Kung Fu Panda 2


3/4

Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen

Rated PG for Sequences of Martial Arts Action and Mild Violence

2006’s “Kung Fu Panda” was an amusing but slight motion picture that was diverting, but little else.  In a rather strange turn of events, “Kung Fu Panda 2” has expanded just about everything, although with mixed results.

At the end of the first film, the fat panda Po (Black) proved himself to be the legendary Dragon Warrior and defeated the evil villain Tai Lung.  In this film, Po has joined with the Furious Five in kung-fu-ing everyone who causes trouble in the Valley of Peace.  But something is afoot!  A vicious peacock named Shen (Oldman) has come up with a machine that may make kung fu a thing of the past.  Meanwhile, events lead Po to wonder what really happened to his family, and why he was raised by Mr. Ping (James Hong), who is a goose.

All of the cast members from the previous film (excepting Ian McShane, whose Tai Lung was defeated) return, and because Po was fully fleshed out in the original, that leaves a lot of room for others to follow suit.  We see more of the Furious Five (specifically Tigress, played by Angelina Jolie).  That’s a good thing because in the first film, all the star voices added for about two lines each seemed to make the film like a game of “spot the star.”  Here, they’re put to good use (at least Jolie is, but unfortunately, her vocal performance is lackluster).

I appreciated the depth and invention of the story.  Nothing is especially original, but it’s told well by director Jennifer Yuh.  There’s also a lot more action, which unlike many live-action films, is actually exciting.  There’s also a fair amount of successful humor in the film, some of which is laugh-aloud hilarious (such as Mr. Ping’s baby paintings).

There are problems, however.  The film feels like it’s too long, even though it’s only 90 minutes.  The first time Po meets Shen, I thought that would be the end of the film, but it isn’t.  While there is more of the story to be told, it feels like a climax, and that’s not good.  Additionally, some of the action scenes are a little hard to follow.

I saw this in glorious 2-D, and believe me, that’s the way to see it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more