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Download, Watch online Kung Fu Panda 2 Movie.
| Genres: | ActionComedyAdvent |
| Starring: | Dennis Haysbert, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Lucy Liu, Jack Black, Mike Bell, Jean-Claude Van Damme |
| Director(s): | Jennifer Yuh |
| Country: | USA |
| Year: | 2011 |
| IMDB Rating: | 7.4 |
Po joins forces with a group of new kung-fu masters to take on an old enemy with a deadly new weapon.
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Kung Fu Panda 2 (DivX) | Resolution: 640x272 px | Total Size: 700 Mb |
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Movie Photos: We have taken some photos of "Kung Fu Panda 2". They represent actual movie quality.
Visitor Reviews: (20)
matttheshadowman 17 May 2012
A much deeper film than the original
Kung Fu Panda was released in 2008 and marked a dramatic shift in focusfor Dreamworks Animation. The pop culture and childish humour of thelikes of Shrek, Shark Tale and Over The Hedge was replaced with a moremeasured approach that while still had some childish humour wasconsiderably more intelligent and deeper than most of Dreamwork's otherfilms. The first film was a turning point I believe for the company inmaking animations that the industry could take more seriously. Thenlast year How To Train Your Dragon appeared at cinemas and I will admitthat I preferred it to Toy Story 3 (probably the first time I can trulysay I have enjoyed a Dreamworks feature more than one by Pixar). How ToTrain Your Dragon was deep, well-written but also fun, enjoyable towatch and all the childish humour had gone. It didn't talk down or sinklow to entertain children just like most of Pixar's films. Theanimation was beautiful to behold and the music provided by John Powellwas incredible using a mostly orchestral score with the visuals takingyou on a fantastic journey as a young boy becomes a man in a way thatonly he can in bonding with an elusive dragon. It set a new standardfor Dreamworks with the only other film I enjoyed as much was theco-production with Aardman on Wallice & Gromit: The Curse of theWare-Rabbit.So onto 2011 and the sequel to Kung Fu Panda. The second film wasentrusted to a female director (the first such female to direct a bigbudget CGI film). Jennifer Yuh Nelson who had was the head of story onthe first film was given the opportunity to direct the second. Thestory is even deeper and much darker than the original with Po (JackBlack), now the Dragon Warrior, being tasked by his Master Shifu(Dustin Hoffman) to find inner peace in his next stage of training.This will be much more difficult for Po then he realises as during afight with wolves he has a vision of his real mum as a baby. This ofcourse causes him to speak to his 'dad' Mr Ping (James Hong),who beinga goose was never Po's real father, to tell him where he came from.However Mr Ping only knows of how he found him and it's the journey Potakes to find who he is and to help stop a new evil, Lord Shen (GaryOldman) , from using a new weapon from destroying kung fu and takingover all of China that he will have to take on to find inner peace.Travelling with the Furious Five, Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (SethRogen), Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan) and Tigress (AngelinaJolie), Po journeys on an adventure where he has many physical andpersonal demons to face. I will not spoil the plot too much more butthe film tells a story that has been told before but in a very polishedand intelligent way that children and adults alike will enjoy. Thedarker edge to film may well be the work of executive producerGuillermo del Toro whose work such as the Hellboy films may not seem tofit in with family entertainment but it gives this film the edge itreally needed.The story may be fairly traditional but the animation is trulyspectacular to behold. Using more traditional styles of animation mixedin with the CGI worked very well for the first film but here the levelof detail and mix of the styles with the dream sequences with real lifeare some the most artistic work American animation has ever done. The3D is also used to great effect as well given the film an extra layerto the animation that Dreamworks seems to really be able to masterperhaps more than any other animation company (yes, including Pixar).The music provided by Hans Zimmer and John Powell helps to immerse youfurther into this Oriental world. Using cues from what he had achievedwith How To Train Your Dragon Powell uses again an orchestral scorethat gives the film an epic sense of scale and really the music neversets a foot wrong.The voice actors seem to of come of age too with Jack Black as Poreally toning down the silliness that he had from the first film butwithout losing the fun and lovableness that the character had in thefirst place. It is a shame however that the Furious Five still had totake a back seat again in the film with Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan havingbarely a dozen or so lines between them. There is an exception to thisand that is Tigress who Angelina Jolie really brings the character tothe fore. Michelle Yeoh as the Soothsayer brings a strong performancetoo. However it is Gary Oldman as Lord Shen who steals the show as themain villain and who was probably the only person to make a peacock asscary and menacing as possible.Without any shadow of doubt this is a must see film for fans of theoriginal but not only that anyone who enjoys a great film will enjoythis film. It has set a new standard again for Dreamworks and we canonly hope that with Del Torro's influence that Puss in Boots doesn'tend up as bad as I fear it may be. That is for the future and, as thefilm says, the most important time is now and I would recommend anyoneto watch Kung Fu Panda 2. Funny, clever and with a well rounded storyDreamworks has set the bar pretty high for Pixar to beat with Cars 2.
