Kung Fu Panda 4 Review

Kung Fu Panda 4 had me wondering how could they top the other movies in the franchise, and I have to admit I had a great time and the story was well paced the animations were perfect as in the previous movies, but they did a great job with the void left by the Furious Five team as they too were on their own various adventures.

Kung Fu Panda 4 needed to go bigger and they not only did with some of the story sets but also the fact that Po is only but a whisper in the universe even as the Dragon Warrior, the story touched on the dangers of trusting strangers, as Po finds out his kindness is a tool for the power-hungry Chameleon who I have to admit was very ominous and another epic villain in the Kung Fu Panda universe. The film I feel shows the world is bigger and in some cases worse off than the Valley of Peace and Po’s possible adventures will see him go beyond the Dragon Warrior and Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.

Po (Jack Black) in DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4, directed by Mike Mitchell.

Life in the Valley of Peace flows calmly, and Po, taking his role as a dragon warrior in earnest, frequently travels to neighboring lands to establish tranquility and unity in the villages. His confidence starts to wane, however, when Master Shifu informs him that he must relinquish his status to become the spiritual guide of the valley, necessitating the selection of his successor, a robust and charismatic warrior skilled in safeguarding those territories.

Our cherished Dragon Warrior, on the other hand, appears unwilling to forsake the action and the convictions he has painstakingly earned, and he gets an opportunity to jump back into action in the guise of a thieving fox named Zhen who, apprehended in the act of stealing precious artifacts, proposes to accompany him to the city to conquer Chameleon, the new and relentless criminal mastermind.

Po has mastered Kung Fu, however the one thing he has not mastered is the art of seeing the bad intentions people have, even after they commit terrible acts, however it’s this belief of redemption that winds Po into trouble, but thanks to the years of training and being the Dragon Warrior he and his talents of making friends, and thinking on his feet turns the tide in his favour.

If you liked the previous movies in the franchise, you will enjoy this one, I found that some of the main characters missing in this film made room for an expanding Kung Fu Panda Universe. I believe that is what they are trying to accomplish as we look forward to even more Kung Fu Panda in the future….Skadoosh!

Kung Fu Panda 4 releases in theatres this Friday, 22 March 2024.