Let me get this out of the way, the awesomeness is back!
I was looking forward to Kung Fu Panda 2 with great anticipation since I had loved the first instalment. A panda conjures up visions of cute and cuddly and the choice of Jack Black as a voice actor was probably the most inspired bit of casting in recent times. Whatever you can call him, cute and cuddly, Jack Black is not! The first part was a runaway hit and the only fault one could find in it was that the Furious Five did not get enough time for themselves. Part 2 settles the issue.
It is upto Po and his trusty Furious Five to thwart the ambitions of Lord Shen and ensure that peace again returns to the land. One of my favourites from the first part, Master Shifu (voiced with just the right pitch by Dustin Hoffman), does not have too much of a role to play in Part 2, however he does make his presence felt, saying more will be saying too much.
Though the Furious Five do figure in Part 2, Master Tigress has the lion's (or should I say tiger's!) share of the action. One also sees shades of the Jedi in the way the masters of kung fu are shaping up, call it homage, or maybe aligning with universal themes of a band of protectors benignly offering protection to common citizens.
Po's back story is tied up with Lord Shen and involves the search for his birth parents, as he learns that he has been adopted. Lord Shen has parental issues of his own. But Po can prevail only if he learns to achieve Inner Peace, which Master Shifu has himself learnt only as recently as Part One. How Po and the Five with their allies Master Ox and Master Croc, battle Lord Shen and his WMD, forms the major chunk of the movie.
Part 2 has some good Kung Fu action and has been shot in 3D. However as is the case with most 3D movies, being in 3D does not seem to add much to the experience. IMHO, Avatar is the only movie in which 3D has been used so well that it is a completely immersive experience. Based on the box office numbers, James Cameron does know a thing or two about film making J
As with all successful animation movies, Kung Fu Panda 2 can be enjoyed by children of all ages as well as adults. The animation is uniformly excellent and the voice acting good with Jack Black and Gary Oldman (as Lord Shen) standing out. The movie is relatively short (under 90 minutes) which helps to keep the story moving. This is one of the better movies in recent times and gets a big thumbs up from me.
Should you go ahead and watch it? Go today! I can't wait for the DVD to come out (but I will buy the 2D version).
4 comments:
I also enjoyed this movie with my kids...I thought it is better than Part 1 with both story and kung fu fights.
I heard my kids saying they found thier inner peace after watching this movie :-)
@UDay.. imho, Part 1 was definitely better, but then I guess it is a matter of personal taste. The fact that we can even discuss it means that both parts are pretty good :)
I watched with family. Except for my daughter (age 9) I don't believe anyone liked it. 4 years old son was bored. I just carried myself and same with my spouse.
Hollywood is not making a good 'business transition' from movies for American Market to movies for Chinese and Indian Market. It is still very early stage and Hollywood is simply in infancy about that.
Overall, this year is shaping out to be 'bad' for Hollywood compared to 2009 & 2010. Original market (USA) is in dumpers whereas there is no act coming together for the most important markets of China & India.
'X-men' that is the rage in USA. I have no idea about that movie except that audience can see strong political message in that movie, whatever....
Spilberg's new movie - he is trying new marketing - word of mouth and Internet. No idea how that is shaping up.
All in all seems like a washed out year so far to Hollywood (Repubs should be happy, since that means lukewarm fundraising by Barack in SoCal).
@Umesh, I think you are making two points, one about the movie itself and the other a much broader point about American movies.
About this movie, IMHO, if you didn't really get into the first movie, then coming cold into the second movie may not work for everyone. In general sequels are big business and for many movies, the sequels tend to do as well if not better than the original movie.
I classify Kung Fu Panda in the same category as Cars or The Incredibles, which are as targeted towards older audiences as towards kids (again, imho, animated movies are no longer about just kids).
I consider movies like Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc., etc. targeted more towards kids than adults. Anyway, as with any movie, the viewing experience is your own.
I have no idea about the Chinese market, but the market for English movies is still miniscule in India (even if some movies do reasonable business, that is negligible compared to the business done in the US or other developed countries, more due to higher ticket prices). So, I don't really think Kung Fu Panda or its sequel really addresses the Indian market (again, no idea about China as a market).
Regarding, X-Men, again, one has to be really into the concept to like the movie. I have read X-Men comics as a kid, so to see them on screen is a big thrill. Overall the X series has been reasonably watchable and I am looking forward to watching X-Men: First Class.
As always, YMMV.
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