The movie franchise many loved as kids, has finally returned to theaters: Kung Fu Panda 4. Having seen the previous Kung Fu Panda films, many people had high expectations for this new addition. Although the trailer was jaw-dropping, and it was supposedly destined to be a hit, the movie proved to be divisive for its audience.
In the film, it was time for PO, the main protagonist, to stop being the dragon warrior and instead pass on the staff of wisdom to someone else. Master Shifu held tryouts for someone to become a dragon warrior. PO liked all of the candidates for the dragon warrior, but since he liked all of them it was very difficult for him to choose so he did not choose any candidates; instead, he chose a thief named Zhen. Zhen is a fox, and she stole some precious things from the Jade Palace. When Zhen went to jail, there was another killer on the street, and her name was the Chameleon. She could shapeshift and copy their powers. In that process, she threatened everyone, so Zhen and PO went on a mission to stop the chameleon.
Kung Fu Panda 4 was a fast-paced movie, jumping from one scene to another quickly fast. The pacing of the movie affected it poorly, since many viewers were hoping to see the development of each of their favorite and nostalgic characters, In one scene, PO is against the bad people who work for the chameleon, only to find her going for the staff of wisdom in the next, using it to drain everyone’s ‘Kung fu’ and become powerful. The Chameleon is a lizard and a shapeshifter who is an ineffective villain because she has no good motive. She wanted to steal every kung fu that PO had fought, but in the other Kung Fu Panda, every villain had something against Shifu or knew Shifu. In this movie, the Chameleon is not against Shifu; she does not even know who he is.
There is always good and bad within almost every movie out there.. In Kung Fu Panda 4, it was good to see that Tai Lung, towards the end of the movie, trusts PO and gives him respect. Before, they did not like each other at all. Another good thing about this movie was that in this film, PO was trying to find inner peace. He faced many difficulties and troubles during his journey but found peace by taking down Chameleon and saving everyone. It was nice to see another Kung Fu Panda movie after eight years of the film frachise’s hiatus, and there were a lot of lessons to be applied to real life for everyone that watched it. So while it may have had unnecessary characters, and too fast of space, it was undoubtedly enjoyable to see PO and Shifu together once again.
