Kung Fu Panda 4 REVIEW: A CONFUSED Film
After 7 years of waiting, Kung Fu Panda finally returns with a whole new instalment. Like many sequels which try to restart its fanbase, it would always feel like an executive decision more than someone passionate about having an actual story to be told. In this film, Po now has to move onto his next path of being a spiritual leader of the valley of peace by choosing a new dragon warrior whilst a new villain, The Chameleon tries to take over the world.
To start out the action scenes here were innovative and well done. The action here develops the characters whilst adding in various smaller obstacles to create a larger stake as a whole. Tale the fight with Po between the new character, Zhen. From the start we see Zhen effortlessly stealing everything valuable without Po even noticing. Her power level seems higher because of her anonymity. When Po finally notices her, he instead just gets beat up by her. She constantly throws around all the artefacts and steals it all when she has a chance. This introduces her character really well by showcasing how skillful she is as a thief and as heartless as anyone like Po could never be. This is all in direct contrast with Po’s character. In addition Po has to also secure the safety of every artefact without having any of it being spoiled or stolen by her. All this eventually overwhelms him and makes him lose. The film would have made Zhen escape if it were taking the ordinary route but the film one upped itself by having Po to block her path. This allows Po to actually beat her and take her to jail. The power dynamic switch is interesting as we no longer see Po as this goofy buffoon but is actually someone who has a higher power of a warrior.
Another standout action scene would be the fight in the tavern. In this scene, Zhen had conned the owner in Mahjong and caused everyone to have the need to kill both her and Po. The fight scene was fun not just because of the various skills each of them used which reflects their character but there was also an internal battle between Zhen and Po whereby whether it is too late to do the right thing? Since Zhen had already made a mistake so she continues it by stealing the bad guy’s coins but Po knows this is wrong so he has to get to Zhen at the same time to give back the coins to the bad guy. Having an extra layer of internal conflict during battle adds to the stakes of it all.
I could go on with the rest like the use of the city’s settings when they were chased by the soldiers but unfortunately that is where the greatness of the film ends. Jack Black still manages to be iconic as Po. The comedy here is really well done and ultimately provides for solid entertainment.
Despite having all these nice elements, the film still felt lackluster. In comparison to the previous three this entry feels like a DVD sequel. The reason why that occurs is due to its confusion in identity. I am not saying the film has a plot that is as confusing as Tenet or any Christipher Nolan movies. The confusion here is rooted from what it is trying to be. What exactly does the creator want this film to be? If the creator himself does not know then how could we, the audience know about it? That is why it may seem pointless. This problem of confusion can be broken down to three main elements. The animation. Dual thematic confusion. Excess.
So, let’s take a look at how Kung Fu Panda 4 is confused in its own identity.
Animation
From the animation, I did not really hate, nor did I like it. I know animation is hard, like really hard. The conceptualization, the modelling, constant redoes and needing to perfect it is something that requires more work than any live action movie. However, with Into the Spider-verse innovating the very existence of animation, it’s no wonder that the director of this film used it as a major inspiration. The Bad Guys and Puss in the Boots the Last Wish worked phenomenally because of it so why not use the same method here?
The problem comes when Kung Fu Panda already had a unique sense of style. The previous film had some of the most beautiful animation with some mix of 2d and 3d styles. Here the inspiration of Spider-verse is seen but it takes away the uniqueness of Kung Fu Panda. There is one scene where Zhen reveals her past and the film illustrates it through a montage. The montage showed her life as an orphan as to how she had to constantly pick up scraps and eat from the trash. The use of color was interesting, but did it feel like Kung Fu Panda?
In the previous films a flashback montage is usually shown through this 2d mediaeval Chinese style but now that the film changed it to this new style which takes away the beauty of the previous entries especially when we had already seen something like this before. Don’t get me wrong there is heart and passion in the animation especially with its action but what about its uniqueness?
As a whole Kung Fu Panda already had a style but it just got taken away for one which was done before and even harmed the film in some ways. Like the opening where Tai Lung was alive, but it was actually the Chameleon. It seems fine only later on every time we see the Chameleon changed, she had this paint brush art style, so it just got confusing. How can in the beginning Tai Lung look like Tai Lung but then later on it had a different style?
The film just can’t make up its mind for it and that is perhaps the issue of the story as well.
Unfocused theme
The next issue with its identity is the thematic message which the film wants to convey. The film at first seems to be about Po needing to move on to his next step to be the spiritual leader. So how is this main goal presented as a major theme? The film never really tried to do much with that until the second act. We then see that the theme seems to be about whether being wrong is truly wrong like having Zhen being the one who does all kinds of wrong things for good reasons like her childhood or how she was forced into the life of thievery. With that is it truly right to be doing something wrong because of your own tragedy? Zhen had lost her family and lived her life off of scraps so having her to work with The Chameleon is understandable, but could she have been someone better?