Dallinschmidt89 16 May 2012
I love Kung Fu!!!
Star Wars. X-Men. Indiana Jones. Lord of the Rings. Kung Fu Panda. Whatdo all these things have in common? Well probably a lot of things,actually. But here is my point. All of the first films in thesefranchises were good, if not great, films. But it doesn't end there.Also, in all of these films, the actors came back, having grown intotheir characters, and delivered a second film that was not only up topar with the first, but also delivered something extra. Story andemotion. In all of these film franchises, the second film carries apowerful message, and strong emotion. Luke and Vader's relationshipbecomes clear. Wolverine learns of his past. Indy has his life saved bythe least likely person imaginable. A small army of men put their livesliterally on the line at Helm's Deep to fight the forces of evil.Kung Fu Panda 2 is no different. I love Kung Fu Panda. It is one of myfavourite films. So I was excited and nervous for the secondinstalment.With the 3 year break between 1 and 2, Po has become a much moretalented Kung Fu warrior. He can actually fight now! The Furious Five +Po fight together as a group, really for the first time in this film.They set out to stop Lord Shen from destroying the world of Kung Fu,along with all it's Masters.Along the way, in order to find Inner Peace, Po must face his past,learn about himself, and his real parents, and decide who he really is.Is he just a Panda? Or is he the last Panda, who's destiny it is tosave China, so that he can go home and cook some noodles? I thoughtthat the villain in this film, the Peacock Lord Shen, was a greatchoice. Gary Oldman did a superb job bringing this character to life. Ieven thought he was a little scary. He had this really creepy feelabout him, that, coupled with his apparent heartlessness, made him aforce to be reckoned with, and a bad guy to be remembered.A lot more focus is also put on the returning characters, minus MasterShifu. He is somewhat absent for most of the film, but returns when heis most needed. I would say that the dialogue that the Furious Five hadin the first film, is almost doubled, if not more, in the second film.The new cast for this film is great. Star studded, but not over thetop. This is a great film. I loved it. And just like all of thepreviously mentioned film series', I can not wait to see what the thirdKung Fu Panda will bring to us. And there will be a third. Ski-doosh.
anshu_martin 14 May 2012
waste of money....
I could not enjoy this movie at all. In the first movie, every nextscene came with its own surprise, fun and adventure. But in thissequel, many a times things did not make any sense. On one hand, Pandadefeats the enemies with his super kung fu and on other hand, he cannotgive a single punch to the tigress. I think it was a failed attempt tomake Panda funny, which ended up making him look rather stupid.I went to the movie with great excitement. Only 3 people including meshowed up for this movie. I wish I had not spent money on this. I amgiving it 6 stars for the few funny scenes it had and overall work doneto make this movie.
claragarciab 14 May 2012
Visually stunning!
