Visitors Review

jamiemarks-1 (2012-05-26 17:51)

The power of awesomeness is abundant in this really fun sequel that is superior to its predecessor.

I wasn't a big fan of the first Kung Fu Panda and found it ultimatelyboring though I described it as mildly entertaining. I was persuaded togive Kung Fu Panda 2 a try by my friend and to be honest I was willingto give it a go even though I was quite sceptical. But surprise andbehold this was a really great sequel to the first, which I thoroughlyenjoyed. I felt that much more effort was put into this and a result itis much more entertaining. The story itself was better with more in-depthness about Po's past, the animation was far better visually thenthe first one with the 3D being quite impressive. The action waschoreographed better and more exciting to watch with the voice-overbeing great from the likes of Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, GaryOldman (Shen), Jackie Chan and Seth Rogen. But Jack Black was therevelation as Po who bought even more charm to his character. Howeverfor me Gary Oldman as the voice of Shen the villain Peacock stole thefilm and was superb and made quite a menacing for a kids movie (plusfunny too). Two revelations though that made this sequel a high rating as I gave itof a seven was the fact I came to care more about the characters inthis, particularly Po and the fact the script was much wittier than thefirst with more comedy that was actually really funny at times. Thebest bit for me though being when Black says as Po as he holds his fistup. "My fist hunger's for justice." His stomach then rumbles for hungerand he pauses and says. "That was my fist" had me in fits of laughter.I know I was quite critical of the first one, but I really enjoyednumber two and this is a animation the whole family should enjoy. Iwould happily see this again for enjoyment and hope for the first timethere will be a Kung Fu Panda 3. The Power of Awesomeness wascompletely lacking in number one but slams into drive for Kung Fu Panda2.

omsarmalkar (2012-05-25 21:51)

Kung Fu...' is a return to awesomeness

Jack Black returns as the voice of mighty martial-arts panda Po in'Kung Fu Panda 2', the sequel to that 2008 animated gem. Afterestablishing himself as the Dragon Warrior by vanquishing the evil TaiLung and retrieving the Dragon Scroll in the earlier film, the newadventure involves Po's search for his identity, and his quest forinner peace. He's pitted against an evil peacock named Lord Shen(voiced by Gary Oldman) who killed his parents when he was a baby, andwho is now threatening to conquer China using a fiery canon that willall but end the ancient art of kung fu. Naturally Po's accomplices inthis showdown against Lord Shen are the members of the Furious Five,and much of the fun and inventiveness of this film comes from theteamwork between them. Po himself is the star of the show, and thosewho enjoyed the earlier film will be happy to know there are stillplenty of jokes about Po being fat, lazy and constantly hungry. Infact, the very first time we see him in this film, he's accepted achallenge to stuff 40 buns in his mouth. The action scenes are biggerand better than the last time, and the animation itself is exceptionalin terms of textures and lighting. Flashback sequences unfold in rich,comic-book style, and a climatic sequence in which Po dodges deadlycanon-balls is the most visually arresting set-piece you've seen in ananimation film recently. But 'Kung Fu Panda 2' is also a film withheart. There are touching scenes between Po and his adoptive father,and an important message in the end: that inner peace can be attainedonly by confronting the past, then letting go of it. A very worthysequel to the first film, 'Kung Fu Panda 2' is a treat for animationlovers. I'm going with three-and-a-half out of five for this return toawesomeness!

Jackson Booth-Millard (2012-05-25 00:26)

