Kung Fu Panda 2
2011
D: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
**********
Pros: Great Villain, Stronger Arc for Protagonist
Cons: Not Enough of Supporting Cast, Disappointing Action
2011 might not have been the strongest year for movies, but it did have a few gems and this was one of them. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a stronger entry than the original and is mostly elevated by its villain, Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). It’s saying something that he’s literally in my top ten. Who’d’ve thought a peacock would have made such a great design for a bad guy?
I enjoy villains who are tortured by their own villainy and feel like they can’t go back on their sins, and Shen is a great example of that. This is also driven by an inflated sense of entitlement based on birthright. When he was young, he was given a prophecy that his reign would be defeated by a “Warrior in Black and White” if he continues his ways and, narrowly assuming this to be a panda, led a genocide against the species, horrifying his parents and warranting an exile. Still feeling entitled to his rule, he eventually came back, to reclaim his throne, using a new invention: cannons. As it turns out, the village of pandas was the childhood home of our hero Po (Jack Black), whose train of life leads him to become the Dragon Warrior who eventually defeats Shen. A classic self-fulfilling prophecy.
What the movie doesn’t mention is that Shen was a relatively weak child who was ignored by his parents. Lonely, he formed a rapport with his lupine henchman (led by Danny McBride), who were already borderline outcasts. Unfortunately, he would backstab them in the movie’s third act in his lust for power. The information reinforces a story that still makes sense without it, and that’s how you do this trope.
Ironically, the only person (besides himself) he cares about is his old family Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh); it seems they had a warm relationship when he was young despite her ominous warnings and attempts to redeem him. Watch Shen’s first meeting with Po when the former impulsively pulls a knife on the latter. You know he does that because Po just casually insulted her. He even allows her to leave him in peace, even though she ends up aiding Po in the end. It’s almost like he subconsciously wants to be defeated. (He even smiles serenely when he realizes he just killed himself.)
Gary Oldman provides a lot of depth to the character, who fits the Evil Brit motif far better than Tai Lung (Ian McShane) did in the previous movie. He’s sophisticated and witty, and has an excellent character design. His fighting style hints at his lack of brute strength; he depends on the use of knives and his tailfeathers as a confusing factor.
Po has a better arc this time. Still, Kung Fu Panda’s primary narrative weakness is still in effect. Po still has power handed to him on a silver platter. In this entry, his goal is to attain inner peace, which apparently translates into deflecting blows. Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) spent some time mastering this. In one scene, he reveals to Po (much to the latter's annoyance) that he overcame his lowest point in life: the day Po was named as the Dragon Warrior. It's frustrating that the movie brazenly ignores Shifu's tragic backstory for the sake of a cheap laugh. I suppose Po’s nomination must added some insult to that, but that insult would mean nothing if not the tragedy it's base on. At least the "Inner Peace" angle has some credibility as something that Po can attain just be choosing to.
Po’s “Villain Killed My Family” backstory is a little more derivative than the way Tai Lung influenced the supporting cast of the previous movie, but it’s well done. As if to apologize for his disturbingly callous execution of the shirtless snow leopard, the sequel features his forgiveness of the man who took everything from him. This forgiveness enables him to attain inner peace, allowing him to neutralize Shen’s weaponry. Shen then symbolically kills himself by accidentally cutting the ropes suspending his cannon over him in an attempt to fight Po after rejecting the latter’s offering of peace. Po finally lives up to his name. The movie ends with a peak at a surviving community of pandas, setting the stage for the decidedly disappointing threequel.
One other complaint I have about this movie is the lack of development of the Furious Five (Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Seth Rogen), even though Tigress has a few moments. This is especially unfortunate since I always found them more likable and interesting than Po himself, who is borderline annoying and clashes a bit with the setting. Viper even has a remarkably OOC moment when she says something needlessly insensitive at Po’s expense. The cast also includes James Hong as Po’s adoptive father, Dennis Haysbert as Master Storming Ox, Jean-Claude Van-Damme as Master Croc, Victor Garber as Master Thundering Rhino, Fred Tatasciore, Lauren Tom, and Conrad Vernon. I kinda like Master Croc’s backstory as a former villain who was defeated and redeemed by Master Thundering Rhino. I always find heroic reptiles refreshing.
