Despite it being a half-decent film there hasn’t been too much clamour for a sequel to Dreamworks 2008 film Kung Fu Panda. However, it was an animated film that made money, right? Sequel Ahoy! To be fair to the studio they avoid the usual sequelitis problem of over-loading with new characters and concentrate mainly on Po (Jack Black) and the back story of his unconventional upbringing, leading to this films main storyline, his battle with Shen (Gary Oldman, appearing to be doing an impression of John Hurt). However, as the film focuses exclusively on Po, all the other main characters are side-tracked and it appears the film doesn’t have many new ideas up its sleeve, particularly in the middle section which appears to be one long fight scene and not much else. In addition the character of Po himself, even taking into account this is an animated film, makes little sense when it comes to these fight scenes where he’s either a fool or a genius or both. Not only is it not very well explained (especially if you haven’t seen the first film), it also means most of his visual gags are telegraphed well in advance. This isn’t too say this is a titter free zone though, as there are some decent guffaws throughout including a few genuine laugh out loud moments. The main plus point though is the animation. It is pretty great throughout, but reaches genius levels when the back story of Po's life is shown. Overall, this is a film that looks good on the big screen (despite the unnecessary 3D), but it just can’t shake the feeling that it should have been a direct to DVD release.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Some nice touches, but too much filler. For fans only. Rating: 6/10.
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