Kung Fu Panda 2

The first film was a good fun cartoon film, I was told by one or twopeople that the sequel is just as good (and it wouldn't really matterif you hadn't seen the first), so I decided to see it. Basically thefilm starts with the past, seeing the villain Shen the albino peacock(Gary Oldman) wanting to take over with the power of fireworks, andbeing told by The Soothsayer the elderly goat (Michelle Yeoh) that awarrior of black and white will one day defeat him, he obviously knowsshe means a panda, so has them all killed. Then skip forward to thepresent day, Po the tongue-in-cheek giant panda (Jack Black) has nowestablished himself as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley ofPeace alongside the Furious Five: Tigress the South China tiger(Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper(Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross). Master Shifu the red panda (DustinHoffman) tells the hero however he needs to achieve inner peace, andwhile there is an attack by Shen's army of wolves, Po has an unexpectedflashback of his mother, and his Chinese goose father Mr. Ping (JamesHong) admits he found him in a basket of radishes and adopted him.Shifu receives word that Master Thundering Rhino (Titanic's VictorGarber) has been killed, and that Shen has created a powerful cannon todestroy the kung fu tradition and conquer China, so the panda and theFurious Five head for Gongmen City to stop her. They find imprisonedMaster Storming Ox (Dennis Haysbert) and Master Croc (Jean-Claude VanDamme), but they refuse to escape believing the weapon is too powerfuland they will all be defeated, but they do leave, but are captured bythe Wolf Boss (Danny McBride). They are taken to Shen, and breakingfree they destroy the weapon, but Po allows the villain to get awayafter being distracted by another unexpected flashback, so he wants toquestion the peacock about his involvement. Despite being told byTigress to stay behind, Po goes to Shen who tells him that his parentsabandoned him before blasting him with the factory cannon, but he isfound alive by the exiled Soothsayer. She tells the panda hero thestory of what happened in the past, his parents sacrificed him duringthe attacks on all pandas, and his mother placed him in the crate ofradishes. Realising he had a happy life with his adoptive father, Pofinds inner peace at the critical moment when the cannon is going toattack, and the kung fu power destroys it, and Shen ends up killinghimself refusing to give himself up. In the end Po returns to theValley of Peace once again praised by everyone as a hero, and hedeclares his love for his adoptive father like his real one, but thefinal moment of the film sees Po's true biological father (FredTatasciore) sensing that his son is alive. Black once again give a goodvocal performance, Oldman is just as good the villain (even though Ididn't know it was him until the end), and the supporting cast all dogood too, it is pretty much the same quality as the first film, and ofcourse the open ended final scene gives way for another follow up, afun family animated comedy adventure. Worth watching!

Alex Vojacek (2012-05-24 12:23)

Incredible FX and action that cannot match the spirit of the first one.

I am so sorry to disagree with so many people, It seems I wasn'texpecting the same as everybody else here.Kung Fu panda made me cry, there you have it, it was a story filledwith profound teachings about life, Kung-Fu and full of meaning. Themaster turtle and Shi-Fu really made the whole movie shine and the goodand sad moments were truly remarkable, that movie was a dead serioushit for me, it surely wasn't done just for kids, so I was so eager tosee this one.Sadly, Kung-Fu panda 2 returns to the formulaic premise of Hollywoodthese days, our hero doesn't need more training so the lessons arereplace with a very bad villain who doesn't know how to fight and thenrecurs to weapons (not my kind of villain). The tone of the movie is darker than the original, sadly, the mood, theway the movie is made and the way characters develop is it not. It'slike they tried so hard to made it more serious than the first one, butthe excessive action and special effects really contrived the movie toa merely two or three scenes of peaceful nature. There are so few quietmoments that it really feels like "producers and execs" told thewriters, " more fun, more action, more dark" and this is what we got.I really don't know why people loved it, I hated it, not because it's abad movie, because the first one was so deep, and this one so dull.Comparing this one to the first one is like comparing star wars episode5 with episode 1, one is deep, the other is dull.My kids liked it, the increased action will have a positive feedbackfor people that don't have inner peace (clearly the majority of themarket this movie goes for), but, for people that search some deepmeaning to the things that happened on screen, they will better beserved with Kung Fu Panda.Kung-Fu panda 2 excels at action but lacks heart, not giving us masterShi-Fu through the movie was a big mistake and the lack of a masterlike the turtle in the first one was a serious error me thinks.Tai-Lung was a glorious villain, the peacock no, it wasn't scary, itwasn't evil, it was just a resentful guy trying to be bad, also, what'sup with dumbing down our dragon warrior?, after the first one this guywas a real master that defeated a truly difficult villain, in this oneit behaves like a moron the whole movie up until the end?, it justdoesn't fit and it was done purely for jokes and fun and it was forced.So sad that it turned out to be like this.My score 5/10

jg73340-104-460484 (2012-05-24 01:26)

