Kung Fu Panda 2 (Review)

Given how charming and fun the original Kung Fu Panda was, the sequel likely could just count on the same combination of thrilling action and funny characters to carry it home to a solid good time. Unfortunately, that’s kind of what Kung Fu Panda 2 does. That’s not to say it’s bad—nay, it’s often good, sometimes just as engaging as the first—but there’s a feeling that everyone involved merely sought to make it just good enough. The good news is they succeeded, so it would be wrong to go too hard on this movie. The final film is engaging, exciting and touching in all the right places, but never as revelatory as you may have heard. Or hoped.

Jack Black returns as the voice of Po, the lovable, clumsy panda who was deemed the great Dragon Warrior in the original film. Since then he has been spending his time training, eating, and beating up crime across the Valley of Peace. Also returning are the Furious Five—voiced by Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross and Lucy Liu—who all team up to help Po with his everyday Dragon Warrior duties. Things take a turn for the worse when the gang discovers that the evil peacock Lord Shen (the kooky-as-always Gary Oldman) has returned to take over Gongmen City after he was banished by his father many a moon ago. Now they must find a way to defeat him… all while Po deals with a few daddy issues.

I’m currently fighting the urge to tear Kung Fu Panda 2 apart, if only because I can’t deny how much fun it truly was to watch. The problem was that at its core it’s little more than just another DreamWorks animated sequel. It never really deviates from the formula of the first film, though what it does aim to do it does quite well. It doesn’t lazily hit the “reset” button on all the characters, but instead looks to expand the Kung Fu Panda universe and take them in new, interesting directions. Sure, none of the characters outside of Po have very much depth to them. Yet what they say is funny enough to distract you from the multiple flaws therein. (Let’s face it: in the wake of The Hangover: Part II anything that slightly dares to be different will seem like the most original thing ever.)

While Po’s storyline in this film is effective, there never is any real tension, as the opening narration/animation reveals the whole truth behind the internal conflict we’re about to observe. What could have been a startling revelation at film’s end is turned into an anticlimactic “duh” moment. It becomes almost forgivable since the characters are so thoroughly winning, but this ultimately is the film’s greatest blemish. The audience has no interest in a question to which they already know the answer.

Despite its many problems, Kung Fu Panda 2 remains recommended viewing for one vital reason: it looks freaking awesome. As with the original, the action sequences are thrilling, inventive and funny all at once. The great thing about animated films is that they are not restricted by “physics” and “logic” the way most live-action films are. Heck, if you get the audience to buy into a movie about a panda that does kung-fu, you can get away with pretty much anything. As a result, all of the action has an energy to it that most conventional action films can only dream of. This is also a rare case where the 3-D actually helps rather than hinders the image. Is it necessary? Absolutely not. But unlike most recent 3-D releases, this is not one where you should avoid those glasses like the plague.

Full disclosure: I only got around to seeing the original Kung Fu Panda recently. In fact, I saw it in preparation for this sequel. Just as everyone had told me, that film is an absolute thrill to behold. Seeing Kung Fu Panda 2 not long after, it came off as no more and no less than a good sequel. There are times when it captures the originality and energy of the first, and while those moments make it worth a watch it never quite reaches the same glorious highs. But it’s a sequel. It’s not expected to. It falters when it feels too much like a sequel for sequel’s sake, and at a reasonably lean 91 minutes it still feels a bit padded out. The good news is that every time you start to complain, the film enters full-on kung fu mode. And that’s when the fun really begins.

GRADE: B