Reviews

Threre are few sequels that are better than the original. This is one of them. Smarter, with good plot and an amazing animation. Perfect for a movie session with the family.

Admittedly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first “Kung Fu Panda.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s alright, but that’s all. Just alright. The jokes about him being big and clumsy get old after an hour and a half, to the point where it almost seems like a movie that’s trying to (ironically) fat shame kids. “Kung Fu Panda 2” is really more of the same. Same characters, same plot, same jokes. It’s extremely predictable with literally no surprises, giving the characters little depth. What we are presented with here is essentially a paint-by-numbers family film. If you’re okay with that, then more power to you. It’s pretty harmless brain candy, but if you’re looking for more substance or any way to challenge your kids a little, look elsewhere. Again, it’s just kind of...there. Ironically zen, in a way.

Kung Fu Panda 2 excitedly kicks, punches and belly flops its way through overused visual humour. “Everybody was kung fu fighting!” much more so in this sequel when compared to its predecessor. The Furious Five were slapping Shen’s army of diabolical wolves left, right and centre. Master Shifu prodding his stick conveniently during the climactic battle. And a plethora of other anthropomorphic beasts harnessing the power of said martial art. This very much felt like an animated martial arts feature, one aspect the original was sorely missing. However, despite DreamWorks’ best efforts in continuing Po’s search in becoming the Dragon Warrior, its quality offers no improvements. Unable to surpass the boundaries of family-friendly humour that reduces the visual splendour and narrative heft to progress the story onto the next level. Po, having realised who his parents truly are (not a goose...), must save China with the Furious Five from the malicious peacock Shen and his fascination with metallic weapons. DreamWorks constantly pump out family orientated animations with powerful morals every year. This sequel illustrating the ability to manipulate our past childhoods to shape the person we want to be. For Po, this meant ignoring the familial scars that Shen caused, producing his prepubescent abandonment. A notable moral that many should abide by, but unfortunately is weighed down by excessive comedy that diminished a vast amount of beautiful moments. Aside from the tantalising scene when Po finally discovered what happened to his parents, conveyed through mesmerising hand-drawn animated flashbacks, all other heartfelt examples were brutalised by Po’s apparent requirement to exercise his bumbling personality. Black’s prolific voice doesn’t help matters, with a lack of sincerity to his vocal performance, but the frantic pacing and rushed sequences made for a frustrating central narrative. That’s not to say this sequel is poor, in fact it’s just as consistent as its predecessor. Rather infuriating is all given the tender bamboo seeds that were lovingly planted, unable to grow into ferocious stalks. The humour, as overwhelming as it is, does provide characterisation to these animals. Po in particular. Making it hugely accessible for all members of all families to watch and enjoy. The action sequences were splendid and vibrantly colourful, with some ingenious editing that made one chase scene resemble ‘Pac-Man’. The oriental aesthetics and environments built a beautifully inclusive world for the characters to roam in. The antagonist, Shen, was far more memorable and sinister in comparison to...ummm...I forgot his name. The snow leopard? We’ll go with that. Mostly due to Oldman’s vocal work that has a larger range than the entirety of his filmography (and that’s saying something!). The red and black lighting was, at times, excessive in depicting “evil” and surprisingly dark. No, not thematically. It was literally difficult to see anything! Aside from that, Kung Fu Panda 2 slaps. And punches. And kicks. But also tumbles repetitively due to Po’s constant buffoonery. It does however set the third film up nicely, so guess I’ll have to give that a go...

After his surprising success as the "Dragon Warrior", the cheery "Po" is hoping to take it easy. History, though, has no intention of letting him sit on his laurels as it emerges that the slighted peacock villain "Shen" has designs on taking over the globe. We learn from a brief retrospective a bit about the cause of his bitterness and it seems that he and "Po" have an overlapping provenance that might just explain a few things for both of them. Thing is, "Shen" has developed an all-conquering secret weapon that can cause even the most formidable of fortifications to tumble, so it's going to take all that "Po" and his five best friends can muster if they are to thwart the dastardly plan and save the nation from the peacock with feathers as razor sharp as his wit! This is becoming my favourite animated franchise. It successfully mixes some pithy dialogue with loads of characterful and colourful action and it's message of teamwork and inter-reliance is subtly delivered amidst a sea of entertaining mythology and adventure. It's quickly paced from start to finish and though I could have been doing with a little more of the sceptically sagely "Shifu" it's still just about as good as the first film from 2008. Great fun.