Premise is interesting

****WARNING, SPOILERS **** The new Kung Fu Panda, like its predecessor,may be a cartoon intended primarily for children and teenagers, but itis actually dealing with a fairly controversial historical event; theinvention of gun powder and the impact it had on Asia. Morespecifically, it is discussing how the Europeans took a fairly harmlessinvention (one that was originally intended to amuse people) andchanged it in to a weapon that allowed them to dominate the entireworld. Although "Shen" is a Chinese character in the movie,symbolically I believe he represents the Europeans. His white color andheavy English accent hint at this.The movie portrays the canon (and, ultimately, the gun) as an evilinvention. But this makes little sense. If guns are evil, then so isKung Fu. If a canon is evil, then so is a samurai sword. Most weapons(with the exception of the nuclear bomb) are morally neutral. They canbe used for self-defense, or they can be used for domination and theslaughter of innocent people.What the movie is really lamenting is the fact that the Canon was a farmore effective weapon then any of the martial arts. This was a terrible(and almost unbelievable) shock to Asian culture. The Japanese and theChinese had spent centuries perfecting the martial arts. They thoughtthey were invulnerable and for a time they were. Then, apparently bydumb luck or chance, the Europeans came up with a weapon that renderedthe martial arts useless. As the movie indicated, the invention of gunpowder changed the course of Asian culture forever.

lissy0923 (2012-05-23 11:44)

Po is the bad dragon warrior but he is the best panda in the world!

I liked Kung Fu Panda 2 because it has very nice fight moves, and Iliked seeing Po hit Shen -- I was very happy.Po is very pitiful because his village and world is being destroyed byvillains -- wolf and Shen. The wolf is very hateful because he attacked Po's village; Shen is alsohateful because he told wolf to attack Po's village. Po knows Shen wasresponsible - this is where the story gets good.I think everybody needs to see this movie because Po is very fun andthis movie is very good.This is why Po is a bad dragon warrior but he is the best panda in thewhole world!

jon.h.ochiai (2012-05-22 20:25)

Let It Flow

In "Kung Fu Panda 2" after an exquisite Wushu display, Shifu (voiced byvenerable and irreverent Dustin Hoffman) says to student Po (JackBlack), "Anything is possible, when you have inner peace." This beliesa certain authenticity. The Founder of Aikido said, "True victory isvictory over oneself." At the narrative arc, sage Soothsayer, voicedwith eloquent gravitas by the amazing Michelle Yeoh, instructs the Kungfu Panda Po, "Let it flow." She tells him to let go of his painfulstories of the past. In doing so, he has nothing, and everything ispossible. She reminds Po that all he has is right now, and the rest ofhis life. "Kung Fu Panda 2" is whimsically funny in the unexpectedlytransformational journey.The story by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, and Robert Koo enhances theoriginal "Kung Fu Panda". First time Director Jennifer Yuh Nelsoncaptures the essence of the martial arts path from ingenious angleswithout significance—a smart thing. She seamlessly fuses kung fuchoreography and the spirit of the way in "Kung Fu Panda 2". I did notsee the movie in 3D, though it is visually breathtaking. We see serenemist covered mountain forests, austere castles, and elegantly craftedpagodas.In the movie's preface, Soothsayer (Yeoh) narrates the story of theruling Peacock Clan in ancient China. The heir to the Kingdom is thearrogant Shen (ominously dark and wounded Gary Oldman). Prophesyforetells of his defeat by the Black and White chosen one. In aMachiavellian attempt to alter his fate, Shen orders the genocide ofthe Panda. Abhorred by the bloody actions of their son, Shen's parentsbanish him from the Kingdom. Shen vows vengeance. But has Shen trulyaltered fate? As no surprise and the source of irony in "Kung Fu Panda" Mr. Ping(wise and funny James Hong) reveals to Po that he was adopted,somewhat. Given that Mr. Ping is a goose, not a real "aha" moment. SoPo must discover who he is, physically and spiritually.Since Po became the Dragon Warrior, profoundly getting that there is nogreat secret, he leads the Furious Five against all evil doers.However, Po still seems a bit of a goof, not really the Kung fu Master.This may just be the clumsy charm of Jack Black's embodiment. Strongand slender Tigress (sublimely confident Angelina Jolie) is clearly thepowerful martial artist. She in fact schools Po in her prowess onoccasion. We begin to wonder if, Tigress was really the chosen one, notPo. Jolie is subtle in dialing down Tigress's arrogance and impatiencewith her leader. "Kung Fu Panda 2" works in the compassionatepartnership of Black and Jolie, and the evil force of Oldman as themerciless Shen. Other members of the Furious Five appear relegated tothe background this time around.In this story, Shen has created a massively powerful weapon that mayvanquish Kung fu. So Po must end Shen's path of vengeance anddomination. More importantly, Po must discover who he is and find thepeace within. Yeoh as Soothsayer is impeccable eloquence assuming thehelm for Shifu (Hoffman) as Po's guide in his transformation intomastery. Black is surprising in balancing humility, gravity, andwhimsy. "Kung Fu Panda 2" is hilarious, and state of the art CGIanimation. What really inspire are the performances of Yeoh and Black,in the story of the hero reconciling the world and finding peace. "KungFu Panda 2" gets it right in this noblest of pursuits.

