I should have really done this like, the moment I saw it. Because procrastination pretty much got in the way of this. Naturally. When I first watched Kung Fu Panda 2, but shortly after-in fact it was the next day I was assaulted by Pirates of the Caribbean 4. I still love Johnny Depp, but evidently not the show. I actually think Geoffrey Rush was great as well! But I will leave that for another time.
Firstly, I will say that I wasn’t aware that KP 2 was even legit until I saw posters of it a month ago before its release. But now, it’s decorating my desktop wall in all its finesse so, what gives? I love animals, particularly when they can dish out some mean kung fu. And (drum roll) this sequel was one of the few gems that broke the dreaded sequel curse, turning out just as good as the first one.
Guys, this is how you make movies. Sequels, in particular.
The most important question in KP1 was finally brought to light-about time because I was still wondering about it. It is the odd and somehow-went-unnoticed-fact that Po the panda is adopted by a goose. So that sort of became the baseline for this movie, and also introduced us to the movie’s main antagonist, an albino peacock. Voiced by Gary Oldman, the peacock is the epitome of cool. Watch him in action. I guarantee. He just wins every scene he is in.
The Furious Five got slightly more screen time than before-but only Tigress got the most lines. I doubt it that Crane and Monkey got as many things to say as she did. But in general, they all had good punch lines and really got me laughing. It was a fairly good movie in a while-and I am talking about Thor. YES GUYS I AM NOT BIAS. Capsrape time.
I agree with many that the fight scenes were executed beautifully-watch Shen in action: you will be unprepared. And it also followed the route of making flashbacks appear in a different style to indicate dream sequences like several other movies. But I felt that Po as a baby was kinda disturbing-I mean hearing a human baby’s voice in a baby panda just goes against all logic in my head. You do not do that.
Story-wise, it was fairly predictable at times (sob) but I would say that it was perfectly balanced and nicely played out, art direction and all. Jason pointed out that the Chinese influences seemed purely for aesthetic reasons and lack the depth and history of Chinese/Oriental culture and tradition. Hmm, food for thought guys? Po was the most unexpected one-who would’ve thought of making a panda the main character for a kung fu film? I love the battle sequences here-watch and you will see how the animals’ fighting styles are incorporated into kung fu and the like.
And yet again, I find myself falling for the villain of the movie-Lord Shen. I am completely besotted by his style of fighting, his gorgeous tail and the way he throws those daggers. Who says that white peacocks can’t be bad ass? In particular, his sob back story really pulled at my heartstrings (couldn’t care less for Po sorry) and I feel like this is just like Loki all over again. So what if I’m a sucker for bad, evil characters? It seems that there isn’t even a limitation for species now.
And clearly I don’t have much drawbacks when it comes what sort of villain that attracts me. Speaking of which, do I smell a new shipping pair in KP2? Not going to spoil it, but it’s going to be… cross species if this happens. Another thing which I don’t compute.
So, Kung Fu Panda 2, you guys. Go watch it because it’s not entirely a kid’s movie-whoever said it was? It’s a good Gary Oldman movie sequel, and I would say that this is one of the best animations since How To Train Your Dragon. Including Toy Story of course. But Pixar, you better watch your back.
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