It's not often the second movie is as good as the first movie and this was awesome! The story was good, the movie was funny and they added what I felt was missing from the first movie the back story to Po and his father (a Panda and a goose). Although the villian story seemed a bit familiar it was different enough not to feel too much of a copy of the first film, so well done guys.

Slightly better than the first one, especially with its breathtaking visuals, strong storytelling (particularly its themes about inner peace and genocide), memorable villain Lord Shen, all-star cast, and music. I still disliked the Furious Five in this movie, though less so. It was mainly because they benched Po later on in the movie when he revealed his traumatic past to them in the city prison. Seriously, why did they do my boy Po wrong? Overall, better than the first one, but by a slight bit.

It's funny how animated movie sequels usually fall into the trap of just repeating the original formula to sell toys, right? Well, "Kung Fu Panda 2" does the exact opposite. When I sat down to watch it, I was just expecting to get some good laughs out of a clumsy bear tripping over his own feet. What I didn't see coming was getting punched in the gut by a heavy story about trauma, adoption, and acceptance. If you think talking animal movies have nothing to say to adults, get ready to change your mind. The direction here is a masterclass in control and maturity. In movies aimed at kids, it's pretty common for directors to panic and fill the screen with constant noise. Jennifer Yuh Nelson doesn't fall for that. She knows exactly when to step on the gas during the frantic chase sequences and, more importantly, when to pull the handbrake. Silence is used as a ridiculously powerful narrative tool. The way she positions the camera, often shooting from below to highlight Shen's mechanical threat, shows a director who thinks like a live-action filmmaker working in a digital world. Despite the electrifying pace that simply doesn't let you check your phone, I had that bitter realization that the purely literary weight of the script is a bit shallow. You know when the story seems to fly by like a bullet? That comes at a price. You get the strong impression that the plot, a lot of the time, acts as just a flimsy excuse to stitch the epic beat-'em-up sequences together. The dialogue lacks subtext. They resolve conflicts way too fast, leaving you feeling like the writers were in a rush to get to the next action scene. But if the writing falls short on depth, the visual humor more than makes up for it. The slapstick comedy and Po’s absurd facial expressions work as the perfect release valve when the vibe gets a bit too heavy or dark. And the coolest part is how cleverly they play around with the animals' physics. There's no need to rely on cheap pop-culture references; the laughs come naturally from the awkward dynamics of a giant bear trying to be stealthy around ninjas and wolves. The fight scenes in this movie should be studied. The choreography is aesthetically mind-blowing. Even with dozens of enemies on screen at once, you never get lost or confused about what's going on. The fluid movements respect real-life kung fu styles, and the real genius lies in how they use the environment. The rickshaw chase through the city or how Po uses street musicians as human shields show a spatial creativity that puts many live-action blockbusters starring flesh-and-blood actors to shame. I was caught off guard by the psychological weight placed on Po's shoulders. The first movie was about proving his worth; this one is about healing wounds he didn't even know were bleeding. His whole arc of searching for "inner peace" after uncovering his traumatic adoption brings a rare vulnerability to an action protagonist. Watching him lose focus and fail miserably because of repressed memories makes us empathize with him on a massive level. His growth leading up to the climax, realizing that his scars make him who he is, is an absolute tearjerker. Now, here's a major flaw that cooled down my hype a bit. The movie practically forgets that the Furious Five actually have personalities. I felt a sad downgrade in their importance. Aside from Tigress, who gets a few brief emotional interactions with Po, Monkey, Viper, Mantis, and Crane were reduced to glorified henchmen. In practice, they show up, execute a visually awesome combo attack, and disappear, basically just clearing the field so the panda can shine. It’s a huge waste of such a charismatic cast. On the flip side, what an absolute spectacle of an antagonist. Lord Shen steals every single frame he's in. Unlike Tai Lung, who was just a muscle-bound monster, Shen's danger comes from his agility and dark intellect. He is denial in the shape of a peacock. Ironically, his dread of being defeated by a black-and-white warrior is exactly what makes him build his own nightmare. He’s a much more sadistic villain, who doesn't hesitate to kill or destroy anyone who gets in his way, bringing a coldness that borders on psychopathy. The