TEMPLE, Texas — Skadoosh!
The newest installment in the "Kung Fu Panda" series has kicked its way into theaters, giving audiences the chance to witness the next step in Po's journey as the Dragon Warrior.
This fourth installment struggles to live up to the lofty heights of the first three, lacking some of the depth and wit of the previous entries, but it is still a well-made and enjoyable movie, and is definitely worth a watch.
To get one thing out of the way right off the bat, "Kung Fu Panda 4" is probably the weakest in the series, at least in the opinion of this reviewer, but that is more of a testament to how great the previous entries were than to say that this is one "bad", because it is not.
The trademark humor of the series is still on full display, and while not every joke lands the movie is still full of funny beats and a few laugh-out-loud moments.
The "Kung Fu Panda" series has always had stellar animation, and this entry is no different, once again fully capturing the small details of the animal cast, from fur being detailed and reactive to the environments of the movie to the characters that the villainous Chameleon imitates having a faint appearance of scales to set them apart from the actual character.
The action scenes overall don't hit (no pun intended) the same highs as they did in the previous movies, all three of which went beyond just being good family movies and ended up being genuinely good martial arts movies too, but the kung fu fights are still fun and employ some clever camera movements and stylistic choices to give them some character.
Jack Black is hilarious as always as Po while still managing to put real emotion and feeling into the character, and Dustin Hoffman is fun as Shifu, despite having a much smaller role in this movie.
The Furious Five from the first three movies (and their star-studded voice cast) are sadly absent from this one, and while it doesn't detract from the film per se, they are definitely missed. Their camaraderie with Po was a core part of the series, and it would have been fun to see how they react as Po transitions into his new role as spiritual leader and passes on the mantle of Dragon Warrior.
The other supporting cast does a good job of filling that void, such as Po's dads continuing their fun dynamic from the previous movie, and some new characters being introduced like Ke Huy Quan's Han. Bryan Cranston's Li especially gets some fun moments and James Hong brings both humor and an emotional base to the movie as usual as Mr. Ping.
As someone who grew up with the "Kung Fu Panda" series, I was one of many who questioned the concept of a movie based on Po finding someone to replace him as the Dragon Warrior, but "Kung Fu Panda 4" frames it as the next step of his own personal journey, as opposed to the "out with the old, in with the new" mentality that many sequels of its type take.
Secondary protagonist Zhen, played by Awkwafina, took me a minute to warm up to, but she ends up having a good character arc through the movie, if not quite as strong as Po's in the first movie, and is a solid addition to the cast.
Academy Award winner Viola Davis gives a great performance as villain The Chameleon, and although she is sadly not given as much backstory or action as the previous villains, Davis plays the role with gravitas and delightful menace. What is told of The Chameleon's backstory does give her an understandable motive and her shape-shifting abilities offer some cool moments.
The score by Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro is stellar, with a couple of especially amusing musical beats, such as Jack Black's band Tenacious D covering Britney Spears and an orchestral version of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", adding to the already phenomenal original music.
My only real complaint about "Kung Fu Panda 4" is that I wanted a little more from it. A lot of the movie, the first act especially, seems to be in such a hurry to get through itself that it doesn't take enough time to breathe to let jokes fully land or flesh out the characters a little more. It's one of the rare movies these days that actually would have benefitted from being a little longer.
It would have been engaging to see more development and backstory about both Zhen and The Chameleon, and Po's acceptance of giving up the mantle of the Dragon Warrior doesn't quite land with the same emotional climax of the first two movies. It is still meaningful to see him come full circle into becoming the teacher himself, but leaning a little more into his internal conflict could have given his ultimate acceptance a little more weight and allowed it to be a perfect conclusion to his character's journey.
All in all, "Kung Fu Panda 4" is a lot of fun for fans of the series, even if it is tough for it to fill the massive shoes of its predecessors. It's entertaining and enjoyable for viewers of all ages, and is a fun addition to an, as Po would say, awesome franchise.
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