It's been eight years since Po, the accident-prone panda voiced by Jack Black, last brought one of his "legendary adventures of awesomeness" to the big screen. He returns in "Kung Fu Panda 4," alongside some high-profile help in the form of Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman and Ke Huy Quan, to battle all the master villains Po thought were vanquished to the Spirit Realm.
As the film begins, Dragon Warrior Po is reluctantly about to ascend to the position of Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.
"I finally found something I'm good at," he says. "And now you want to take it away from me?"
"No one is taking anything away Po," says Shifu (Hoffman). "Who you are will always be part of what you become."
As Po searches for the new Dragon Warrior, an evil shapeshifting sorceress called The Chameleon (Davis) sets her eye on Po's mystical Staff of Wisdom. She is already able to absorb the martial art abilities of her victims, but if she gets her hands on the Staff she will have the power to jump between the Spirit and Mortal realms and restore villains from the past to the present.
"Once I possess the kung fu of every master villain," she says, "no one will dare question my power."
To keep the Valley of Peace safe, Po recruits Zhen (Awkwafina), a sly corsac fox and thief whose cunning will help defeat The Chameleon.
"Kung Fu Panda 4" doesn't reinvent the nunchuck. After three big-screen entries and a popular video game version, there isn't a lot of room for new adventures for Po, but the new movie does a good job at keeping the story and action before its "best by" date.
Likeable main characters, fun voice work and cool animation that, like the previous movies, embraces various styles — computer-generated to stylized kung fu movie art — and loads of well-choreographed action may not accurately be described as "legendary adventures of awesomeness," but they are a good time.
Despite Zhen's generic design, Awkwafina generates laughs as the fox who lives by "the rules of the street." The Chameleon benefits from a more elaborate design and Davis's suitably villainous performance. Also welcome is a drunken fish (Ronny Chieng) who lives in the beak of a pelican.
The star of the show is Black as Po. He gives Po a charming childlike naiveté and a rock 'n roll attitude. But while he has great fighting skills, he relies on his inherent goodness to guide his actions. The fight scenes are entertaining but it is his spirit that makes him lovable.
Even though it comes with a slight feeling of déjà vu, "Kung Fu Panda 4" will entertain the eye, and has good messages for the whole family.
And in this case, that's enough for a good time at the movies.
3 ½ out of 5 stars.
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