Yaad hai jab hum Kung Fu Panda dekhne ke baad MacD bhaag kar jaate the, not for the happy meals, but for the amazing toys they gave along with it!! Only God knows how many times I fought with my sister to get Master Tigress ka toy (hands down the most badass character of the franchise). God, those good old days. But if you think Kung Fu Panda 4 will help you relive them again, just stop. Walk right back into your house, cuz this movie WILL REALLY LEAVE YOU DISAPPOINTED.
Plot
First of all, how tf can you leave out the Famous Five and expect us to enjoy the movie?? It’s like the MCU without Iron Man:/// Anyway, the storyline is basically ki Po’s living his Dragon Warrior dream when kebab mein haddi bannte hue Master Shifu drops the bomb that it’s time for him to pass on the torch and be a sPiRiTuAl LeAdEr instead. Ab tum hi batao, who would wanna trade a badass, superhero life for boring meditation sessions??? And just when he’s deciding what to do, we get introduced to the most badass character of the movie- the Chameleon. She legit opens up the spiritual realm and steals the powers of Tai Lung!!! Do I even need to say more? Bass phir kya, Po’s off to Juniper City with his new fox fren Zhen to defeat the chipkali (that reminds me, summers are back ughhh).
Performances
Okay first off, trust me when I say this- Jack Black has a hell of a lot of Po left in him. What a voice-over man. He’s goofy, he’s entertaining and he’s in his red-hot form as always. Awkwafina is… okay as the new character Zhen… but like wo iconic shit waali feel nahi aayi. And the same goes for Viola Davis‘ The Chameleon. Felt prettyyyy meh to me. She really couldn’t keep up w those iconic villains of the franchise. I was never in favor of the makers introducing new characters so late in the franchise, and on top of that these voice-overs kinda made it even more difficult for me to connect w them. Baaki saare OG characters like Master Shifu, Li, and others were fine only. Overall, kaafi mid laga mujhe personally. Really missed Tigress by the amazing Angelina Jolie though :/
Direction and Writing
If you’re an OG fan of the franchise, you’ll know that it’s the bread-and-butter mix of action and humor that keeps you so invested in their movies. And that’s what happens with this one too. But the problem this time is that most of what’s happening on the screen doesn’t excite you cuz of the sheer predictability. Yes, the writing was hilarious, so a laugh is right around the corner even when you get bored. But the thing that bugged me the most was the way they defeated Chameleon in like 5 mins. What was all the build-up for? There was legit no adrenaline rush to pay it off. Like, come onnnn, the Chameleon had the opportunity to be one of the most threatening villains ever and Po defeated her… just like that? Like just a swish swoosh of the wand(or whatever that was) and that was the end of The Chameleon? Nah I’m sorry bro, I’m not buying that shit :///
Screenplay and Cinematography
Easily the weakest link of the movie. Keeps dragging and beating around the bush in the beginning. Like, get to the main plot alreadyyyy. And unlike the previous movies, this one feels slower in comparison, idk man I was bored quite a few times during the movie. Really loved the animation– it was visually stunning and the action sequences were beautifully choreographed. But what about the movie minus the fighting sequences? Pretty fcking boring and predictable. Kaafi zyada disappointing lagi overall.
If I’m being honest, I really think there was no need at all of a fourth Kung Fu Panda movie. The trilogy had a perfect end and it should’ve just stopped there. But the production houses prolly wanted to mint out some money humare nostalgia ke dum pe so they made this movie. But trust me when I say this just doesn’t work out. You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. That’s the case with this KFP4. Skip kardo imo.
