My Review of Kung Fu Panda 2 · 3:23am Jan 20th, 2021
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
***********
Hey, guys! Here is my review of Kung Fu Panda 2! This is absolutely one of my favorite movies in general and the best sequel out of this whole trilogy. For me, it is my animated panda version of The Dark Knight since they both have themes of tragedy, loss, battling with your close enemy, and realizing one’s true worth. For Po, he had to learn the true practical meaning of inner peace. It has fantastic moments of character development and emotional moments between our heroes. Not to mention that this has great animation like the first film and has great special effects.
I said in my last review that Tigress was more interesting in this one than from the last movie because she was given more interaction and dialogue with Po to the point where it seemed that the writers wanted to have them as close friends... or more than that. Personally, I really don’t see them as a romantic couple but more as close friends. That’s all there is to it. I hope this franchise’s fanbase don’t create disgusting fan art out of that.
Anyway, she felt more like a compelling character to me and was less aggressive and more likable. That’s the full benefit of character growth; thus, she was way more tolerable for me. So props to Angelina Jolie for her excellent voice work for Tigress. Who would’ve thought that she would do this well like she had done for Maleficent, Shark Tale, and the Tomb Raider films?
As always, Jack Black did a great job with Po with the dialogue, personality, and witty humor! The rest of the voice acting was great as well along with the coherent story and the soundtrack. Now time for this new villain:
You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain.
Yup, indeed. Commissioner Gordon has definitely lived that long to become a Kung Fu Panda villain.
But Batman jokes aside, Gary Oldman did a splendid job voicing Shen. I never even recognized his voice in the character until I looked it up. Talk about a change of tone! Shen was a very compelling villain with a dark and sad background with a menacing tone and great design. A peacock with deadly feather blades? That’s both original and creative. There were even moments where he was unintentionally funny like how he was talking to his soothsayer or to some of his wolf guards... and to Po. 😂
I don’t even have a favorite Kung Fu Panda villain; all three of them are great. This film is apparently a little darker than the first movie is. I mean, it has hints of murder, genocide, Po losing his mother when he was a baby, and much more. I’m glad they actually gave him a backstory and how he was adopted by his current parental figure... who is a goose. Wow, talk about a twist of events, huh? Plus, that cliffhanger at the end was really well done; it gave hype and hope for the next sequel to end the trilogy with satisfaction and peace. I give it a 12/10.
Best of the trilogy! See ya!
I also think this is the best of the triology.
Funny thing, really. When I had been working on “A Moment of Truth”, I found Lord Shen to be a particular influence with Ahuizotl’s background and much of his characterization. Part of that came from my drive to make Ahuizotl, both as a character and a villain, as believable as possible.