Kung Fu Panda 3

F*** Magazine

KUNG FU PANDA 3

Director : Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni
Cast : Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Kate Hudson, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons
Genre : Animation
Run Time : 95 mins
Opens : 10 March 2016
Rating : G

The rotund, ever-enthusiastic harbinger of awesomeness himself, Po (Black) the Dragon Warrior, has returned to deliver swift justice and wolf down dumplings in the third instalment of the Kung Fu Panda series. The fiendish spirit warrior Kai (Simmons), who formerly fought alongside Master Oogway (Kim), is intent on capturing the chi of all the kung fu masters throughout the land, imprisoning them within jade amulets. In the meantime, Master Shifu (Hoffman) announces his retirement and tasks Po with training the Furious Five, comprising Tigress (Jolie), Viper (Liu), Monkey (Chan), Mantis (Rogen) and Crane (Cross). While Po struggles with his new responsibilities, his biological father Li Shan (Cranston) arrives to take his long-lost son to a secret panda village. This incites the jealousy of Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping (Hong). When Kai has his sights set on the panda village, Po must transform his ungainly kin into a fearsome army to defeat their powerful foe.

            It can be said that 2008’s Kung Fu Panda was something of a turning point for Dreamworks Animation, eschewing excessive popular culture references (but still keeping an all-star voice cast) in favour of something more character-driven, drawing upon Chinese culture for design and story elements. Kung Fu Panda 3 retains much of what made the first two films appealing: it’s breath-taking to look at, the characters are loveable and it’s heartfelt. However, true poignancy seems just out of the movie’s grasp, and the philosophy being dispensed doesn’t go much deeper than “believe in yourself”. Also, even though the stakes seem pretty high, with an immortal villain going after all the kung fu masters in the land, the sense of devastation is insufficient. These films have to strike a balance between depicting battles against evil and kid-friendly goofing off. The scales are ever so slightly uneven here.

            What’s great about Po is there are still lessons for him to learn and challenges for him to conquer; he might have come a long way but there’s still a distance to go yet. This film delves into Po’s crisis of identity: he’s been raised by a goose his whole life, but then his actual dad enters stage left and introduces him to a whole village of pandas he’s never known. What does this make Po? It’s roly-poly slapstick first and depth second, but it counts for something that the filmmakers have figured out a way to keep Po’s character from reaching a comfortable plateau. Black wears the role like a second skin and Po’s earnestness, fanboy attitude and moments of self-doubt are traits many viewers identify with.

            Kai has all the makings of a formidable villain, but something’s missing and this reviewer can’t quite pinpoint what. As the series’ first supernatural baddie, he’s easily the most powerful of the foes Po and company have faced off against. Simmons does a decent gruff bellow and the character design is physically imposing. In terms of impact, he is perhaps on par with Tai Lung from the first film but lacks the almost unsettling menace of Kung Fu Panda 2’s Lord Shen. His motivations are also significantly less developed than those of the afore-mentioned previous antagonists.

            Cranston contributes an affable warmth to the part of Li Shan, with a “dopey dad” vibe that brings to mind his role as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. The conflict between Po’s two dads seems like a stronger driving force for the story than the oncoming threat of Kai’s attacks. Ping’s initial suspicion of Li Shan and how he comes to terms with the fact that Po’s biological father is back in his life is both funny and touching, giving Hong a little more to do than just be the fussbudget. Of the Furious Five, Jolie’s Tigress gets the most screen time and the team’s resident stoic gets to show a little bit of a soft side as she bonds with a little panda girl. It seems like Mei Mei, a panda who has amorous designs on Po, was originally given more to do in the story. As it stands, the character is largely inconsequential. Perhaps it stems from the re-casting of the role, with Rebel Wilson replaced by Kate Hudson due to scheduling conflicts.

            The martial arts sequences choreographed by animator Randolph Guenoden continue to be outstanding and a portion of the film takes place in the Chinese spirit realm, which changes the look up a little. There are a number of specific lines and jokes that are direct call-backs to the first two movies, which should make watching all three back-to-back somewhat rewarding. As far as we’re concerned, the franchise has yet to outstay its welcome, but Kung Fu Panda 3 shows signs of why one might be worried.

Summary: Kung Fu Panda 3 is spectacularly animated and gives Po more character development, but its underwhelming villain and emotional arcs that show promise but fall short of sublime are a bit of a disappointment.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

Safe

Movie Review                                                                                                              4/5/12

SAFE

(2011 Release)

Starring: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, James Hong

Directed by: Boaz Yakin

            Jason Statham is at it again, earning his keep the only way he knows how: punching and kicking his way through the Chinese and Russian mobs and the New York Police Department. As ex-cop Luke Wright, he is reduced to cage fighting and sleeping in shelters after he snitches on his corrupt colleagues. It’s just his luck that he comes across Mei (Chan), a 12-year-old Chinese girl with superhuman memory who carries in her head a complex series of numbers. It’s also just his luck that Mei is a pawn of Chinese mob boss Han Jiao (Hong), and police captain Wolf (Robert Burke) is playing both the Chinese and the Russians as all three parties hunt down Luke and his new charge.

            A YouTube comment on the trailer for the film said it best – “I liked it better when it was called “Mercury Rising”. Indeed, the earlier Bruce Willis film was more entertaining, and Miko Hughes, who played the kid with special abilities in it, was a far better child actor than Catherine Chan is. Safe is not so much outright bad as it is painfully derivative and almost profoundly generic. As usual, Jason Statham is playing the only character he ever plays, the gruff and street smart guy who also happens to be a skilled martial artist and sharpshooter. 

            The brutal action sequences in the movie are so-so – like most of the movie, they’re not awful, it’s just that we’ve seen the like many times before. There are some shootouts in gambling dens and hotels, a subway train brawl and a car chase with Statham driving against NYC traffic – normal action movie fare. As far as the plot is concerned, it’s just all too straightforward. There are no real surprises or curveballs – it’s just as well that everything unfolds quickly enough.

The crooked cops that make up one third of the movie’s villains and the mayor whom they answer to are as flat and one-note as they come. So are the Russian bad guys – poor Igor Jijikine, most famous as Col. Dovchenko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is probably stuck playing Russian mob henchmen for the rest of his career. Also, James Hong’s Mandarin Chinese is pretty bad, probably due to all the years he’s spent in the States. And let’s not forget the stereotypical portrayal of Chinese people as maths geniuses, mobsters or convenience store owners. It was rather bold of the filmmakers to demonize the entire NYPD, though.

            “I’ve seen him fight. Bad business for you,” deadpans Mei. Altogether, this was pretty bad business for Statham and company – at its worst; it seems almost like a throwaway direct-to-video action thriller. Here’s hoping Statham redeems himself come The Expendables 2 a little later this year.

SUMMARY: A paint-by-numbers action thriller that doesn’t stand out in any way, this would be right at home as a movie you might watch on HBO in a hotel room to pass the time.

RATING: 2/5

Jedd Jong