MOVIE REVIEW - "Kung Fu Panda 2"

Subdued Panda Returns to Kick Butt

Thanks to Dragon Warrior Po (voiced by Jack Black) and the members of the Furious Five Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan), Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen), Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu) and Crane (voiced by David Cross) the Valley of Peace is at, well, peace, their collective awesomeness allowing tranquility to blossom. But when word reaches Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) that the whole of China and Kung Fu itself is in desperate danger thanks to the machinations of the evil peacock Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman), Po and the gang must travel across the whole of the country in order to thwart his plans.



It goes without saying that Kung Fu Panda 2 does not cast the same spell as its 2008 predecessor. The surprise is gone, only anticipation remaining, an eager wish that this summertime animated sequel could somehow be as mesmerizing and as enjoyable the original magically proved to be.

While not as fresh or as inspired as the first film, this second chapter in roly-poly panda Po’s journey is not without its charms. By focusing on the rotund kung fu master’s parental saga, by telling the story of how he came to become the son of noodle-making goose Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong), the movie is a sweetly sentimental peon to family and how DNA alone does not always make a loving father. Their bond, their love, their story is the one that drives this sequel forward, and for all the action-packed pyrotechnics it is this emotional familial anecdote that ultimately allows this one to resonate.

At the same time, the central adventure at the center of all this is beyond thin. Even at a brisk 90-minutes there is a heck of a lot of filler, the majority of the characters given very little to do other than to kick a little butt and assist Po as he slowly trudges towards his ultimate showdown with Lord Shen. The plot is completely laid on the table in the first ten or fifteen minutes, and by and large it doesn’t get anymore developed as the film goes along. The middle portions trudge along from set piece to set piece, and as eye-popping and as spectacular as many of them are there isn’t a ton nuance or dimensionality (or for that matter surprise) to the central narrative itself.

Not that this sequel isn’t without plenty of merit. The action sequences are stunning, the animation as good as anything DreamWorks has ever delivered. There is some great vocal work by newcomers Oldman and Michelle Yeoh (playing a prescient goat named The Soothsayer), and I really dug the stuff regarding Po, Mr. Ping and the panda’s awakening to his family’s – and his original village’s – most unspeakable tragedy. The final confrontation is suitably thrilling, and the reunion between father and son at the end actually brought a small tear to my eye.

But there is a lot that doesn’t quite cut it. Some potentially interesting new characters like kung fu legends Master Oxen (voiced by Dennis Haysbert) and Master Croc (voiced Jean-Claude Van Damme) are given little of interest to do, while returning members of the Furious Five Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane might as well not be in the movie at all. As I’ve already said there is a heck of a lot of padding helping this reach feature length, while the closing setup for a future sequel is more annoying then it is anything else.

Not that any of this matters. For the most part Kung Fu Panda 2 manages to get the job done, and while the magic of the original has been diminished there is still just enough of it to allow this sequel to entertain. More importantly, the kids in the preview audience I saw it with couldn’t get enough of the darn thing, Po kicking just enough butt to make the idea of a third adventure one I am perfectly comfortable with.