To bring a fulfilling end to the beloved characters storyline, the creators of “Kung Fu Panda 4” introduced a new challenge for Po, as well as new characters.
Following the release of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” DreamWorks Animation received mixed reviews from members in the audience.
While the movie had many great qualities, the negatives of the film weighed it down, making it the worst out of the four movies.
The best part about the fourth movie was seeing returning villains take to the screen again. The villains from the prior three movies all made appearances and the one that stole the spotlight was Tai Lung from the first.
Seeing the best villain of the franchise return was an awesome experience. The way Tai Lung showed respect to Po even after being banished to the spirit realm for years was a heartwarming way of showing growth.
Another aspect of the movie that was cool was the challenge Po faced. In the first film, he learned the Wuxi Finger hold, in the second he learned Tai Chi and in the third he learned Chi.
In the fourth movie he has mastered everything and now has to learn to grow up and retire from being the Dragon Warrior, this new challenge represents growth for Po.
The successor to Po as the dragon warrior is Zhen, a new character with humble beginnings, similarly to Po. Zhen is a thief who used Po to steal the Staff Of Wisdom. After seeing that Po is a genuinely kind person, she changes her ways.
Zhen and Po teaming up against the Chameleon made for an awesome final fight. We got to see Po show his awesome Kung Fu moves one last time.
One of the lacking factors in “Kung Fu Panda 4” was the villain, Chameleon. She was an uninteresting character who lacked motivation and seemed to hate Po for no reason. The only good thing about her was that she was responsible for bringing back the villains from other movies.
As well as a poorly created villain, the movie didn’t feature the Furious Five until the last 10 seconds of the movie when Po brings them back to help train the new dragon warrior.
Without the Furious Five it felt like a completely different movie. The vibe was all off and without them to keep Po in line, the movie felt goofy and humor-oriented.
Lastly, the movie felt out of whack when it came to pacing. The new characters were introduced and the movie just kept on going without giving the audience time to process what was happening so the sympathy for the heroes and the villain was just not there.
As mediocre as the movie was, it gave Po an ending he deserved and hopefully we will see him in theaters again as a teacher to Zhen, along with the rest of the Furious Five.
