The ultimate proof that movie franchises need to learn when it’s time to quit is recently released “Kung Fu Panda 4.” It was disappointing to say the least. Releasing on March 8, eight years after “Kung Fu Panda 3” the movie was highly anticipated by fans of the beloved series. Unfortunately the movie was one disaster after the next. As a long time fan of the franchise, I believe this movie’s fans are limited only to children who have never experienced the joy of watching the first three.
My biggest issue with the film was the erasure of the iconic Furious 5. While Po (Jack Black) is the main character, the Furious 5 made the franchise what it was. Had the addition of Po’s newest sidekick, Zhen (Awkwafina), successfully filled their place as a designated lovable side character, I could have gotten over the absence, but that was not the case. To put it bluntly, I found the way the character Zhen was written and portrayed unlikable and annoying. While I can acknowledge it is a kid’s movie so annoying characters are kind of a given, but Zhen was unbearable in a way none of the other characters could make up for.
Additionally, the writing in this movie was terrible. The whole thing felt like it was written by AI. Most importantly, the jokes just weren’t funny. Nobody laughed in my movie theater throughout the movie–kids and adults alike. Secondly, the whole script felt like it was written with no emotion even the scenes that were supposed to be emotional felt flat to me.
My last major issue with the movie was it was not entertaining. The movie was, simply put, exruchiatingly boring. The villian was bad, which is unusual for the franchise and made the movie feel pointless. The plot was dry and unexciting. Overall, the movie some how managed to make me feel nothing the whole time.
The franchise should have ended if not after the second definitely after the third. This movie was a disgrace to Kung Fu Panda’s legacy and should be taken as proof to other movie producers that if you can’t do a movie right it is better to not do it at all.