bl-606-352256 (2012-05-22 17:24)

No replay value. Flat, Predictable, and Charmless

Some characters voiced by famous people were barely used (especiallythe snake, monkey, and bird). I didn't see the first movie, but theyjust seemed like baggage that couldn't be cut. I feel bad for DavidCross getting about 3 lines and none of them being comedic. This was anall star voice cast, and it was mostly wasted.There was no emotional build up in the plot or development of thecharacters. It just stumbled through a series of henchmen fight scenes.You knew how the movie was going to turn out in the end. In fact thiswas one of the most predictable movies I have ever seen. Let alone theplot, scenes, and character types we've seen 100 times before, I foundmyself predicting the ends of the characters lines way too many times.There was no charm to this movie. Compare to a Pixar movie, they bothuse clichés, but Pixar films are actually remembered. Nobody in thisfilm really had a developed personality besides Jack Black's character.Visually, the entire film seemed to be colored an ominous red and gray.It made for a very uncomfortable movie as the whole thing looked likeit was over a fire. Compare to Mulan, where there were scenes in thewhite snow or woods. That was visually memorable. Who cares about thegood CG animation, its like buying a 3 year old expensive crayons. Inaddition I was confused by the purpose of a lot of the non-kung fuaction scenes. I felt like I was watching a video game someone else wasplaying. They went on for forever. I was later told this would normallybe in 3D, makes sense. These scenes are time filling garbage.Review was harsh, but honestly they created this for the quick cash soI don't think they care. This has almost no replay value and won't stayin your memory for long. It won't bore you to death or anything, Ididn't have a bad time watching it, but something irks me when theypull movies like these out of a can and I come here to find it has arating of about 8. That's on par with Aladdin/Fantasia and aboveCinderella/Dumbo. Lets be honest, its about a 4.

aka_4200 (2012-05-22 07:28)

