Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

Director: Jennifer Yuh.

Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh, Jackie Chan

It was inevitable that we were going to see a sequel at some point on reflection of the original Kung Fu Panda. The first film generated more questions about the lovable panda than it did answers and following his training, there would obviously be more quests in store, saving China, again proving his worth … you get the picture. It may have helped that the original animation made just over $630 million gross at the box office and couple that with the fact that Dreamworks are no strangers to the sequel, Po the Panda was certain to again see the light of day. However, completely unexpectedly, Dreamworks have managed to churn out a better film, impressively in a shorter period of time than the first which took four years to make; this has taken just three.

Po (Black), now the Dragon Warrior, along with the Furious Five, continue to protect the Valley of Peace under the guidance of Master Shifu (Hoffman). However, a new enemy threatens peace, Shen (Oldman), who has re-emerged from hiding and will continue on his path of destruction until all of China is under his control. In order to protect the people, Po and the Furious Five embark on a mission to hunt Shen down and stop him before he becomes too powerful. Their objective becomes personal when they realise Shen threatens the very existence of kung fu but in order to defeat him, Po, their greatest warrior, must discover inner peace by finding out his true origins. Unfortunately, his connection to Shen goes a lot deeper than he imagines.

Although Kung Fu Panda is entirely enjoyable, the follow-up is a far superior film. Much darker in tone, the discovery of where Po came from will hit hard and hark back to that feeling you had when you watched Bambi for the first time. The characters have developed an unconditional familial type relationship, but not one so in your face, it could alienate you - rather that the bond that existed between Shifu and Po in the first film translates across to the rest of the group. Po is such an accessible character - the notion that a panda could be a Kung Fu hero is entirely endearing and sends out such a positive message to the young cinema-goer. Jack Black, who can at times be so overbearing in feature films, allows a harmony to exist with the characters that is refreshing. Oldman is note perfect as the evil Shen; impossible to fault, he brings an air of menace that McShane was unable to reach due to the close relationship of previous villain Tai Lung with the master. The beautiful animation of the story of Po fits perfectly within the rest of the production, which is so well versed in Chinese traditions and culture. Finally, the 99 minutes running time seals the deal. If when leaving the cinema, you are still hungry for more and hoping for another instalment, they have obviously done something right.

The beauty of Po is that sometimes he doesn’t get it right, but compensates for what has gone wrong … unlike Dreamworks who have just got it right!