Kung Fu Panda - 9.0/10
When I initially saw the advertising for this, I thought it
looked ridiculous. I mean, even the title is absurd. “Kung Fu Panda” starring
Jack Black? Yeah, whatever. Naturally this meant I wanted to see it; I love
ridiculous things. But I was expecting a goofy comedy and what I saw when I got
there was just so far beyond what would ever even occur to me to expect.
First off, to state the obvious, it’s not a goofy comedy.
Unlike Shrek 2, which was a brilliant comedy that also managed to have
some serious dramatic moments, Kung Fu Panda is a serious dramatic
movie that also manages to have some brilliant comedy. It’s a good story first
and a comedy second, I like that. It would have been so much easier to have
just gone the comedy route – as the trailers all suggested – but no; they’re like
that kid in high school who doesn’t give in to peer pressure and is that much
cooler for it. “Sure, I can be funny, but I’m not going to make that my
identity. I have so much more to offer.”
So where do I start? Jack Black gives a terrific performance
as Po, a young man (er, panda), who is a fanboy of all things kung fu.
Unfortunately for him, he works in his father’s noodle shop and is always on
the outside looking in. I love how they handled this character. Everyone and
everything is just so mean to him. “Everyone” in that he is treated usually
with dismissal, irritation or mockery by the people of the valley, and even
worse by the people he most admires. “Everything” in that circumstances
themselves always seem to conspire to torture him, as if the universe too has
decided he’s a loser.
There is no small amount of slapstick so we kind of get
sucked into this too, but at the same time from very early on we come to care
about this character and feel bad for him. In a good way, too: sympathy and
empathy rather than pity. And the heartstrings are really tugged when we learn
just how much he’s taken all this to heart, and how little he thinks of himself
as well. It makes it all the sweeter when we finally get to see him succeed,
and gain acceptance and respect from those who had dismissed him before.
The rest of the cast was cool too. Dustin Hoffman played a
great frustrated old master, and the “furious five” were a clever idea. Even in
the trailers I liked how they actually used animals corresponding to the
various schools of kung fu they were using. I do think though, that for such a
star-studded cast (Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Lucy
Liu), a lot of them were underused. Particularly Chan and Liu. Why bother
putting them in the film if you’re not
going to give them anything to say? Ian McShane as the villain was
great, but that pretty much goes without saying. I liked his character’s
backstory as well, and how it’s fueled his bitterness and rage in the present.
They really didn’t sugarcoat anything.
The environment they created for this movie was beautiful.
The scenery and the colors – oh my god, you guys. Seriously, it’s gorgeous. It’s
every bit as wonderful as you would imagine a mythical China to be. And the
philosophy – yes, there’s philosophy in a movie about a kung fu fighting panda –
is surprisingly deep and timeless as well. Did I mention the music is perfectly
attuned to the setting and also amazing? In fact, I’ve heard rumors that the
Chinese Film Ministry (or whatever it is) chastised its employees for not being
able to make a film that represents China as well as this does. Sounds kind of
apocryphal, but I believe it. It’s just that perfect.
If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s probably because I am. I
really really like this movie, and I
actually kind of had to hold myself back a little. I really think its only
weakness is underutilizing some of its supporting characters, but other than
that I can find no faults. The story, the pacing – they showed the passage of
time over montages with the changing colors of the trees! – the action, the fight
choreography (so cool!), the jokes, the music, arrgh! I need to stop or I never
will. If you haven’t seen this, rectify that immediately.
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