Viewed in
2012
Formats
DVD
Premise
The lovable panda is back, and must take on an evil peacock who utilizes cannons to defeat the age of kung fu.
Loved
Creative battles, animation.
Liked
Po's story.
Thoughts
I got to say, I was really surprised by this. It's been a while, but I think it actually might better than the original.
There were some really creative and kinetic action sequences. I liked how the animators utilized each animal character's unique physical traits to come up with some cool fighting techniques. While it the story got more epic, there was as much attention to detail in the small-scale battles as in the large-scale ones.
The comedy seemed to be even better as well. Not just in the fights, but in general. I really dug the part when Po tries to free the reluctant prisoners that channeled a silent movie gag. Another great moment was the captive goat soothsayer who kept eating things, even the villain's clothing.
One reason sequels tend to fail is because there was no story to tell. In this case, the film makers' use of Po's search for his biological parents felt organic and totally in sync with the original's story and tone. And here's where this was truly superior to the original. The path to discovering his path was well-integrated with the villain and brought some unexpected pathos to our hero. The tie-ins to the first film were a nice touch too.
Just like before, the animation was top-notch and energetic. There was a cool use of different visual styles to tell different story lines and to add variety to the eyes. Also, the voice performances were fantastic, embodying the characters instead of being an obvious laundry list of famous people. Jean-Claude Van Damme's voice cameo was very surprising.
The biggest flaw was the the antagonist was not as strong compared to the first film. The peacock had interesting moves, but as a character, he was rather boring. In addition, some sections were on the predictable side, and the "guns versus kung fu" theme was nothing new for martial arts movie fans.
Kung Fu Panda 2 was fun for kids and adults by capitalizing on what worked before while still keeping it fresh. I'm glad it didn't fall victim to sequel letdowns.