The action is a bit disappointing in contrast to the well-edited and well-choreographed fight scenes of the first movie. Kung Fu Panda 2 came out during the height of the 3-D craze, and it shows. There’s a lot of the movie’s just throwing stuff at the viewer’s face. There’s a deceit that Shen’s cannon can destroy Kung Fu, but barring any rifles, that’s irrelevant. Characters still make use of it in CQB, after all. There is one scene in which it’s cleverly utilized, though. Han Zimmer and John Powell’s score is mostly forgettable but has its moments. There must be some kind of term for bland scoring that just serves as action background filler so I can have a name for my pain. The intro is an interesting simulation of a shadow play with Chinese fans.
This movie is not perfect. Its story is solid with a few flaws. However, it did give me one of my all-time favorite villains, and that’s worth at least a 9.
WOLF BOSS: Spread out! Search everywhere!
WOLF: What about over there?
WOLF BOSS: Is “there” part of everywhere?
WOLF: Uh, I guess.
WOLF BOSS: Then search there!
MASTER THUNDERING RHINO: What do you want, Shen?
SHEN: What is rightfully mine: Gongmen City!
MASTER THUNDERING RHINO: Gongmen is under the stewardship of the Council of Masters, and we will protect it. Even from you.
SHEN: I’m so glad you feel that way. Otherwise, I’d have dragged….that all the way here for nothing.
MASTER THUNDERING RHINO: What’s in the box, Shen?
SHEN: You want so see? It’s a gift. It’s your parting gift…in that it will part you. Part of you here…part of you there…an part of you waaay over there…staining the wall.
SHEN: My father’s throne. He used to let me play there beside him, promising me some day this throne would be mine.
[cuts to the throne’s being thrown over the balcony, then to the cannon’s replacing it]
SHEN: A little to the left.
GUARD: But’s it’s so heavy, master.
SHEN: Thirty years I’ve waited for this moment. Everything must be exactly as I envisioned it. And I envisioned it…a little to the left.
PO: I found out that my dad isn’t really my dad.
TIGRESS: Your dad…the goose. …That must have been quite a shock.
PO: Look, I’m going. I have to know. The hardcore can’t understand.
[Tigress pounces toward Po]
VIPER: Tigress, no!
TIGRESS: [hugging Po] The hardcore do understand. But I can’t watch my friend be killed. We’re going?
CRANE: Uh, maybe you can’t watch me be killed?
TIGRESS: Stop being a wimp.
MONKEY: Aaand, she’s back.
PO: Enough of these riddles! Would you guys spill the beans? First, you know, we come in, and the weapon is tiny, surprise, it’s big, and then the lady over here, I think it’s a guy-
[Shen impulsively pulls knife on him]
SHEN: The only reason you are still alive is that I find your stupidity mildly amusing.
SOOTHSAYER: The cup you choose to fill has no bottom. It is time to stop this madness.
SHEN: And why on Earth would I do that?
SOOTHSAYER: So you parents can rest in peace.
SHEN: My parents hated me. Do you understand? They, they wronged me. And I will make it right.
SOOTHSAYER: They loved you. They loved you so much that having to send you away killed them.
SHEN: The dead exist in the past, and I must attend to the future. Set the Soothsayer free. She is of no use to me.
SOOTHSAYER: Goodbye, Shen. I wish you find happiness.
SHEN: Happiness must be taken. And I will take mine.
PO: You’re mine!
WOLF BOSS: I’ll tell you what’s gonna be yours. My fist in your plush, cuddly, super soft face!
TIGRESS: I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and then drinking boiling water.
PO: This is nothing like that plan.
TIGRESS: How?
PO: Because this is gonna work.
SHEN: How did you find peace? I took away your parents! Everything! I scarred you for life!
PO: See, that’s the thing, Shen. Scars heal.
SHEN: No they don’t! Wounds heal!
PO: Oh, yeah. What do scars do? They fade, I guess?
SHEN: I don’t care what scars do!
PO: You should, Shen, You gotta let go of that stuff from the past, because it just doesn’t matter! The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now.
SHEN: You’re right. Then I choose THIS!
[Shen tries to kill Po, but accidentally cuts the ropes holding his cannon up and is crushed by it]
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