Saturday, December 17, 2011

Kung-fu Panda 2

Despite my dislike of Jack Black, I suppose it really boils down to my distaste of his obnoxious performances in his movies.  However, with "Kung-fu Panda 2" I've come to realize that it's really not the man, but the kinds of films he chooses to partake in; if the story is amazing, no amount of Jack Black ridiculousness will ruin the overall experience.
Instead of a ferocious, daddy-issues-prone, ultimate warrior snow leopard, the main villain is Gary Oldman's best villainous voice in an albino peacock bent on taking over China. Not only is this bird an accomplished martial artist in his own right, but he has mastered the art of the cheap-shot fireballs from Street Fighter and Dragonball. Instead of chi however, he makes due with fireworks and a giant iron cannon. Oh and he might have massacred all of our main protagonist's hometown.
Thus begins a grand adventure of restoring justice in ye old kung-fu film style with a panda, a tiger, a crane, a praying mantis, and a monkey. Aside from the wacky hi-jinks, beautiful animated choreography despite animal physiology, and jokes thrown faster than ninja stars, there is also a surprising amount of character development and relationship-building for both the titular kung-fu panda and Angelina Jolie's Tigress.
Overall, a film full of humor, action, golden storytelling, and heart with a simple Aesop of overcoming the past and looking forward to the future.

Final battle with the evil peacock and his firing squad went a little like this and a little bit of this mixed in.

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