Oh, it's so on. After a less than spectacular beginning to animationand still having the occasional misstep, Dreamworks has put themselvesin direct competition with Pixar. While Fox Animation Studios continuesto be unsuccessful in their attempts, and with Blue Sky Studios beingeven worse (they insist on hanging onto the irksome Ice Age franchise),Dreamworks animation has put itself on pace to being nearly as good asPixar. Kung Fu Panda 2 is just the latest in a string of great movies fromthis production studio. With Jack Black leading the cast as Po, theKung Fu Panda, it was going to be, at the very least, entertaining.It's also proof that a writing "team," as it were, can do a great job.Most cartoons do this with great success. Primary writers Aibel andBerger are also responsible for the Alvin And The Chipmunks stories, soperhaps it's even better they have consultants in the matter. The character development was top notch. They could have chosen, asplenty do, to keep things status quo, but instead, we area treated to aprogression of the characters, and even a look at things to come,should there be another sequel. The characters were likable, as in thefirst. It allowed for an attachment, and therefore an investment inthem, particularly Po, his father, and Master Shifu. They also did agood job in making the villain, Lord Shen, loathsome. Jack Black had much to do with the success of Po. His Shtick can becometiresome in live action movies, but in Kung Fu Panda 2 he brings Po tolife. He gives Po a connection with the audience that few maincharacters in movies do. The rest of the cast is magnificent as well. Dustin Hoffman didn't havethe same screen-time as in the first, but he has a good voice that putsMaster Shifu in the spotlight when he's on screen. David Cross and SethRogen and also have talent voicing characters. Gary Oldman lends hisvillainy voice. He is rapidly gaining experience in voicing, now evendoing video games. Director Jennifer Yuh has nearly 2 decades of animation experience ineverything from TV to feature films. Her work in Kung Fu Panda 2 ismeritorious. She worked on Kung Fu Panda as well, winning awards forstoryboarding. I'm not sure how involved Guillermo Del Toro was, butI'd bet he had at least a small amount of input. I don't watch 3-D movies much anymore, but the 3-D in Kung Fu Panda 2is supposed to be the best so far. Either way, it's a superb movie anda sequel that can arguable be better than the first.Visually stunning in 3D, strong cast and a good story about Po findinghis true identity. More action than the previous one.
gregeichelberger 13 May 2012
Finally, a worthy sequel
A day after viewing the debacle that was "The Hangover, Part II," I wasable to see an example of how a sequel should really be made. Now, Iknow enough not to compare live action films to animated ones, but thefact remains that movie fell flat while "Kung Fu Panda 2" was asurprisingly pleasant experience.Following its 2008 predecessor, which became one of the year's sleeperhits, this version keeps the same vocal talent in tact and even addsGary Oldman ("JFK," "Dark Knight") as the voice of a violent, despoticpeacock (yep, that's right).Leading the cast is the irrepressible Jack Black as Po, the moronic,clumsy, gluttonous panda bear who overcomes all to become the animalkingdom's most unlikely kung fu master. Also joining in on the fun isthe Furious Five, Angelina Jolie (Tigress), Seth Rogen (Mantis), DavidCross (Crane), Jackie Chan (Monkey) and Lucy Liu (Viper), as well asDustin Hoffman (as the spiritual leader, the Yoda-like Shifu).This group of martial arts junior justice league all-stars is calledtogether again after part one to save the entire country of Cathay(China for the uninitiated) against Lord Shen (Oldman), who leads avicious pack of wolves and has invented artillery.Plus, Shen is guilty of a horrible act of genocide, turning this into"Kung Fu Panda" meets "The Lord of War" meets "The 10 Commandments." Wealso learn a bit about Po's origins, while there are some genuinelytouching and funny moments with Po's adopted father, Mr. Ping thenoodle-cooking goose (James Wong).The conflict begins when Shen and his minions crank up the war machine,building cannons and ships to take over a country that is stillapparently peaceful and bucolic. Only the Furious Five can stop thisevil plan, but the odds are stacked against them.Meanwhile, Shifu attempts to teach Po the meaning of inner peace with aclassic scene in which Hoffman intones, "When you became a DragonMaster, it was the worst day of my life. No, I mean it was the absoluteworst day." Black's mournful, "Okay, I get it," is the perfect retort.Putting aside some major disbelief of a peacock ruling over wolves(whom in "real" life would have just eaten the bird and got it overwith), as well as the chemistry between Po and his super hero friendsbeing almost non-existent, I still have to give a big thumbs up to thiseffort.The children will no doubt love the colorful animals - especially thecuddly panda sequences, while the adults will relish the manyone-liners, many coming from the Po-Mr. Ping relationship.My mistrust of sequels was only exacerbated with the release of thesecond "Hangover;" thank goodness my faith was - somewhat - restoredjust one day later.
loccomotive2000 13 May 2012
Kung Fu and Animation return in style.
