★★☆☆☆ (two stars)
If a movie is part of a great series, it can be hard to watch and give it a fair chance without holding high expectations. Case in point, “Kung Fu Panda 4,” the latest movie in the “Kung Fu Panda” series, was pretty disappointing.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” once again stars Jack Black as the titular character, Po, the dragon warrior of the Valley of Peace, tasked with finding his successor as he begins becoming a spiritual leader. During this search, a new enemy known as the Chameleon (Viola Davis) reveals herself and seeks to eliminate all other kung fu masters, forcing Po to team up with a thief named Zhen (played by Awkwafina) to stop her and save the day.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” has a strong premise and a great set-up, with all of the makings for a fun adventure, just like the last three films. While it seems like, on the surface, it has everything going for it, the movie does not deliver. Instead, it is below average and a massive letdown at worst.
This movie is not just a sequel to an average movie but the fourth installment of the best-animated series of all time. The “Kung Fu Panda” movies are undoubtedly some of the most creative, funniest, yet surprisingly most mature animated movies out there. The original trilogy makes for one of the few completely solid and consistently excellent film series ever.
With that in mind, it is basically impossible to watch this movie without expecting something special since that is precisely what the last three movies were. One of the great things about the previous “Kung Fu Panda” movies is that they appeal to kids and adults equally with their well-written humor, characters and themes. With the latest installment, there are few laughs, the new characters are relatively uninteresting, and the story rarely goes beyond surface-level plot.
On a more positive note, Jack Black is great as always as Po, who was and still is the role he was born to play. On the other hand, his new ally, Zhen, ranges from uninteresting to unlikeable. Awkwafina’s performance lacks the energy and charisma of Black’s, but she does not do a bad job per se. However, she does not gel well with the rest of the cast. As for the villain, Viola Davis does a great job as the Chameleon, who is definitely the least interesting of all the bad guys in the series but still entertaining enough to keep from being boring.
The biggest problem with “Kung Fu Panda 4” is that it is entirely forgettable at the end of the day. It feels more like a TV show episode than a cinematic sequel; instead of a big event comparable to the last few movies, it feels like a random adventure. Every aspect of the story feels phoned in and low-effort, which is especially shocking considering how much work went into the last few films to make each of them great.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” definitely is not terrible; if anything, it is just an averagely bad and forgettable movie with nothing special about it. But it makes it so upsetting because it comes from such a great series. While it is pointless and forgettable on its own, compared to its predecessors, it is downright sad.