Complete Contrast

The first word I can say about this movie is, wow! Now once again Iknow that I enjoy animation movies more than anything but this is oneof my top 5 favorites. Kung Fu Panda 2 when I first saw the trailerlooked like a typical sequel and kind of a corny ending line, "Thiscould be the end of kung fu..." despite the fact that I liked the firstmovie. However, the past tense of my sentence pretty much tells wherethis review is headed, not to mention the stars, but onto the review.I am only going to choose four of the many characters to talk about forunderstandable reasons. Po (Jack Black) obviously going to be the starof the movie has excellently transitioned into the role he played.During the first movie, he was socially awkward and never took kung fuseriously, but in this movie it really makes it feel as if he has beenshown the ropes a little more and he has matured significantly. Forexample he is enjoying himself with the Furious Five rather than tryingto fit in, and he is also more comfortable with his technique, shownduring fighting sequences. Tigress (Angelina Jolie) I feel was a lot more accepting in this movie,which does not necessarily fit her description of the previous movie,but once again maturity comes back into play. On the other hand thoughI feel she is a little too accepting though. I don't know if this wasdeliberate, but she kind of has a relationship with Po unlike any ofthe other members of the Furious Five have. The boat scene is a perfectexample of this because she tries to get Po to open up to her, and forthose who have seen the movie, the jail scene where she gets the truthout of Po. Perhaps Dreamworks did this on purpose, but I guess I willjust have to wait and find out.Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), not really a major character in thismovie, actually he is more of a minor one. Shifu looks like he has ageda lot more and he is trying to feel his inner peace as if his job isnearing completion. Now I added Shifu in here because he did contributeto the movie, as little of it as he was in. Shifu in KFP was a masterto the Furious Five and Po, and only a master, but in KFP2 he is moreof a father figure to them. He gives them the direction that hebelieves is best for them and the valley, and he is no longerintolerant of Po. When Shifu summons Po, Po interrupts Shifu's innerpeace by stumbling and making loud noises, but Shifu just shrugs it offand guides Po to his next phase of training.Now for the final character which made this an excellent movie, Shen(Gary Oldman). Now this character was one of my favorites. In mostanimation movies you can look at the antagonist and he will be able tofit into society and not be a threat unless he/she wants to be, butfrom the very beginning he is just a fearful figure regardless of whathe is trying to do. Shen shows the true antithesis of good by justbeing ruthless, unforgiving, and down right murderous. It does notmatter what is in his way he will destroy it or get his minions to doit. That is one of the excellent things about this franchise, thevillain was truly a villain. Like Tai Lung (Ian MacShane), he wasfeared by the Valley of Peace just by hearing his name, same with thename Shen, it just struck fear into the hearts of the people.These four characters really did add to the movie, but this movie alsohad everything built into it. Not only did it fill the previous holesfrom the first movie, where is Po from? Who are his parents? How didMr. Ping get Po? All of these questions are answered in this movie, itis almost as if this is a prequel-sequel. It is as if the first moviewas a rope with stray ends and the second movie weaved all the endstogether to make it flow perfectly. Normally when I watch a movie I canfind a few things that are just ridiculous, but I brush them off, notin this movie though, it was pure excitement, humor, and enjoymentthroughout the whole thing. If you are debating going to see thismovie, the decision should be to see it, well worth the money and wellworth the time.

Kristine (2012-05-21 19:16)

What the first film should have been, a great animated movie

A couple of years ago during the summer time Kung Fu Panda came out, itwas a cute film with a very predictable story. I liked it over all, butI couldn't get into the voices as much and also the story had been doneto death. The overweight goofy outcast wants to be with the cool group,he finds out he can but doubts himself but gets with the group when hediscovers who he is. The sequel I was thinking I could just wait forthe rental which I did and I have to say that I'm disappointed inmyself that I didn't see it in the theater. Kung Fu Panda 2 is veryoriginal and has some amazing characters as well as some very beautifulanimation.Lord Shen, heir of the peacock clan that ruled Gongmen City in ancientChina, sought to harness the power of fireworks as a weapon with whichto rule the entire country. When he learned from the court's goatsoothsayer that "a warrior of black-and-white" would one day defeathim, Shen assumed she was referring to a panda and exterminated much ofthe panda population to avert the prophecy. Shen's parents werehorrified at this atrocity and exiled Shen, who swore revenge. Thirtyyears later, Po is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protectingthe Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters,the Furious Five, but is told by Master Shifu that he has yet toachieve inner peace. While fighting off a pack of wolf bandits who havebeen stealing refined metal for Lord Shen, Po is distracted by a symbolon the head wolf's armor, which causes Po to have a flashback of hismother and allows the wolves to escape. The group realizes they muststop Shen from taking over China, but there's more to the story of Poand his parents that Shen knows about and it becomes very personal.One of the things I loved about this movie was the villain, Shen. Hewasn't just a typical bad guy who really had no motive to be bad, buthis parents had banned him from his home when they realized that he wasbad. You can see the pain I his eyes when they are mentioned around himand could really understand his pain. Plus the animation on him wasjust beautiful, being a peacock he has some really great weapons withthe knives as feathers. Po, despite Jack Black's voice still being adistraction, was really wonderful in the film as well and gives somegreat laughs. Although there were some moments where I wished theytoned down the slap stick a little bit. There were some moments wheresilence would have worked better to make this a perfect film.While the film has little flaws here and there, this was still aterrific film just on the story alone. The characters are all likableand the message of the film is very beautiful. To find an inner peacewith yourself is very hard, but to let kids know that it's alright tolet go of anger was a wonderful message. I loved the way the characterswere animated and the fight scenes were just exciting and kept you onthe edge of your seat. I would recommend Kung Fu Panda 2, it definitelywas what the first film was missing and was what it should have beenthe first time around. This was a big step up and if they make a thirdfilm going in this direction, I'll be the first in line buying aticket.9/10