KUNG FU PANDA 2 marks the return of Po and the Furious Five as theyembark on a new adventure to stop a weapon so powerful it threatens thevery existence of kung fu itself. Now the Dragon Warrior, Po is taskedwith the responsibility of destroying this weapon, before the evil LordShen uses it to conquer all of China. The first KFP was a pleasant and heart-warming surprise for mostpeople, myself among them. To see the film actually respecting theculture they are portraying, and imbue it with multiple levels ofphilosophy while remaining hilarious and kid-friendly, is a dream cometrue in this age of trashy movies where money comes before quality andeverything else. KFP 2 retains that sincerity, and delves even deeperinto the little profound life messages that surpasses it's predecessorin every way.Po is now enjoying his new life as a hero and a kung fu master, but issuddenly faced with the mystery of his dark past, and must deal withhis inner demons as the truth slowly unravels. This leads to thecharacter being far more emotive than in the last outing that affectsthose around him as well, giving this sequel a tone that is far lessbright than it's predecessor. It offers the film a more emotional sideas Po's investigation of his heritage and his new hero role causesripples in his relationship with his Dad, and the father-sonrelationship serves as a powerful core to Po's inner conflict. Hisopponent this time, the albino peacock Shen, also contains far morecharacter depth than Tai Lung in the first movie, and his ambitionsmore sinister and larger in scale. Both creatures of black and whitecompliment each other perfectly as the paths they choose are destinedto meet and determine their eventual fate.The references to Chinese culture and old kung fu movies are there yetagain, with the dumpling fight in the original film succeeded by aterrific battle with Chinese musical instruments, playing to orientalmusic that evokes a vibe of several movies, Zhang Yimou's Hero amongthem. The action is fantastic with the Five having their distinctivestyles, while Shen's thin limbs, sharp weapons and ferociousfeather-blades come in stark contrast with Po's free flowing,soft-over-hard Tai Chi style.As mentioned, the philosophical content, which I had previously fearedwould be toned down, gets full blown instead with many layers slid in.Po embarks on a quest to find inner peace, to create harmony withinhimself and "let things flow", as it is revealed that only when one'sheart is unclouded with doubt and grudges can one tap into his or herhidden potential and, most importantly, attain true happiness. That isthe main powerful message of the film and it is so brilliant in it'ssimple logic that makes it accessible to all races and religions. Thereare tons of other references to the theory of yin and yang throughoutthe movie that made me gasp and impressed with how much work the makersof the film have put in yet again.Kung Fu Panda 2, as expected and anticipated, is touching, full ofheart, awe-inspiring at times, hilarious in others, and constantlyfilled with meaning. It is a film that can entertain and capture achild's imagination, but also tug the heartstrings of adults and givethem something joyous to think about when the credits roll. And it mademy fist hungry for justice.
bck 12 May 2012
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.
artistgp 12 May 2012
Surprisingly Excellent
I was quite surprised to watch this film and discover that it was fullof hidden jewels. There was some very interesting "camera work" as wellas various nice montages though out the film. There was also a verynice mix of different styles of animation. The paper cut out puppetsegments of the film were wonderful.That being said, my favorite part of the film was the relationshipbetween the lead character and his father. For an animated film theytruly tugged on the heart strings. I must also add that the subtleacting in the faces of the characters was incredibly well done by theanimators.You should definitely check out this film if you're even the least bitcurious.
