After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.
Po (Jack Black) is tasked with choosing his successor as the Dragon Warrior, though he is reluctant to release his title. However, a sorceress named The Chameleon (Viola Davis) starts causing problems and needs Po’s Staff of Wisdom to become more powerful. He partners with a thief named Zhen (Awkwafina) to help take her down.
Kung Fu Panda is not a franchise that I follow. In fact, I have only seen the first film, which came out in 2008. Thankfully, you don’t need to see any of the previous films to understand this film, though it features some of the villains from the past installments.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” gathers a solid celebrity voice cast. New additions besides Awkwafina and Davis include Ke Huy Quan and Ronny Chieng. Both voiced funny side characters. Jack Black continues to delight as Po. Enthusiasm is present in his voice. Po is a likable everyman who loves to eat food and to kick butt. I’m a bit curious, since Po is retiring as the Dragon Warrior, if the franchise will continue through Zhen with Po featuring in a minor role.
I’m a bit disappointed that Awkwafina continues to use her talent to voice animated characters, but there is nothing wrong with that. This is the fourth film she’s voiced in the past two years, and she is doing another later this year. After “The Farewell,” I hoped to see more dramatic work from her.
Viola Davis does sound menacing as the villain of this one. She has an incredible power in shapeshifting, but overall, she is a generic villain. There are some clever, inventive action scenes. The action seems in line with what I remember from the first film. I especially enjoyed the short stint where a chase takes place in a jade shop, and everyone had to move very carefully to avoid breaking anything.
This film is very predictable. As our hero, Po must go on a journey to defeat a new big bad. He befriends a cute little animal and coincidentally needs to find someone to take his place. There’s a setback where the audience is uncertain if our hero will prevail, but he does in the end.
I’m not sure why the fourth film took so long to make other than Dreamworks wanting to make more money by dusting this franchise off the shelf. While I generally found this film unnecessary, I think it’s enjoyable enough and believe kids will have fun with it.
In Theaters Friday, March 8th