art direction deserves every award it competed for. Shen’s design, with his albino color palette full of blood-like red, violently clashes with the movie's colorful universe. The detail of his feathers fanning out like a set of blades is terrifying. At the same time, I noticed how the clothes on Po and the other heroes look worn out, dirty, and have loose threads. It’s a meticulous attention to texture that gives weight and reality to these digital puppets, convincing our brains that they actually exist in that world. Do not watch this movie without checking out the original audio. Gary Oldman delivers one of his best performances here, opting for a whispered, almost aristocratic tone that is a thousand times more intimidating than if he were just screaming the whole time. Meanwhile, Jack Black continues to be Po’s soul, bouncing between a hysterical fanboy and the agonizing pain of an orphan with a naturalness that’s actually scary. It’s the voice acting elevating material that, on paper, could sound childish. Putting Hans Zimmer and John Powell on the same score is almost unfair. The use of traditional Chinese instruments, like the melancholic erhu, mashed up with massive orchestral percussion (the taiko drums), completely dictates the mood of the scenes. The music transitions from slapstick comedy to apocalyptic drama invisibly. In many of the protagonist's silent moments, it’s the soundtrack that tells us exactly what the character is feeling. My jaw dropped at the scenery. The vastness and architectural richness of Gongmen City show a massive graphical leap. But what really shines is the psychological use of color. The movie heavily uses bright red and smoke to represent Shen's corruption and industrial destruction, while saving gold, white, and water for Po’s moments of peace and fluidity. It’s a masterclass in storytelling through colors, something subtle that glues our attention to the screen without us even knowing why. One of the most genius narrative tools in this sequel was the decision to animate Po's trauma flashbacks using traditional 2D animation. Besides being a gorgeous tribute to Eastern art, paper cutouts, and shadow puppetry, this texture change works perfectly to isolate his memories. The past is flat, painful, and stylized, while the present is three-dimensional. This visual break shocks you just the right amount and creates a gorgeous aesthetic contrast. Few people catch it right away, but there’s a really strong philosophical subtext going on here. The core clash isn't just animal versus animal. It’s kung fu (tradition, discipline, body, and spirit) going up against the fiery cannon (industrialization, lethal automation, and mass destruction). Shen perverts gunpowder, invented for fireworks (joy), turning it into a weapon. Po's arc, proving that the spirit and inner peace can tame even molten lead, is a beautiful message about cultural preservation. We usually praise the soundtrack and ignore pure sound design, but here it's impossible. The audio editing dictates the aggression of the story. Every shot from Shen's cannons has a dull, heavy thud that shakes the speakers and transmits a physical sense of crushing danger. In stark contrast, when Po finds his center in the climax, the noise of war goes dead silent, and we can perfectly hear the crystal-clear, delicate sound of a single dewdrop falling. It’s the sound design manipulating our emotions. Usually, all-ages movies are terrified of dealing with the consequences of violence. "Kung Fu Panda 2" had the guts to actually go heavy on it. Openly dealing with the theme of the genocide of an entire species and killing off characters on screen (like Master Thundering Rhino) proves the stakes aren't just make-believe. Real threats create a sense of urgency that makes the audience, even the most skeptical adults, genuinely fear for the hero's life. Just so I don't say everything is perfect, I have to mention the plot's absurd conveniences. You know when luck just seems to step in so the writer doesn't have to think too hard? Seriously, Shen's soothsayer goat simply bumping into Po in the middle of the street at the exact moment he needed answers is the kind of lazy literary shortcut that pulls me out of the movie. They are pieces of a puzzle that fit together way too easily, spoon-feeding the story's progression in a slightly lazy way. At the end of the day, "Kung Fu Panda 2" is one of those rare sequels that outdoes the original in almost every way. Despite some missteps in how it handles the supporting characters and a script that prefers taking the easy way out from time to time, the emotional weight of Po's journey, the dazzling art, and a formidable villain make it all worth it. I left the screening in a great mood, feeling like I had just watched something grand and incredibly well thought out. If you haven't seen it yet, or if you hold onto that silly prejudice that it's "just a cartoon," hit play this weekend. You'll be genuinely surprised by what an animated bear can teach you about making peace with your own past.