‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Streaming Movie Review: Stream It Or Skip It?

Kung Fu Panda is low-key one of the better animated franchises out there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we NEED Kung Fu Panda 4 (now streaming on VOD services like Amazon Prime Video). Creatively, movie no. 4 is when properties like this are dangerously close to running out of steam, but discussing the creative motivation of a Dreamworks Animation product is patently ridiculous – this movie exists to earn a few hundred million dollars. Not that a movie greenlit by corporate bean counters can’t still be enjoyable, mind you; the thought of series mainstay Jack Black teaming with newcomer Awkwafina, even in a voiceover context, is ripe with promise, and you’re almost guaranteed to see some thoughtfully rendered visuals with veteran director Mike Mitchell (Trolls, Shrek Forever After, The Lego Movie 2) at the helm. But whether it’s a worthy excursion or just a timewaster is the hair that needs to be split here, so let’s sharpen our blade and get to work.

KUNG FU PANDA 4: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: EVIL HAS RETURNED. Specifically, Tai Lung, the burly snow leopard voiced by Al Swearengen himself, Ian McShane. But wasn’t he, you know, dead? If memory serves, yes. Patience, grasshopper – all will be explained soon enough. Cut to the Valley of Peace, where our panda hero Po (Black) helps his two dads, Ping (James Hong) and Li Shan (Bryan Cranston) – remember, the former adopted him, the latter is his birth pops, introduced in KFP3 – open a new restaurant. Po’s very happy to be the heroic Dragon Warrior, kicking butts and beloved by all, and nothing will disrupt that contentment, nothing I tell you! Except Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), who tells his chubby charge that it’s time to graduate from warrior to spiritual leader, and find his successor to the Dragon Warrior successor. Now if you think Po makes for an unlikely practitioner of kung fu kickassery, being a guru-type is an even bigger stretch. I mean, he’s a total goofnozz. But a life without significant challenges isn’t much of a life, is it?

At this point, I should be talking about the emergence of a new villain, The Chameleon, voiced by Viola Davis, and the introduction of the ninjalike thief of a fox Zhen (Awkwafina) to the plot, and how Po’s pals in the Furious Five are off doing things and stuff, so we won’t hear the voices of Angelina Jolie and Seth Rogen and that crew in this movie. Instead, I feel the need to point out how the KFPs, through the Po character, always subtextually tackle ideas of personal growth via simple, but profound philosophical tenets. They’ve addressed notions about individuality and collectivism, about one’s roles in society, about where you’re from, where you are now and where you’re going. It’s a movie series in which a goofy protagonist with a nonsense catchphrase – “Skadoosh!” – ends up exploring lightly profound fortune-cookieisms in modest depth. This kung fu is not for kung fools.

Anyway, in his reluctant attempt to be at peace with his new role, Po struggles mightily to meditate. His many inner voices keep interrupting him, and I felt that pain. Clearing one’s head to reach a state of zen is really really hard. But this being an animated movie for children and their moderately bemused accompanying adults, it doesn’t consist of quiet moments in which Po learns to find inner peace. No, Zhen turns up to wreak a little havoc and then befriend our protagonist as he treks from his rural valley to bustling Juniper City to address the Chameleon situation. Of course, Po finds himself in a series of slapsticky martial arts action sequences, because this movie has certain expectations to meet.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Here, at long last, and at absolutely no one’s demand, is THEE definitive ranking of the KFPs:

4. Kung Fu Panda 4 – It’s aggressively Just Fine!

3. Kung Fu Panda 3 – This is the point where not much new is brought to an otherwise very good series.

2. Kung Fu Panda – The first one gave the world the Skadoosh, which seemed significant at the time.

1. Kung Fu Panda 2 – I’m still mostly convinced that this is at least a minor masterpiece of the computer-animation era (notably, alongside How to Train Your Dragon 2). It’s visually gorgeous and quietly packs an emotional wallop.

Performance Worth ~~Watching~~ Hearing: If you want to hear any Celebrity Voice of Significance deliver a litany of villain monologues, Viola Davis is definitely a leading candidate.

Memorable Dialogue: Two Po lines that stood out:

First, the funny one, when he realizes his fame hasn’t spread to Juniper City: “Oh wow – have my adventures really been that regional?”

And the profound one, when he tries to talk his way out of a tight spot instead of letting the fists and feet fly: “He who resorts to violence now will only find more violence later.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: We’re officially in Year 16 (!) of the Kung Fu Panda Experiment, and although it’s still pleasant, we’re not likely to feel the slightest urge to see Kung Fu Panda 5. For a movie that finds its hero fighting the pains of personal progress as much as he’s fighting the bad guys, it feels a little too safe within the KFP formula, and not particularly memorable. Also ironic is how it’s ostensibly about eschewing violence in order to achieve inner peace, but it can’t get to that point without first delivering multiple incidents of violence. I mean, you can’t de-escalate without the initial escalation, right? That’s just logic – movie logic.

Should we care about these contradictions? Well, the movie pretty much insists we shouldn’t: “You’re really gonna take a Kung Fu Panda movie seriously?” it all but bleats in our faces. And so I didn’t, and therefore enjoyed it, mostly. It has a pangolin voiced by Ke Huy Quah, some silly monkeys, a fish character that lives inside the stretchy gullet of a dead-eyed pelican, a trio of little bunnies who are equal parts adorable and bloodthirsty, a completely batty instrumental version of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” backing a spirited action sequence and Black singing Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time” over the credits for no good reason whatsoever. It seems like a small miracle that the movie makes sense despite such a description. It’s tightly plotted, it moves quickly and it delivers a handful of laughs, be they sight gags or one-liners (which mostly feel improvised). The story and its structure are predictable, but are paired with enough of an inspired visual aesthetic to at least keep our eyes engaged. The world will not be significantly altered by Kung Fu Panda 4, but you’ll be amused for 90-odd minutes, and sometimes that’s good enough.

Our Call: Kung Fu Panda 4 is thoroughly acceptable. Now, Dreamworks, it’s time to stop while you’re not really ahead anymore, and give Po the peace he’s learned to appreciate. STREAM IT.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.