But then by the climax the film suddenly switched its theme to be about needing to change as a person. With Po and Zhen changing as individuals. For me having Zhen to suddenly change because the whole theme switches halfway through was odd.
Both of those themes I mentioned are portrayed as two different questions in the film. Like the previous entries the film may have wanted the climax to be its final answer to the thematic question but because here it was never built up much, so the final answer just felt random and out of its topic.
In the first film it was all about whether we are truly destined to live a boring life, or we could choose one for our own and by the end it was neither as the answer had always been about whether we believed in ourselves. We learned the true answer to the thematic question which the film presented and for Po to apply that knowledge to his final battle. All coming towards a well-rounded conclusion.
In this film everything just felt abrupt as the theme never seemed to have settled on one that is fixed so there is no final answer thus leaving the viewers unsatisfied with no message.
Addition and Subtraction
The final confusing issue of this film is how it throws in excessive things whilst not adding on things which mattered. The excessive aspect example would be the subplot of Po’s two dads.
While it is a standout for many, I thought it was a fun subplot but for the larger picture it fails to justify its existence. How do they even impact the plot at all? Yes, they do save Po and Po does have to confide with them about his issues but other than that did they really had a purpose? I mean Po could have just said this to someone else or even been saved by anyone. There is a nice payoff but the time we do spent with them before and after the payoff feels purposeless. It is almost like they were there because the film could not solely rely on new characters.
There are more excesses as well, especially with the past villains. Don’t get me wrong I love to see all of our villains from the previous films returning but what the film did for them was just sad. It’s like Spiderman No Way Home but the villains that appear are just cardboard cutouts. They could not even have the original actors appearing, so they felt more like models of someone we knew.
Let’s start with Tai Lung. Here at least he had a speaking role. Other than getting an action sequence and saying a few stuff to Po, he never really did anything. Now don’t even get me started on his ‘redemption’. The whole point of his character being the vendetta of Po is that he only believes in power and whatever he does he will never show his weak side. Here his kung fu was taken away but when he got back his kung fu he just bows to Po. This is the same Tai Lung who did not forgive Shi Fu nor admit his defeat against a panda who did not use years to master kung fu. The worst part is that the film never does anything to actually try to develop him. In the opening we are supposed to fear Tai Lung because he is Tai Lung. We are supposed to feel something when he speaks to Po because is Tai Lung. Just because a character had appeared in the previous instalment does not mean he should have extra privilege in this one. And don’t even get me started with the others.
I want to start with Kai. Kai was not even supposed to be here. In the previous film he actually died in the spirit realm because he took too much power. How could a character that actually died in the spirit realm still be alive? This just hinders and sidetracks everything from the previous film. If this were the real Kai, he would never bow to Po as well. I mean his hunger for power should have had him strive for more after he saw how magic could replace Chi.
Finally, Lord Shen. Lord Shen was a compelling and emotional villain who feared for his life but had the guts to kill and rule all but here he is just a peacock in the skin of Lord Shen. I am not kidding when I tell you that he must have had a well thought out plan to get out of such a situation. I mean even if it was a short amount of time, he should have had a plan, but he doesn’t because he is not the real Lord Shen. By the end why is he honoring Po as well? This is the guy who got you killed and made you realize it was you yourself who caused your own death. As one who never found inner peace shouldn’t he out of everyone to have a grudge against Po even if he did save him.
Basically, the ending just sucks. Why not have Kai take the Chi of everyone’s Kung Fu. Lord Shen could attack Po whilst Tai Lung was the leader of this team. That’s right why not have them to be a team. How cool would that have been as a cliffhanger. At least they did something instead of just being there. If you just throw in everyone’s favorite characters and not have them do anything then why throw them in at all? Just write them out so at least we won’t be disappointed.
Then there are the minimalistic things about the film which could have been expanded. Take for example this criminal underground organization. There are bunnies who bites. A salamander being the leader and that’s it. It looks like there were some interesting people but the film never explores it. We don’t know anything about these characters at all. Why didn’t we spend time on them? They did stuff in the end but who are they as people? Even this gangster cartel thing the film established which the Chameleon controls. What is this underground mafia like in this world? How does it differentiate from this criminal organization? Do we explore any of it? No.
There were opportunities and missed opportunities which were both foregone throughout the story. There is one twist that worked really well here, and I wished that was what the film had throughout.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Kung Fu Panda 4 serves as a nice action movie with some solid comedy but the film as a whole is undoubtedly a misfire with it not knowing how it wants to continue with its already conclusive story.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is now playing in theatres and available on digital.
