Rated PG for sequences of martial arts action and mild violence
Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Most sequels aim to recreate. Embrace the familiar. "Panda 2" views itself as more of a stand alone pic and works from the ground up. The original centered around the most unlikely of Kung Fu apprentices... a clumsy panda whose love for martial arts was little match for his perpetual need for whatever provender was within arm's reach. We laughed at his antics until we rooted for his success. Here, the movie must strive harder to make us care for its protagonist more, and the filmmakers demonstrate they're up to the task.
When we first see Po (Jack Black), he is taking a break from his training, betting his fellow warriors on how many wontons he can jam into his mouth at once. (I think it ended up being forty.) He is surrounded by the same team from the first movie... Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross). Po's next step in his training, as taught by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), is to learn to harness inner peace. This is a tough assignment for Po, as even the slightest drop of rain can distract him. His need for peace, however, intensifies as he begins to experience memories of being abandoned by his parents. The flashes are no more than snippets; he can't quite piece together the truth.
The theme of abandonment spreads to both ends of the story's central conflict, as both the hero and the villain battle strikingly similar inner-demons. The antagonist is the blade-wielding peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) who has come to believe that happiness must be taken rather than felt. After being banned from China years ago, he has now returned to rule, armed with a cannon-like weapon with the power to stamp out the very essence of Kung Fu. The heroes venture out on a mission to stop Shen, even as Po's inability to remember hampers his ability to fight. With the help of a kind soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh), he pieces together his origins.
You can sort of tell early on when a sequel lacks ambition. I never got that feeling here. The look of the film is terrific; the animation rich and textured... this is a movie begging to be seen in glorious and sharp standard 2D. (3D is a disservice to both audiences and the filmmakers.) When showing the memory flashes of both Po and Shen, the film converts to hand-drawn animation, which adds a touch of nuance to the story. The film offers us a few impressive action scenes as well, including a breakneck rickshaw chase along the rickety catwalks high above the city, and a virtuoso sequence where the heroes catapult themselves up a tower one floor at a time as the structure itself comes crashing down.
Empathy and action embody a more prominent role here than the humor, yet the film does contain its share of zingers. In a somewhat refreshing twist, the laughs come from dauntless exuberance rather than pointed mockery. (My favorite moment came as Po and his team all leap to attack the enemy. Po glances to both sides, sees his comrades frozen in a display of unbridled courage set against a starry, firework-decorated sky, then unleashes a low-pitched, drawn out, guttural "I lllooooovvvvveee yyooouu guuyyyyys!")
The director is Jennifer Yuh. The screenplay is by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. They, along with a vast assortment of gifted animators have created what turned out to be more than a mere pleasant distraction from day-to-day life. It made me grateful. Here is a movie that could have simply sat back, re-told the original plot and made tons of money. Profits are a given, yet the filmmakers wanted to give us more. They wanted us to care. The end result is a movie that is fast-paced, funny, adventurous, and surprisingly heartfelt. It all leads to the movie's final shot; one that crystallizes its own confidence. I'm already looking forward to "Panda 3."
* * * 1/2 out of * * * * stars
