space
head
head head head
Home Contact RSS Feed
COMICS   •   MOVIES   •   MUSIC   •   TELEVISION   •   GAMES   •   BOOKS
Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda
space
Wildstar   |  

Kung Fu PandaKung Fu Panda
Directed by Mark Osborne,
John Stevenson
Written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu,
Ian McShane, David Cross, Jackie Chan
Rated PG
Release date: June 6, 2008

The latest release from DreamWorks Animation Studios, Kung Fu Panda, is a charming martial arts film that the whole family can enjoy. This film borrows its general premise from a late 70’s kung-fu flick, The Five Deadly Venoms, except here the animals (and their corresponding fighting styles) are not represented by men in masks, the various creatures (panda, monkey, tiger, crane, viper, mantis, etc.) are played by themselves”¦anthropomorphized, of course.

The plot of Kung Fu Panda focuses on Po (Jack Black), an obese panda who dreams of being a kung-fu master and not of schlepping away in his father’s lowly noodle shop. As fate would have it, the clumsy Po is surprisingly picked to be the next Dragon Warrior who is destined to save his peaceful village from the ferocious Tai Lung (Ian McShane).

The plot though is really inconsequential here and the film’s central theme of “believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything” is standard, kiddie movie fare. What really and truly makes Kung Fu Panda stand out above the rest are its glorious, digital animation techniques and its dizzying fight sequences. The most notable being, in my mind, the battle between the Legendary Warriors: Monkey (Jackie Chan), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), and Viper (Lucy Liu), and the villain, Tai Lung, on a collapsing rope bridge. This sequence is truly breathtaking on the big screen and I don’t think DVD will do it justice. Put simply, it is some of the best fight choreography I’ve seen in quite some time, digital or real world.

My only real gripe with Kung Fu Panda lies in the almost criminal under-usage of some of its stars. While Black, Dustin Hoffman (as Master Shifu), and (especially) McShane shine in their voice acting roles, Jolie, Rogen, Liu, Chan, and Cross are left to die on the vine. Why sign up this big name talent (and pay their big name salaries) if you aren’t going to give them anything good to work with? It makes no sense to me”¦but I guess that’s why I’m not a big-time, Hollywood dick swinger, right?

Kung Fu Panda is fine, family fun that lacks the sly wit and humor of animated classics like, Shrek or Toy Story, but what it lacks in those departments it certainly makes up for in the visual pyrotechnics department. And I think everyone can appreciate some good fireworks on a hot, summer evening, so round up the kidlings and take ’em to see a fat panda and his furry pals kick some serious butt. You won’t be disappointed”¦

2 Comments »

  1. It is a fun film. You’re right the other actors did not have much to do. Good review.

    Comment by Jerry — June 10, 2008 @ 7:21 am

  2. still gotta see Kung Fu Panda… Jack Black is classic for sure; he’ll be forever famous for his work in School of Rock

    Comment by movie dude — August 14, 2008 @ 3:57 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

space
Tags:
space
Previous Article
space
Next Article
«
»
space
space
space
Amazon.com
space
You may have noticed that we're now AD FREE! Please support Geeks of Doom by using the Amazon Affiliate link above. All of our proceeds from the program go toward maintaining this site.
space
Geeks of Doom on Twitter Geeks of Doom on Facebook Geeks of Doom on Instagram Follow Geeks of Doom on Tumblr Geeks of Doom on YouTube Geeks of Doom Email Digest Geeks of Doom RSS Feed
space
space
space
space
The Drill Down Podcast TARDISblend Podcast Westworld Podcast
2023  ·   2022  ·   2021  ·   2020  ·   2019  ·   2018  ·   2017  ·   2016  ·   2015  ·   2014  ·  
2013  ·   2012  ·   2011  ·   2010  ·   2009  ·   2008  ·   2007  ·   2006  ·   2005
space
Geeks of Doom is proudly powered by WordPress.

Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press

Geeks of Doom is designed and maintained by our geeky webmaster
All original content copyright ©2005-2023 Geeks of Doom
All external content copyright of its respective owner, except where noted
space
Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under
a Creative Commons License.
space
About | Privacy Policy | Contact
space