Kung Fu Panda 4 needs to be this franchise’s swan song. So much of what made the first two entries great – the emotional resonance, the convincing villainy, the Furious Five – is missing from the get-go. The bottom line? Mining the Kung Fu Panda conceit for entertainment value has become increasingly fruitless, further necessitating a shift away from pre-existing IP.
Kung fu prodigy Po (a returning Jack Black) and franchise newcomer Zhen (Awkwafina) form the film’s core dynamic, but their connection feels neither earned nor organic. As far as villains go, the Chameleon (a bored-sounding Viola Davis) is about as one-note as you can get. Her presence rarely, if ever, carries the intended weight, and her motivations (copied and pasted from other, better baddies) start and stop at: I want all of the power. Shallow motivations would have sufficed if her villainy didn’t feel so innocuous, but she isn’t threatening, and she isn’t interesting in how she’s threatening.
An underwritten side quest with main adventure stakes, Kung Fu Panda 4 is far and away the weakest entry in the franchise. The movie is gorgeous – easily one of DreamWorks’ most dazzling animated efforts to date – and there are many moments where its narrative shortcomings are forgotten amidst a These, at least, are somewhat pleasant distractions, but as soon as we’re ripped back into the story, we’re reminded of how just much polish this turd needs to be watchable.
KUNG FU PANDA 4 is released in UK cinemas on March 28th.