tomgillespie2002 11 May 2012
Affectionate and frequently funny follow-up
And so the battle between Pixar and Dreamworks rages on. Dreamworkshave been somewhat in the shadow of it's rival in the recent years,only managing average output such as Shark Tale, Over The Hedge andMadagascar, while Pixar have been formidable with the likes of TheIncredibles, the Toy Story trilogy, and WALL-E, all of which couldeasily be called masterpieces. But Dreamworks had something up it's ownsleeve back in 2008 with the extremely funny and enjoyable Kung FuPanda, which was a huge success for the studio. And three years on, themore-than-welcome sequel arrives, and it's really rather good.After establishing himself as the Dragon Warrior in the first film, Po(Jack Black) heads the Furious Five, consisting of Tigress (AngelinaJolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) andCrane (David Cross). All is well, as the powerful group easily disposeof any potential threat to the realm, under the watchful eye of Shifu(Dustin Hoffman). Po is seeking out answers to his birth, when herealises that his father Mr. Ping (James Hong) couldn't possibly be hisbiological parent, what with being a goose and all. But there is a newthreat in town, and he is in the form of peacock Shen (Gary Oldman),who is stealing all the scrap metal he can to aid his new powerfulweapon, which could see the end of Po and kung-fu.The thing that appealed most about the first film was it's genuineaffection for kung-fu and China. It used Chinese-style animation in onesequence, and some traditional drawing in the end credits. Plus theaction scenes were better than the majority of real-life action films,combining thrilling action with slapstick comedy to good effect. Here,they've changed into second gear, and the action is twice as ambitious,and twice as impressive. The epic climax sees many kung-fu warriors,including our heroes battle Shen's army, and I've not been as excitedwhile watching an action scene since the hotel corridor scene inInception. And in showing Po's childhood, they've created anotherbeautifully drawn sequence that uses China's traditional paintings asits influence.Thankfully, the sequel is not a mere re-tread of the original. The fatjokes are kept to a minimum, the scope is expanded, and they'vedeveloped Po's story in revealing his childhood. One of the main thingsthat concerned me was that it may miss Ian McShane, who for me stolethe first film as the menacing Tai Lung. But in Gary Oldman, they'vecreated a different sort of villain. Just as menacing as Tai Lung, heis not half the warrior, but he possesses something that Po and theFurious Five may be helpless against - a big gun.Not quite as good as the original - it lacks the freshness and under-uses Dustin Hoffman's kung-fu master - but a more than worthyfollow-up. It even manages to make Jack Black likable, who after yearsof playing the same character in s**t films (not including The Schoolof Rock), wears me down. And the sheer number of talented actors thathave been brought in (apart from the already mentioned, there's alsoJean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Haysbert, Danny McBride and MichelleYeoh) shows that the film is puffing it's chest out at Pixar. I'll belooking forward to the inevitable third instalment, and hoping it cancarry on impressing.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
Movie_Muse_Reviews 11 May 2012
Less clever and funny, but a visual improvement and contains the same heart
Animated sequels have yet to disprove that timeless adage about moviesequels, but they're giving it a real go. DreamWorks Animation hasn'talways gotten the formula right (the "Shrek" movies got worse andworse), but even "Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa" had entertainment tooffer. "Kung Fu Panda 2" marks the studio's third try at extending afranchise, and from a production quality standpoint its their besteffort to do so.No, "Kung Fu Panda 2" doesn't outdo the original, especially not interms of humor, but it improves on the visual mastery of the first,which was strong to begin with. The action sequences in particularstill have no rival to this series. Director Jennifer Yuh stays true tothe winning combination of action, character development and heart thatmade the 2008 original a success.The story works well, but its predictability holds the film back. Theoriginal offered a lot of surprises in telling the story of a fat andlazy panda who learned he could be great if he put his mind to it. Inthis movie, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tasks Po (Jack Black) withanother seemingly impossible mission, one in which the film's narratedintroduction sequence already foreshadows his success. Sure, kids won'tknow the difference, but it zaps the film of any excitement for therest of us.The story takes Po, the now infamous Dragon Warrior, to Gongman City,where the three kung fu masters that protect the city have been oustedby the villainous peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). Shen was exiled byhis parents  who once ruled China  because he had a fondness forturning fireworks into dangerous projectiles. Years later, he usesthese cannons to uphold his new reign, because not even kung fu canstop them. We'll see about that.The strong voice cast returns for the sequel and delivers. Black hassimply become Po at this point he does it so well, and characters suchas Tigress (Angelina Jolie) and Po's father Mr. Ping (James Hong) getmore of a spotlight, albeit at the expense of everyone else. Oldmanmakes a terrific addition as the cocky peacock; he demonstrates somelovely dashes of insanity and Shen's facial expressions match itperfectly.On all accounts, the production value of this series has gone up inthis installment. The film moves at a good clip and the actionsequences have no shortage of wowing moments. Shen's fighting style issomething to behold and the storyboarding of the film's first sequencewhen the Furious Five defend their home from Shen's wolves does notlack for ingenuity to say the least.Also at work in the film is a subplot involving where Po came from, asone must imagine he is not literally the son of a noodle-cooking goose.The answer to this mystery becomes clear from the moment the questionsurfaces. All the other aspects of the movie satisfy, but Jonathan Aibel andGlenn Berger's story possesses no creative energy. The choice to gowith it was safe. Rather than venture too outside the box, "Kung FuPanda 2" takes the cookie-cutter route. It looks good and it is good,but it doesn't meet the standard raised by its predecessor. Fortunatelyits dedication to character and heart make it stand taller than youraverage CGI-animated effort.~Steven CThanks for reading! Check out my site, moviemusereviews.com
capone666 10 May 2012
The Vidiot Reviews...