bck (2012-05-21 10:35)

An Advancement, An Improvement, so much better

The first Kung Fu Panda (2008) was a bit of a surprise hit that managed to blend various elements together within a fairly kick-ass kung-fu movie. Granted for most Asian viewers, it was truly stuff we had seen before, but the presentation was extremely well executed and the loveable lead character was rather appealing, despite being voiced by Jack Black. His previous foray into animation was the very lacklustre Shark Tale (also from DreamWorks Animation). Suffice to say, hopes were not that high for the initial Panda adventure, but it was a spectacular and entertaining adventure that carefully treaded the cliches without slamming home the morals.This being a sequel, and added with a rather muted publicity (massive lack of posters, and a bunch of trailers that didn't really show anything except more of the same), let's just say that my expectations were not really that high. I wasn't really planning on catching it in 3D, save for the fact that my regular cinema is not showing a 2D version. All I was going on was that I really enjoyed the first movie, and DreamWorks Animation has have been doing really well lately.Questions that may have risen in the first movie get tackled here as we learn of Po's origin - a very familiar one at that - as he and the Furious Five set out to save all of China from the villainous Lord Shen (a very game Gary Oldman) who has created a weapon that, "can stop kung fu." Kudos to writers Jonathan Abibel and Glenn Berger (who also wrote the first movie) for creating yet another villain who is layered and complex enough. Like Tai Lung before, Lord Shen has a past that, one step to the right, could have taken him in an entirely different direction. It's always about the choice we make that can define us.Po's journey also progresses as does Tigress, subtly for the most part (not so much the other four of the Furious Five). Their relationship might prove to be one that will develop in future instalments given two very significant moments within this adventure. There are major subtle moments for character development that are very beautifully handled (could it be thanks to Creative Consultant, Guilermo DelToro?), and the action sequences are even more impressive (if a tad unbelievable, but then again, it's a cartoon and a kung fu movie). The tone of the movie is a little darker than before given the back-story on both Po and Lord Shen, which gives a slightly more tragic air to the adventure. Credit has to be given tot director Jennifer Yuh for wrangling everything together, and keeping Jack Black from over-doing his schtick that made Po a touch annoying before.Behind the scenes, the animation raises the bar for DreamWorks yet again (although PDI isn't credited this time around). The design and colours pop very nicely and they work extremely well with the 3D effects. The rigging engine that handles the character animation seems looser now, so the fight scenes has some real heft to them, giving the stretch and squeeze illusion that is usually seen in traditional hand-drawn animation. There's also a richer atmosphere than before with more locales (interior and exterior) and the greenery look lush (although not quite as lush as in Tangled, then again, different geography). The textures are also very much improved, particularly evident with the wet fur on the characters.The rather rousing and epic score from Hans Zimmer (making up for the rather disappointing Pirates of The Caribbean - On Stranger Tides score) and John Powell expands on the earlier themes very nicely. A fantastic set-piece for the action and music early on in the film takes place during the defence of the Musicians Village. Although, there isn't a piece within the movie that comes close to the beauty of Oogway's ascension in the first movie.In all, this does actually surpass the original, and hopefully, it also set a direction for the rest of the inevitable sequels. If initial reports are right, we have another four Kung Fu Panda movies coming (hopefully they take the cue from the Harry Potter movies that they do not have to remain simply children movies), and given how this ended, I can't wait for the next instalment.

