architecture, or the vast landscapes ... every frame of 'KFP2' looks great! There's even some hand drawn technique implemented into crucial flashback sequences involving baby Po & his family. Gorgeous stuff; I even dug it more than some of the CGI work. I also really liked an early, inventive fight sequence where Po takes down some foes with his kung fu. I love Po's goose father. I enjoyed the powerful score by Hans Zimmer & John Powell. And as mentioned, the last 15-20 min. were both involving & tear-inducing (you know me).
But I felt there was too much boundless energy throughout -- whizz, crash, bang, thud, blurred action. There was no time to relax for even 2 minutes to offer a genuine joke (I chuckled at the kiddies laughing in the theater, but found little to be humorous, personally). There was no character development; almost no time spent with the Master Shifu; or to enjoy Dustin Hoffman's whispery inflections. There was no time for rapport with the Furious Five (Monkey & Mantis barely speak!). There was no time to let the interesting story (laced with destiny, tragedy, & redemption) breathe. 85 min. long, & the film is clogged with incessant action (probably 75% of the running time). In fact, some of the action set pieces beat me over the head, as well as annoying me with its "that could never happen" choreography. You may say, 'well, this is a movie - and an animated one, at that - it doesn't have to be realistic'. I'm sorry, but that doesn't excuse it, for me.
All in all, 'KFP2' provides a too-manic, but amiable & affecting adventure tale. A 3rd film is hinted at with this film's intriguing final 30 seconds. 'KFP2' tackles such issues as adoption & genocide (I know, a bit much for the smaller children). But I also liked this film's continual (from the last film) message about accepting one's self, and 'belonging' (whether it's with Po's loving noodle restauranteur goose father, or the Furious Five, or his real panda family ... if they're even alive). Relatively speaking, this movie is near the same level of the original; providing stellar entertainment. But this film's reliance on action over charm makes me long for the original's je ne sais quoi. 'KFP2' went for oohs & ahhs visuals, rather than the fun-loving panache that earned its fans.
The bandits (wolves) are after the metal needed by their megalomaniacal master, Lord Shen the peacock (a devilish Gary Oldman), whose weapon of mass destruction needs it. What's his weapon of mass destruction, you ask? Gunpowder; as in, the gunpowder in fireworks. In addition to him wanting to rule the world {ha}, Shen is afraid of pandas; as his soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh), a ram, once prophesied that he would die at the hand of one. To this, Lord Shen attempted genocide of the entire panda population (at a time when Po would have been a baby). So when Lord Shen learns that the Furious Five is led by one of the pandas that 'got away' (he was really given-up by his mom for safety; adopted by his goose father), he makes it his primary goal capture & kill our loveable Po. If Po can uncover the secrets of his panda family, only then can he gather the strength & willpower to defeat Lord Shen before he can conquer China.
You know, I quite liked the 1st 30 minutes or so of 'KFP2'. And I found the final 15-20 minutes to be quite poignant (making good use of my tissues). But there is a 35 min. stretch in the middle of the film that failed to engage me. Jokes fell flat, action sequences became exhausting, & my mind was drifting. THAT is a shame, because I really thought I'd be loving this from beginning to end. But let's not get too negative ...
How's the animation in 'KFP2'? Well, it's absolutely beautiful. Rich, colorful, & unique. Whether it's the character design, detailed foregrounds & backgrounds of Chinese architecture, or the vast landscapes ... every frame of 'KFP2' looks great! There's even some hand drawn technique implemented into crucial flashback sequences involving baby Po & his family. Gorgeous stuff; I even dug it more than some of the CGI work. I also really liked an early, inventive fight sequence where Po takes down some foes with his kung fu. I love Po's goose father. I enjoyed the powerful score by Hans Zimmer & John Powell. And as mentioned, the last 15-20 min. were both involving & tear-inducing (you know me).
But I felt there was too much boundless energy throughout -- whizz, crash, bang, thud, blurred action. There was no time to relax for even 2 minutes to offer a genuine joke (I chuckled at the kiddies laughing in the theater, but found little to be humorous, personally). There was no character development; almost no time spent with the Master Shifu; or to enjoy Dustin Hoffman's whispery inflections. There was no time for rapport with the Furious Five (Monkey & Mantis barely speak!). There was no time to let the interesting story (laced with destiny, tragedy, & redemption) breathe. 85 min. long, & the film is clogged with incessant action (probably 75% of the running time). In fact, some of the action set pieces beat me over the head, as well as annoying me with its "that could never happen" choreography. You may say, 'well, this is a movie - and an animated one, at that - it doesn't have to be realistic'. I'm sorry, but that doesn't excuse it, for me.
All in all, 'KFP2' provides a too-manic, but amiable & affecting adventure tale. A 3rd film is hinted at with this film's intriguing final 30 seconds. 'KFP2' tackles such issues as adoption & genocide (I know, a bit much for the smaller children). But I also liked this film's continual (from the last film) message about accepting one's self, and 'belonging' (whether it's with Po's loving noodle restauranteur goose father, or the Furious Five, or his real panda family ... if they're even alive). Relatively speaking, this movie is near the same level of the original; providing stellar entertainment. But this film's reliance on action over charm makes me long for the original's je ne sais quoi. 'KFP2' went for oohs & ahhs visuals, rather than the fun-loving panache that earned its fans.