Review of Kung Fu Panda 4, directed by Mike Mitchell

My sister and I have subscriptions for our local AMC Theater (for those not in the US: this is just a national chain of movie theaters you can find in a lot of places), so we go to the movies a lot. I grew up watching Kung Fu Panda, and even had a little McDonalds toy of Po that I carried around for a long time, but I had no idea this movie was coming out.

Heck, I hadn’t even thought about the franchise in years until we were at the movies one day and were slapped with the trailer for this bad boy. We looked at each other and kind of realized we needed to see this film, even though we hadn’t probably seen any of the other movies since the original version came out.

So we booked our tickets for a Sunday night. I always bemoan movie theater audiences (and Broadway too) after COVID hit; this was an audience that was also pretty annoying.

I hate going to more bigger movies because of how people suck with talking in the middle of the movie nowadays. When I saw Monkey Man not long after this movie, there were people literally having entire conversations throughout the movie and using their phone flashlights. Hushing them also did not work.

Anyways, here’s my review for this movie!

While Po reluctantly helps find the next Dragon Warrior, he gets roped into a nefarious plot involving a nearby town.

At the beginning of the movie, we see Po with his parents, who are opening an entire new restaurant. Po uses his fame as the Dragon Warrior to sign autographs and take portraits with the young people there, much to the annoyance of Shifu. It was also now, in this moment as an adult, that I realized Master Shifu literally just means Master Teacher. Ten years of Chinese classes taught me something.

Shifu has come to find him because they need to search for the next Dragon Warrior, which Po really doesn’t want to do. It’s time for Po to step down and become a spiritual leader, and then they host a series of showcases to try and find the next candidate.

However, Po’s attitude has him rejecting everyone who shows up to perform. He goes up to the mountain to meditate, but finds a thief in the middle of the Jade Palace trying to take the sacred items. A fox bandit named Zhen, she almost overpowers and outsmarts Po, but he manages to stop her with minimal damage to the artifacts.

When a group of mine workers comes into town to inform them that Tai Lung is back, Po returns to Zhen in jail, who reveals a magical sorceress named the Chameleon is behind all of this. Po lets Zhen out, much to Shifu’s annoyance, and they head to Juniper City.

Turns out Zhen is from there, and she knows her way around the streets. They outsmart the guards who are after them, then take refuge with other outlaws in the Den of Thieves. After that, they had up into the Chameleon’s lair, where it is revealed that Zhen is loyal to the Chameleon and brought Po there so she could steal his Staff of Wisdom. We also see a side quest where Po’s fathers come looking for him.

With the staff in hand, the Chameleon opens the portal to the Spirit Realm and steals all of the kung fu moves of Po’s greatest enemies. Po’s fathers come to the rescue as he topples over the side of a mountain, and they make a game plan. Zhen finds Po, feeling guilty, and she takes his fathers to the Den of Thieves to recruit all of her old pals onto this mission.

As they lead a stampede against the Chameleon, Po tries to argue with her. She doesn’t listen to him, and then the Chameleon shapeshifts into a creature combining multiple of the kung fu masters. Zhen joins the fight, but when Po is sealed inside of a cage, he gives Zhen the Staff of Wisdom.

Zhen then fights her old master, and Po, who was pretending to be trapped, helps take her down. He allows all of the old villains back into the Spirit Realm, and Tai Lung grabs the Chameleon and takes her with him.

Upon returning home, Po then declares Zhen as the next Dragon Warrior.

Overall Thoughts

If we’re going to be transparent here, this is what I have to say: this movie lacked a heart. It feels too formulaic and something that doesn’t feel like it belongs as a sequel to the Kung Fu Panda movie.

I haven’t seen the other movies, so I can’t judge based on that, but the fact we don’t have the Furious Five in this movie greatly disappointed me. I think Awkwafina is a brilliant actress in certain movies, but I also am sick of her being animated movies. It’s oversaturation at this point.

Regardless, my sister and I both agreed that we weren’t fans of this movie. Thank god we have A List! We see so many movies at this point and don’t buy any snacks, so the films we do go to see at our local theater are basically free at this point.

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