Almost 16 years since the original was released, many people were surprised to hear that “Kung Fu Panda 4” would be coming to theaters on March 8. While this movie was not the best of its series by any means, it was a very fun and light-hearted way for the long-lived franchise to most likely come to an end.
The fourth movie of the series still keeps its focus on Po, the big and friendly panda who wanted to learn kung fu. By the time that this movie takes place, Po is the dragon warrior of his valley and has been for a while. This position as dragon warrior makes Po responsible for the protection of all of the people in his community. At the beginning of the movie, Po’s mentor, red panda Master Shifu, tells him that it is time for him to become the spiritual leader of the valley and that he must find the next dragon warrior.
While this may seem like a simple task, Po first had to defeat his most challenging opponent yet, a shapeshifting sorceress called The Chameleon. Along his journey to defeat the Chameleon, Po faces old and new challenges as he finally puts his position as dragon warrior to rest. He does so with the help of a companion he meets early on named Zhen.
As always, the movie has very well-known cast with Jack Black returning as Po and other famous actors. Those include Dustin Hoffman as the voice of Master Shifu and James Hong as Mr. Ping, Po’s dad. Some notable additions to the cast are Viola Davis, who voices the Chameleon, and Akwafina, who voices Zhen.
Seeing that this is the fourth movie of the series, it was not suprising that the plot was predictable and felt somewhat forced. There were many new characters that felt unnecessary and old characters that felt unchanged. Despite this, the movie is definitely worth seeing given its ability to engage and entertain the audience.
What makes this movie special is its entertainment factor. Watching a panda do kung fu will never fail to be funny. Even though the outcome of a fight scene may be obvious, the witty remarks make up for it. This has been a pattern throughout the series and it was just as prominent in this rendition.
Another enticing quality of this move is that it is very relatable. One of the clear lessons of the movie focuses on growing up and moving on to bigger and better things. Even though not everyone may be facing this challenge immediately, it is something that concerns everyone at some point in life. The ability of this movie to get viewers to empathize with an animated panda is extreme-
ly impressive. Even if the lesson was pretty blatant, it still made the movie more engaging.kung fu 4 you
Although it has not been verified that this is the last movie of the series, “Kung Fu Panda 4” was a great way for a 16-year long series to end. Viewers get to see their beloved panda move on to bigger and better things, exemplifying that they can too.
Anybody who has seen the other three movies of the series should definitely make an effort to see this one. It’ll give you the familiar feeling that the series is known for and provide laughs with a satisfying ending.
