
The ‘Kung Fu Panda’ is a very well-known series, and the fourth part sustains the demand of being funny, has action and still has emotions in it. However, it leaves space for improvement when looking from the previous parts.
After ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ which ended the series back in 2016, I never believed that another movie would be made in this series. During the span of the trilogy, we had the opportunity to track Po (the Kung Fu panda of the series) as he matures into the dragon warrior, defeats various villains, and discovers more about himself. A year later, there was a press release stating a Kung Fu Panda 4 which rekindled the series. The audience was exposed to a teaser in 2023. And now, in the year 2024, the audiences are shocked after watching the movie and my feelings are also quite different.
The picture is shot in quite the same way as Marvel movies are shot starting from their comical elements. The voice is filled with clever retorts and is abundant in sarcasm and irony all throughout the movie. This hilarious combination of antagonists suits the main protagonists perfectly: series regular Po and newcomer Zheng (the Fox). The film also employs tropes effectively, establishing such cliches first and then ridiculing them in a way that made me laugh. The humor also creates some wonderful running gags — particularly that very few people know what the Dragon Warrior is which are later brought back in wonderful fashions that make people laugh. Yes, the humor grates at times, to the degree that it spoils the importance of some of the more intense scenes in the movie.
Pacing is definitely not this film\’s strong suit. The first few minutes of the film are fast; we get to know or re-know the characters and the villain’s plot is constructed. After this, the rising action just drags, making for a pretty diabolical middle section. This part constitutes a significant amount of screen time and aims at the development of the characters, getting them ready and to position and the stakes to be established. The climax is a scandalous twist on what came before followed by reconciliation, or several great action sequences and a cheap conclusion. Because the film seems so quick and the rest of the film seems so rushed, it gives the impression that the film is seriously attempting to get through the climax and the following parts in order to ensure that it finishes within 90 minutes.
The plot in itself was probably the most basic one in the whole franchise. There is a villain, who in my opinion is a very weak character in terms of development, motivation, or even presence on screen. Their motivation or goals were also not really elucidated either. Out of the few characters who do get more focus than the rest, Po seems to have undergone some regression from the last three films, which does throw off the continuity of the plot somewhat (which I will say in broad terms to avoid spoiling anything). Magic is brought into Po\’s world by the characters but the use of magic is quite poorly done as no explanations or depth are ever provided and the audience is left unaware of the limitations and possibilities of this magic.
Other than a few plot twists and turns, the movie was rather boring and predictable. I would have loved to see a better final fight as it was highly anticlimactic and short, especially after the build-up it received.
In the film, the presentation stands out, which is something to graciously speak about. It is a sheer achievement on the part of the graphics with all components having such well done animation as well as the action sequences. The characters look really nice and the voice actors did a great job. The scores add sufficiently to the film and balance well with the dialogues. For some people, a number of the scene transitions were best executed and so soft that the audience at the cinema made surprising noises as they came. Most of the action scenes were fine but I think there could have been more. I missed great fight scenes in this particular installment because previous ones had them in great width and variety.
I particularly enjoy the idea of Po’s gay parents, a father and son, being a pattern in their parenting approach. It provides the concept of two dads in the easiest manner for children to absorb and fully understand. Po’s relationships with both his biological dad and adopted dad are further underscored in this context which helps highlight non-normative families.
Overall as a children’s film, it was just okay. There the movies had some good laughs, served some nice cheesy songs, and presented an enticing storyline with the help of some great graphics, acting, and sound. The first time I saw it was great as I got to see some famous people that I loved watching on the big screen again, but I would not want to watch it repeatedly. There was simply no story, plot or any substance, and even the character of this movie combined with feeble action scenes and bad world creation left some room for weakness.
I still recommend the film to anyone who wants to watch it. Just for old times’ sake.
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