Kung Fu Panda 2Being on the endangered species list is a good indicator of howsuccessful your species is at martial arts.That is why the giant panda in this animated movie must be some sort ofanomaly.When Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), a malevolent peacock, learns from amystic (Michelle Yeoh) that a panda will overthrow him, he orders therace's annihilation.Years later, Shen's shocked to discover a panda, Po (Jack Black),survived the genocide to become a Kung Fu Dragon Master.Welding a cannon, Shen sets out to conquer China and destroy Po and hisFurious Five (Seth Rogen, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, David Cross,Lucy Liu).An ominous origin tale, Kung Fu Panda 2 delivers equivalent slapstickaction to the first, but with a new level of story complexity.Besides, why waste your time decimating the panda population, whentheir lack of sex-drive will do the job for you? (Green Light)
atakyle 09 May 2012
Better than the first, but that's not saying much.
I have mixed feelings for this film. A part of me thinks it was afairly decent family film, but another part of me thinks that this wasunfunny and mediocre.First of all, the characters are very poorly developed (besides Po).Tigress only has a few lines in this sequel, Viper only has 3 or 4lines, and Mantis barely speaks at all. Also, about 3/4 through themovie, we're introduced to 2 new characters named Master Croc andMaster Rhino. What? Who are these guys. Then, Po says "(gasps) It'sMaster Croc and Master Rhino! One of the greatest martial artists ofall time!". They don't get very much of a backstory. Master Croc andMaster Rhino just randomly show up. Secondly, what kind of bothers me alittle is that everyone keeps saying "Becuase of Shen (the villain),kung fu is DEAD, man." What?! That doesn't make any sense! Don't theyknow that they can pass it on from generation to generation?! Lastly,*SPOILER ALERT* Shen's "secret weapon" is a CANNON. Seriously? Youcouldn't come up with a more threatening and more frightening weapon?Honestly, why can't you just demolish it by going all Kung Fu on it? Imean, Po and everyone else had the chance to do so when they werestanding next to it, but they didn't!Also, the action scenes are just ridiculous. I mean, since when doesMartial Arts gives you the power to roll a drop of water around yourhand and throw back a cannonball after it is thrown to you? Also, whenthe characters fight the bad guys, they go super fast and then theystart fighting someone else, and then someone else, and then someoneelse! It makes me very dizzy, and most of the time, I can't tell what'sgoing on!Thirdly, the jokes really aren't that funny. Some kids were laughingtheir heads off, but everyone else around 12 and above didn't evenchuckle at this movie.The thing that really bothers me is that Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2 is givingeveryone the wrong idea. Martial Arts isn't all about the punching andkicking, it's about learning courage, perseverance, self-control,honor, and friendship and giving it to others, and this series does aTERRIBLE job at delivering that message!Overall, it's a good movie for kids, but for everyone else, you may notlike it.
Praveen Kumar 09 May 2012
Awesome but not as much as the first part.
