Kung Fu Panda 3 Review

We are following the continuing adventures of Po (Jack Black), a clumsy panda who becomes an unlikely kung fu warrior.

Kung Fu Panda 3 makes a lot of strides in the further development of Po as a character and a protagonist, but there is a significant downside that comes as a result – specifically a lackluster use of the fantastic ensemble that has helped perpetuate the series over all these years and has provided some of the three movies best moments. However, Hans Zimmer’s musical score is catchy, and directors Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh Nelson find cuteness in new places this time, particularly Po’s equally childish father and the other pandas they encounter. It is there that Po graduates from student to teacher as he has to prepare this troupe of ill-prepared pandas to become warriors in the cause against the villainous Kai (J.K. Simmons), who has been sweeping across the Orient defeating kung fu masters.

Now, massively energized, Kai’s headed to Earth to extract the chi from the Furious Five and, ultimately, Po. Why Kate Hudson voices a nondescript character named Mei Mei is beyond me. In “Kung Fu Panda 3”, Mr. Ping and Li Shan, Po’s biological father, play much more significant roles. This is a visually stunning picture, a rhapsody of saturated color and contrasting texture, from the painstaking detail of coarse panda fur to the painterly dreamscape that is the spirit world.

At this point, you know what to expect from a Kung Fu Panda movie. But when Po attempts to train his friends, a.k.a. the Furious Five – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross) – he proves not quite ready for prime time.

Kung Fu Panda 3 wraps up the finest animation trilogy ever that isn’t about toys. Although the “Kung Fu Panda” series may get a bit repetitive in exploring this timeworn theme, it also creatively mixes it with plenty of humor and tidbits of Eastern philosophy. There are some scattered laughs amid all the action – due in large part to Black’s infectious enthusiasm – yet Po’s emotional journey of family bonding and self-discovery seems like a formulaic time-waster in preparation for the obligatory final showdown.

Timing is a crucial factor in the film’s success.

Boasting ample doses of heart and wit, along with surprisingly striking visuals, “Kung Fu Panda 3” smashes through the January doldrums at the movie theater with the force of a warrior’s fist through a wooden board. It is hilarious of course, but also spirited in every way. However, the message that stands out in my mind is when Shifu tells Po: “If you only do what you can you will only be what you are”. You look like me, but you’re old!

If the music – once again by Hans Zimmer, without John Powell – reminds you of Elmer Bernstein’s iconic score for “The Magnificent Seven”, another American action film with Asian roots, as it did me, wait, the third act is nearly a complete lift of that John Sturges 1960 classic. This development triggers a bout of anxious peevishness in his adoptive pop, the goose Mr. Ping (James Hong). At times, “Kung Fu Panda 3” feels like watching a 95-minute movie trailer.