Jin Maruhashi (2012-05-21 04:11)

Knockout sensational

A left hook delivering unstoppable laughter followed by a potentspinning back kick of visually mesmerizing instances combined with afew minor jabs of sentimental profundity topped off with aninsuppressible uppercut of insanely entertaining action sequences sendthis film flying up the list of animation favorites. There is no reasonto believe it fends off the older spectators given its timeless abilityto grapple onto the attention of the adults through the knockoutsensational fighting scenes and amusing jokes, which unlike otheranimated movies, do not hover around an age-specific style. "Kung FuPanda 2" does not forget to shatter the criticism of those viewersexpecting a film containing a moral or some philosophical idea since itoutlines the lesson of finding inner peace within one's life bylearning to coexist harmoniously at present. The viewers themselves,however, could counterattack by arguing that this so-called moral failsto scratch the surface and is trite. Nonetheless, "Kung Fu Panda 2"emerges victorious as it provides a well-rounded source ofentertainment for this summer.

datasysxtreme (2012-05-20 00:53)

1 word! PERFECTION!

No need to waste too much time writing review...This is one amazingmovie with wonderful story, great animation and just like PO andbunch...pure awesomeness! :) All praises to people who created thisfun, emotional, action-delivering movie for kids and adults! Combiningall movie elements on such a scale...this can be made only by the beststudios, best animators, best crews in movie world! My son was amazedand me and my lady quite entertained by every single minute of awesomeKung Fu Panda 2.Best spent money for cinema in last few months ;) SUPPORT MOVIE MAKERS!DON'T DOWNLOAD THIS MOVE...OR IF YOU DOWNLOAD PLEASE GO AND SEE IT INCINEMA FIRST!

tfrizzell (2012-05-19 05:21)

Bruised Knuckles and Feet.

Kung-Fu masters led by the titled character (voiced by Jack Black) mustjoin forces to fight an old enemy (a deranged peacock voiced by GaryOldman) who has created a new weapon which threatens all which is goodand right in animated Asia. Much darker and heavier than itspredecessor, "Kung-Fu Panda 2" feels like it is somewhat forced as themovie gets into flashbacks and chaotic action sequences which sometimesbecome distracting to the warmth and complexities of the key charactersinvolved. A bit on the scary side for really young age groups and notquite as compelling to older viewers, the movie is still successfuloverall but lacks the magic of the first. It also leaves the door openfor more sequels by its finale. 4 stars out of 5.

judy (2012-05-19 00:47)

Not as fun as the first one but OK

I took my grandson to see kung fu panda because I really enjoyed thefirst one. This one unfortunately is not as fun as that one but itpasses. The animation again is stellar and Jack Black again does a goodjob as Po. I am going to disagree with the critics the story iscoherent and both stories (Po's search and the peacock's) do work ifyou are intelligent enough to see it. What I found irritating though isthat it seemed to go on longer than the 90 minutes. I think it wasbecause on like the first one it took too long for the Po to get it.Also the fight scenes were way too long and draw out for me. Yes thekung fu was good but it seemed to go on forever. The movie did redeemitself in the end and that's why I gave it 7/10.

revenge_of_shinobi (2012-05-18 05:31)

Shame shame shame

What a disappointment, I was looking forward to this, the originalbeing one of my favorite animations. This sequel however suffers fromhaving no soul and no comedy. Everything uttered from po's mouth seemscontrived and predictable.the action scenes, although filled withcomplicated fight scenes and gorgeous colors, lack the poetry andcomedy of the original. There is no way of connecting with po in thisfilm, it doesn't seem like he is on a journey you can relate too andthe villain, though voiced well, is incomparable to the villain of thefirst movie.For me its just big disappointment, and its score on IMDb isridiculous.

meeza (2012-05-18 14:46)

Kung Fu Writing! Just for pun kicks!