When I watched the first movie it immediately became one of my favoriteso I was both excited as well as afraid of watching the second partcause it could have spoiled the original one for me. Thanks todreamworks it didn't and i laughed my heart out watching it.If I count the good things about the movie the list never ends it hasexcellent cast, amazing action, awesome humor,some real cute andemotional part, not to mention the best 3D effects i have ever seen(youwill never realize that the movie is played on a 2-D screen) but thereal gem was the rich comic style animation that is used to depicts thepast.Having said all that I will still have to say that I liked the firstmovie more for the story line and character builds because I define howgood a movie is not by how much I liked the first time but by whetherthis movie is forcing me to watch it again or not. may be it is mypersonal bias towards the character build because I like batman beginsmore than the dark knight but I always wanted a bit stronger story andsome element of surprise which the movie denied right in the beginning.all in all its a movie not to be missed by any animation lover in factthis movie will force some non animation fans to start liking it.
troy-manatunga 09 May 2012
A journey with a deeper matter for Po, would you join him?
Since the past few weeks, there has been quite a lot sequels popping upin the box office with a large number of mixed feedback from all fans.Most of the jibber jabber can be just thrown out of the window sincemost "FAILED SEQUELS" are at present bringing in the big bucks at thebox office. "Kung Fu Panda 2" is an original. Entirely different plotgoes a wee bit sinister I would say. The mild violence works. I recalljust being 12 and watching "The Lion King" and I loved it when thehyenas were torn to shreds by Simba. Well that was on good old VHS andthis time it's in 3D. Po and his friends are entrusted on a task tosave Kung Fu from being wiped off the face of the earth by the EvilPeacock Shen. Shen who has daddy issues has built a new weapon, whichis no match for Kung Fu, or so he thinks until our famous panda warriorgoes soul searching for inner peace. Heartwarming it was not, as it were in 2008. It was more on the sidesof slick action and an immense amount of war. This took the movie to anall new level and it took the movie away from temple and noodle shop.This works at times. But I believe the winner and the bestselling anglefor this is definitely the well-crafted fight sequences. I watched itin 3D and it was off the hook. It's the exact kind of thing that wouldwow a young kid, or even at times adults like us. The way theyintroduce Shen as the evil Peacock and the way Shen fights, the movesand his amazing feathers just nailed it! A lot of thought seems to havegone into the animals they bring into life in "Kung Fu Panda 2". Hatsoff for all the creativity.Jack Black & Dustin Hoffmann so far are my favorites. They are sharpand always on the lines so hard that it's impossible not to laugh. Byno means does this imply that Jolie, Chan, Rogen, Crane, Liu were overshadowed. I just felt that some of the best lines just happened to havejust gone by their way.Although it has PG rating just like before, this is a wonderful moviefor kids and adults alike. The Panda, whom most of us have alreadybegun to love, will tug at your hearts again (Specially the females)and take you on a beautiful journey. A journey with a deeper matter forPo, would you join him?
jaemiewaters 06 May 2012
great 3D
it is a great 3D movie you will like Kung FU panda 2 in 3D a lot it isone of those movies that you could watch over and over aging it is aamazing movie you will like this movie a lot you will like it so muchthat you will want to watch it more than once it is the best 3D moviein the whole world i never saw a 3D movie this good before it is one ofthee best movies in the world you will like this movie a lot you willenjoy all of the pictures in this wonderful movie i think this justmaybe the best 3D movie in the whole world i never saw anything likesthis before you will let your kids and your family watch this movie youwill say wow that is a great it is the perfect violent movie i neversaw anything this good before this is the best movie in the world makeit number 1 it is a knockout it is a great movie this is one greatmovie i think this is the best movie in the world jack black is a greatvoice for PO it is the best movie in 3D i never saw a 3D movie thisgood before have a great day
Missy Fox 06 May 2012
Wonderful, fun, action-packed and even touching.
