Kung Fu Panda 4

Kung Fu Panda 4 the movie we never needed is out. So let’s talk about it. After an 8-year hiatus, Jack Black is back with more from the dragon warrior. Or so we thought. In true Kung Fu Panda fashion this movie is action-packed. The colors were epic as usual and of course its full of jokes for the kids. So where do things go wrong?

Well for starters the initial premise of the movie is about Po picking the next dragon warrior. On paper makes sense cause it’s a full-circle moment from the first movie. But if we look at Po compared to Oogway when he made his choice. Oogway was on his way out but Po was in his prime. To make that type of decision out of nowhere with a weak constitution set this movie up for failure.

Unfortunately, the pacing also suffered because of that one decision. Once the movie got going they did not slow down. It just felt like lazy writing because there was not much substance to the story. Plus I was not a fan of the way they used certain storylines as a plot device to kind of fast-track the story. Especially if the characters you choose are playing catch-up the whole movie.

Now something I did enjoy was the big bad of the movie. In theory, The Chameleon was a perfect villain but in execution, they had some hiccups. And by hiccups I mean they decided to biggabize them. Now granted this is a kid’s movie and kids like monsters and dragons so I get it. I don’t enjoy it personally. On the other hand, Viola Davis’s performance was great. I wish we could have seen more of her backstory. Especially since The Chameleon has a magical background. Outside of that, I don’t have any major critics of the main antagonist.

As fans of Kung Fu Panda, I think we can all admit that sometimes you gotta know when to let it go. This movie should have never been made because Kung Fu Panda was already a legendary trilogy. It ended up feeling like a cash grab. Now if this had stemmed off the show and had more continuity with the overall story of Po it could have worked. But after watching this movie it felt like they just threw paint at the wall to see what sticks. Then if all else fails hopefully Jack Black, Viola Davis, and Awkwafina could carry us to the box office.

Unfortunately, that just was not the case which is why I gave it a 6.5/10 G-Files Score. Don’t get me wrong it had all the makings of another classic. But it didn’t execute on the small things that made this franchise great. But at the end of the day as long as the kids are enjoying that’s what really matters.