Kung Fu Panda 4

This weekend, Kung Fu Panda 4 releases in theaters. Kung Fu Panda 4 follows Po as he must transition into the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace and train the next generation's Dragon Warrior. Before he can do this, Po must go on one last quest to defeat the Chameleon, a villain who can harness the power of his previous enemies. I enjoyed the other Kung Fu Panda films and was interested to see how this one was going to turn out.

In general, this was a decent enough addition to the Kung Fu Panda franchise. It achieved exactly what it was going for which was a fun martial arts movie for kids. Jack Black is always a lot of fun as Po and just has the perfect energy for a role like this. I also liked the Awkwafina character. She is always fun in whatever she is in, doing her normal gimmick and this movie is no exception. I thought the story was a great direction to take Po's character in. It shows him struggling to transition to a new phase of his life as he becomes more of a mentor and leader instead of just a warrior. The movie also has a solid message about the inevitability of change and how everyone works through it in their own way. Finally, I thought the movie was decently funny and had quite a few moments that made me laugh out loud.

However, I didn't really feel that this movie captured the magic of the other three films. It was good enough but not at the level of the other films. It was funny but not super funny, it didn't have as many fun action sequences and it sidelined many of the best characters from the other films. I also felt that the film was a bit more rushed than the other three. All the films are about 90 minutes long but this one felt just a lot more rushed while also feeling like there was less to it than the other films. The movie also throws in this subplot with Po's dads which I felt was unneeded. His parents didn't have a good enough reason to be there and I felt it took away from being able to spend more time with Po and Zhen. Finally, I felt that the direction they took the villains that The Chameleon took out of the spirit realm didn't make much sense. What they end up doing just completely goes against their characters.

Overall, while this film is entertaining enough, I don't think it reaches the highs of the other three films. Even so, the film does mostly achieve what it is going for which is a mid-level kids' movie that is fun for the whole family.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B- Recommendation: Worth checking out with the family