Movies.ie

• Critic rating
• Currently 4/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

Suddenly realizing that the goose who raised him might not actually be his real dad, Po (Black) sets out to trace his birth parents just as the banished albino peacock Lord Shen (Oldman) returns to his family throne. The evil bird is determined to unleash hell, giving Po and the Furious Five plenty of opportunities to unleash their fists of fury…

THE VERDICT: The 2008 original may have swept up quite a few awards (most of its Annies arriving because Disney/Pixar were boycotting the event), but this origins outing is a far sweeter, funnier and – given its target audience – faster affair. The chase sequences here would make Max Sennett dizzy. The gags are spot-on though, whilst the thrills and spills are all present and correct. Almost Kung Fu Hustle good, in fact. Jeez, what’s happening at DreamWorks Animation? Their movies are pretty darn good these days.

Review by Paul Byrne 

• Avg User rating
• Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  ssconnolly

  

  In Kung-Fu Panda 2, the sequel to the hugely successful animation, we are once again following Po and the rest of the Furious Five as they go on yet another adventure to stop a seemingly unstoppable villain. Po's attempts to achieve inner peace, and to get to solve his identity crisis and interrupted by the return of Lord Shen. 30 years ago Lord Shen, heir to Gongmen City in China hoped to use the power of fireworks to rule the entire country. But when he learnt that his plan would one day be foiled by “a warrior of black and white” he proceeds to have the countries Panda's exterminated to stop this from happening. Shen's parents were horrified however and banished him from the city, but 30 years later he returns with an arsenal of explosive weaponry and a plan to once again try takeover the country. Now Po, one of China's only remaining black and white warriors is the only one standing in the way of him and complete domination. I saw the first installment of the franchise when it was released a few years ago but never really got what cinemagoers worldwide saw in the dull film. An interesting premise and decent story weren't enough to save the film from mediocrity. Though the film did unexpectedly become a massive hit worldwide I thought it didn't have the heart, excitement or laughs to really set it apart from other Dreamworks animations. It may have made more money than some of Pixar's better efforts, but was still not a film that could compete with them in terms of impact. For that reason I wasn't sure that I actually wanted to go see this sequel, expecting Dreamworks to once again try cash in without getting very creative. Yet I gave it a chance despite my uncertainty and now I'm glad I did as Kung-Fu Panda 2 boasts a huge rise in quality for the franchise and an animation which could compete with Pixar, especially with them currently making films at the quality of Cars 2. After watching Kung-Fu Panda 2 I thought back on its predecessor and though its been a while since I saw the franchises successful opener as far as I can remember it wasn't as good as this sequel in any way. This isn't just another uncreative Dreamworks cash-in made to put a couple extra hundred million in their back account, but rather a beautifully crafted and surprisingly exciting animation which has gone ahead in my mind as the finest of the year. The story is a lot more interesting than in the first film. It's more complex and gripping but still retains the charm that made audiences fall in love with Po and friends 3 years ago. The idea of Po finally realising his goose father isn't his biological dad adds so much to the film, as does the role of peacock villain Lord Shen. From it we are given two great stories, Po's battle with a different kind of bad guy and his attempts to discover what happened to his parents, and the rest of the pandas. His journey to discover who he is and what happened to the rest of his species is a tragic but heart-warming story and gifts this film and its characters the emotional depth which was lacking in its predecessor. The animation work is sublime. The entire film is wonderfully designed, especially the action sequences which are good at their worst, and visually stunning and entirely entertaining at their best. The final action scene in particular is amazing. Beautifully crafted and emotionally evoking it is a breathtaking sequence and was not only a perfect end to this film, but would've been the perfect end to the entire franchise too though more sequels will inevitably follow. Though unquestionably a darker installment Kung-Fu Panda 2 still has plenty of laughs to balance things out. I was very surprised by the tone struck in the film as first time film director Jennifer Yuh has created a darker mood than anticipated. The villain in the film, despite being a peacock becomes an incredibly intimidating bad guy, driven by Gary Oldman's perfectly voiced performance. This Lord Shen comes into a world where martial arts is the tool with which wars are fought with something much more dangerous, the invention of explosives. So all in all Kung-Fu Panda 2 is a fantastic movie and quite possibly the finest animation of the year. The film is a step up in quality in pretty much every way and makes up for all the problems evident in its predecessor. This sequel has more heart, wit, excitement, charm and is more affecting than the first and is also more visually creative and spectacular. The film does come with its own set of problems, such as three of the films 'Furious Five' characters being pretty much abandoned completely. That being said they aren't overly irritating flaws and they never got in the way of my enjoyment of this film. Hopefully the people over at Dreamworks will use this film as the new standard of quality for their productions and can possibly start to compete with Pixar.

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  mandy

  

  I enjoyed this movie a lot. It has a lot of action. I think it was as good as the first one, possibly better. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third film because the way the film ends seems to set the beginning of another one although I'm not sure if a third film would work. There's one or two funny moments as well.

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  Massman

  

  Really enjoyed it and never saw the first one!

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  John.Shiels

  

  Again great for the family to go see together we had a great laugh

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  alanclarke

  

  Good kids film.

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  TheGreatHumbug

  

  Rare example of the sequel matching the original. Kung Fu Panda 2 manages to recapture the spirit and the heart of its predecessor without being trite or same-y. Black was born to play an overweight panda. Skadoosh.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  mcclofsky

  

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  laume

  

  Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson has done her best to ensure a child-friendly movie that parents can sit through too.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  gavinjc

  

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  elaineg

  

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  tetsujin1979

  

  One of the rarities in film, a sequel that improves on the original! Having ascended to the role of Dragon Warrior in the original film, Po must now battle the a returning evil in China, a peacock who has a link to Po's childhood, his parents and his village. Quite dark in places, especially for a kids movie, but with a sense of fun and adventure that is rarely replicated outside of Pixar.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  JadeShiels

  

  it was good expected better tho still funny

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  mart

  

  It goes without saying that the kids will love this; but there is plenty here for older audience members to enjoy as well. A lot of fun

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  brianlisa2

  

  Brought my 4yr old daughter & 9yr old son to see this. They loved it. They were glued to their seats. Great movie, great story, enjoyable for all the family. We saw it in 3D but I wouldn't be wild about that. I would recommend it in 2d

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  masonica

  

  I was a great admirer of the first movie as thankfully Jack Black's overdone comedy stylings were kept to a minimum and the action and story were very polished indeed. The sequel had me a bit worried as the ads for it were very lame and seem to give the impression Jack Black was allowed do his "Thing" thankfully this is not the case and Kung Fu Panda 2 has a story that is as good as the first, the action is almost as good but the set pieces aren't as complex or clever but due to the 3D being the best I've seen, this makes it a worthy sequel that is very close to being as good as the original.

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