KUNG FU PANDA 3 MOVIE REVIEW

He is back. Yes, he is back; the biggest dragon warrior of all times is back. One of the most entertaining animation franchises in the recent times is here to make your summer weekend worthwhile. Or does he make it worthwhile? Check this out to know!

Quite like the earlier two editions of Kung Fu Panda, this one too moves along briskly. Even the script follows a similar suit, a terrorizing villain with the intent to destroy the livelihood of the whole of China, defeats all the Kung Fu Masters, but there is still one dragon warrior he needs to conquer. Yes, that would be our hero Po.

The legendary Furious Five (Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey) does not quite have our eyeballs rolling this time. Their contribution to this film is limited as we get introduced to the secret Panda Paradise where we meet more endearing, lazy Pandas like Po which also includes Po’s long lost Panda father.

To the usual voice cast, which includes Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu and Jackie Chan as Monkey, this film has the addition of JK Simmons’ voice for the devilish Kai. Such a star-studded list of voice artists is not just there to give a facelift to the franchise; each and every voice goes hand in hand with the character.

The entire technical team deserves a pat on its back. The editing, music, visuals and 3D effects are all so breathtaking. The editing in particular is very impressive and if not for Clare De Chenu’s superlative edits, this film would have been only half effective as it is now. Hardly a scene goes by without visually engaging the audience. Both the visual effects department, as well as the animation department, have worked, out of their skin to make it happen.

On the downside the Kung Fu Panda franchise which once sounded very unique and fun is becoming run-of-the-mill now. One feels Po could entertain us more in other aspects rather than just saving the world over and over again. Even the concept of single handedly saving the world is acceptable but why should he be portrayed as an underdog always till the very end? It is so typical of the makers to show Po as the unlikely hero at first who is bound to fail and change the fortune only towards the end. It does help in giving us some lickety-split fun moments but it also makes the story look very weak and predictable.

Story wise, from here, a fourth edition looks unnecessary, but in spite of some ordinary scripts, if there is a franchise that could entertain the audience like Kung Fu Panda does, who would even care about the script?

If you’re looking for a mindless fun flick that you could enjoy with your family, Kung Fu Panda 3 would be your ideal weekend bonanza