Film Reviews

Kung Fu Panda 2

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Angelina Jolie
• Details: US/90mins PG

It seems strange that Jack Black's best role since High Fidelity involves just his vocal chords. That said, he's not the first comically inclined actor to find himself stranded up such a road - Eddie Murphy can testify to that. As with Shrek, the sequel here outshines the original. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a vibrant and fun film with plenty of action to keep audience members of all ages entertained.
Black is back voicing the titular king-fuing Panda, Po. After honing his martial arts skills in the first film, Po is now a dab hand at slapping bandits about the place. But when dastardly peacock (just go with it...) Shen (Oldman) gets hold of a dangerous weapon that renders the Furious Five's previously mighty Kung Fu useless, they must out smart him and his cronies. Meanwhile, Po has his own personal demons to contend with after he realises he's adopted.
Blending some genuinely impressive action sequences with funny, likeable characters and good gags, it's easy to see why a sequel was pushed into production so quickly. As opposed to the latter Shrek sequels, the majority of the work here was done on the characters first, and the clever punchlines are worked from there. The resulting sequel genuinely manages to be more entertaining, with each character seemingly voiced by a recognisable A-lister; granted, there are too many and very few of them other than Po are given much to do.
The 3D aspect, once again, doesn't really bring anything to the film. Animated productions can benefit that bit more from the format because they're not restricted by the laws of physics; but this would be equally as enjoyable in 2D. As a matter of fact, it's now beginning to feel gimmicky; luckily Kung Fu Panda 2 has a good enough script for it not to matter.
It goes without saying that the kids will love this; but there is plenty here for older audience members to enjoy as well. A lot of fun.

Review by Mike Sheridan