I Want Pandy!!! So I decided to get my kicks with a "Kung Fu Panda 2"viewing. I was aware that it was a sequel and there is always a "moreof the same" element to sequels. However, I was pandily surprised that"Kung Fun Panda 2" played at more being a prequel than a sequel. DragonWarrior Po (awesomely voiced again by Jack Black) is now on a missionto defend Kung Fu & China with his mates "The Furious Five" against anevil peacock called NBC, I mean Shen. However, within the fightingpandamonium there is also a subplot in the movie of Po trying to searchhis past and figure out who he really is and where he is from. The twoplot lines interconnect in "Kung Fu Panda 2" not just to providenarrative depth to the movie, but to present how one's upbringing is sorelevant to one's survival & also character. "Kung Fu Panda 2" looksbeautiful on screen, and besides the latest computer graphic animationdesign included in the movie there is also "old school" simpleanimation inserted to differentiate the time periods. Director JenniferYuh did a yeoman's job or should I say yuhwoman's job by incorporatingnoble Chinese culture into the narrative, as a love letter to China.However, Yuh did get carried away with too many explosion sequencesthat for the most part bombed. Nevertheless, it is the comedicprotagonist Po that makes the Kung Fu Panda movies work. Po stilldemonstrates that his love for the culinary arts is still his favoritethang! This Panda still loves to munch it down. I just hope we don'tsee an offshoot of his dietary habits in a Part 3 called "Kung PooPanda". Besides Black, Angelina Jolie also nailed it once again withher lipwork as Tigress, 20% of The Furious Five. Gary Oldman playing avillain never gets old, and he does some badass vocal work as Shen thePeacock. Dustin Hoffman just gets in a scene or two this time aroundvoicing Master Shifu, but when Hoffman speaks you better listen "He'stalking here!!". "Kung Fu Panda 2" does not hit on all cylinders, butit is no ancient Chinese secret that it is quite entertaining, mostlydue to its Black comedy! **** Good

utahman1971 (2012-05-17 23:25)

Animations are violent!

If I had kids I would not let them watch most of the cartoons oranimation movies. It has been said a lot that these kind of movies oreven cartoons on TV on Saturday are teaching kids to be violent and bemore of troublemakers. This is why kids bully other kids. This is whywe have terrorists. Sorry, whoever wants to say whatever about this. Iwould keep my kids away. When they are not old enough to know not to dowhat a movie shows, then they should not be watching. Everything is anexample to kids when they are young.Why do they follow their parents when they are young?, because they arethe examples. I got out of watching these things when I was around 8.

Afsal Hussain (2012-05-16 15:47)

Po Is Back With Twice The Punch,Excitement And Action

Kung Fu Panda 2 is undoubtedly the best installment from Dream WorksAnimation.The movie is rich with excellence in all forms,from artfulvisuals to depthful story to eye-catchy 3D effects.Newcomer JenniferYuh has done an appreciable job by making the sequel look better in allaspects,compared to the first.A good round of applause must be givenfor the writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger for creating aback-story about Po's identity and to make it workout so well in thescreen that we will love Po More and more as the story progress.Voices::Jack Black does a fine job to bring-out the emotions of Poexcellently on screen. Angelina Jolie,as Tigress got more role thistime and did appreciable job of conveying the feelings. I also lovedthe lendings by Garry Oldman,Van Damme and Dennis Haysbert.Some +ves::1)Excellent direction skills by Jennifer Yuh.2)3D wasshowcased well.3)Characters were given more emotional depth.4)Somegenuinely hilarious moments which make us jump of the seatslaughing.5)Action sequences were well choreographed.Only -ve which i felt was that the movie seemed lagging at times.On a whole Kung Fu Panda 2 is a worthy(or even better )sequel to KungFu Panda.The movie has more in store for all the sections of theaudience.A highly recommended movie.Must Watch.Ma Rating::9/10

(2012-05-16 10:06)

Awesome! Loved this movie and will probably drag hubby to it. :)

I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. I can't write a verbosereview but I have to do 10 lines to meet guidelines here. To put itsimply, I think this movie may be better than the first, which Ienjoyed. My 9 year old loved it. But to my surprise, my 18 year old whotagged along with us thought it was great too! A tiny bit slow to startor it would have gotten a 10. Within 20 minutes it was hopping. Made melaugh pretty often. Sappy me, had tears in my eyes at the end. Thecolors and animation were a delight. The comic delivery from Jack Blackcame at just the right times. I'm not sure how I'd feel about a 3rdwhich they left the door open for. I think this ended on just the rightnote.