I watched “Kung Fu Panda 4” with the school because it was one of the boarding activities. I have not watched the “Kung Fu Panda” movies, so I was at times mislead when I watched the fourth movie. To provide an example, I thought that Po’s biological father (Li Shan) and his adoptive father (Mr. Ping) were a couple. In my defense, if you had not watched any of the previous movies, you would think that they were a couple too with the way they were acting. To give you a better understanding of what I mean, here is a summary of the movie:
Master Shifu reveals to Po that it is finally his time to become a spiritual leader and pass down the title of Dragon Warrior. However, Po is in denial and refuses to give away the title as he wants to remain the hero of the Valley of Peace. When a thief enters the scene, Po takes this as an opportunity to prove to others that he should remain the Dragon Warrior. After a remarkably close win, Po does not have time to rejoice since he was made aware of the new villain who is trying to take over the Valley of Peace—The Chameleon. This is when the thief Po defeated before re-enters the story, the thief (a fox named Zhen) takes him to Juniper City, where the pair go through numerous adventures filled with realizations, betrayals, and new beginnings.
A few things I enjoyed in the movie:
- Zhen’s “rule of the streets” that she learnt while growing up as an Orphan in Juniper City. The rules of the streets are;
- Never trust anyone.
- Somebody is always going to get hurt.
- Nobody is interested in your feelings.
The reason I found these rules interesting is because I live by completely opposite rules. Zhen’s life is entirely different to the life I live, as I grew up in a more stable environment with my parents. These sets of rules are something that I could never imagine living by, so hearing them gave me a better insight into how life is for those who are not in as fortunate situations.
- I enjoyed the moments that Po and Zhen shared, and I could see them being a couple in the future (if there is a Kung Fu Panda 5 happening). One specific moment I am quite fond of is when Po gives Zhen a peach pit from the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom and tells her the Proverb, “Every pit holds the promise of a mighty tree.” He is saying that he believes that Zhen also has the potential to be a mighty tree, and he has faith in her to reach her true potential. The look of shock on Zhen’s face after he said that was what led me to ship the two of them.
A few things I disliked in the movie:
By revealing the elements of the movie, I did not like that much, I would be spoiling parts of the movie. That is why I will be very vague in saying that the end battle was too unrealistic for my liking. I felt as if the buildup to the fight was more intense than the actual battle, as the Chameleon had become immensely powerful and should not have been that quickly defeated. It almost felt like the clear victor was identified at the beginning, whereas I would have liked the battle to keep me on my toes, where the audience would be confused about who the victor could be.
- You are most likely wondering what I would rate the fight scenes, considering how much I was ridiculing it. I would rate it a 7/10 simply because Po looked super cool with the staff of knowledge in the ending scene and when he says, “Stand back, I’m gonna kick my butt.” (You will get this joke when you watch the movie.)
Overall, I really enjoyed the 4th Kung Fu Panda movie. This makes me want to re-watch all the movies to understand some of the messages in the movies better (which I would recommend to anyone who has not watched the previous movies in a while).
Rizz-meter of the Movie:
7.5/10 (Would recommend rizzing up your crush with this movie.)
What level of a baddie is the MC in this movie?
9/10 (Po is a sweetheart)
My Overall Rating:
8/10