Let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of the first Kung FuPanda. The villain was cool, the acting was good, and the animation andmusic was awesome (Dreamworks always seems to manage that). But it wasjust a plain stupid movie. It really was.Now, as for the sequel... where do I begin? It was breathtaking.Lord Shen's story wasn't quite original, but it still was great and itreally just made you feel bad for the character, filled with anger anda lust for revenge. But besides his unoriginal story, he was actually away better villain than Tai Lung. I mean, I like Ian McShane and all,but you can't beat Gary Oldman. The man's a legend. Lord Shen had acreepy, yet almost soothing voice, which matched perfectly with thepersonality of the white and red peacock. Like all peacocks, he strutsand walks gracefully, but can change into a swift, skilled fighter thatcould quite easily kill you if he wanted. Lord Shen was elegant,insane, pained, hungry for revenge and is a damn good fighter. He'sjust awesome.And as for Po's story, it was surprisingly interesting. I'm not goingto lie: I came very close to crying when his whole story was revealed.What I had once thought was just a stupid main character for a stupidmovie had turned into an actually very well developed character. And Ilove it when Jack Black does this: Jack Black is pretty much known forplaying fat, idiotic heroes. But it's never funny. He tries to befunny, but he just can't pull it off. But this is the Jack Black Ilove. He actually tries to be serious when he needs to be. And when hedoes a movie where he actually is serious, even if just for one scene,his comedy is funnier. Po's actions in this movie was, this time, atleast chuckle-worthy. Thank you so much, Mr. Black, for not making mewant to yank my hair out this time.And I love how the Furious Five actually got more than two lines eachthis time. Finally! We got to know the characters' personalities alittle bit more!... but just a little bit.The action... oh my gosh. There was much more action in this one, andit was awesome! Dreamworks, you amaze me with your animation andvisuals. It was just... awesome. I don't know how to explain it. Thefighting scenes, all of them, were just awesome. I'm usually not a fanof movies with a bunch of fight scenes as they are usually boring andpretty unnecessary, but I loved every moment of the fighting scenesthis time.And as for the visuals of Kung Fu Panda 2...All I can say is that I think Pixar has some competition.They were absolutely gorgeous. Breathtaking. Amazing. Stuff like that.It does, on average, take about 2 years to make an animated. This tookabout 3. But to be honest, it looks like it took longer than that.Everything was very detailed, it was smooth, and even though I don'tlike the first movie, I've always adored the style of the art. It's notan Asian style, but it's beautiful nonetheless. I really could notbelieve my eyes. And I simply love the traditional animations that theyhad every now and again in the film. Those were pretty cool, I mustadmit.And this movie (as I believe I said earlier) was FUNNY! There were someparts where I could barely control myself from bursting with laughter.Whenever I see an uneeded sequel, if it wants to be funny, it triesreally hard, but it just can't do it. It's pathetic, really. But thehumor here was a whole lot better than the first.Main complaints: Dustin Hoffman, for one thing. Yes, I know he only hada few lines in the movie, and yes, I know he's a good actor, but I justcan't stand his voice-over work. In live-action films, he's alwaysgreat. But whenever he does cartoons, he has no emotion and alwaysseems really uninterested in the project. And the ending was prettybad. I mean, Po going to see his "dad" in the shop, and the two goinginto the kitchen to make noodles? Okay. Cute ending. I like it. Butthen suddenly, we see that far over the mountains, there's someone. Iwas pretty confused, but then the mysterious character turned around.BAM! Po's real father. And a thriving village of pandas.And then, the credits. That's it.What the hell kind of ending is that? Did they really feel the need toput that in there? And do they really need (as it was obvious what theywere trying to say) another Kung Fu Panda movie? Are they really goingall "Shrek" on this thing? But, still, this was an absolutelyincredible movie. A rare thing has happened: A sequel is better thanthe original. I was shocked! Despite it's flaws, it was still great.And now, because it makes me feel special: 8 out of 10 stars.Well done, Dreamworks. Well done.
DICK STEEL 05 May 2012
A Nutshell Review: Kung Fu Panda 2
Who would have expected Kung Fu Panda to become a surprising,heartwarming summer hit back in 2008, where I thought it had capturedthe very essence of a typical martial arts film, and distilled it intoan animated piece appealing both to kids and adults alike. The big riskinvolved is of course coming up with the inevitable follow up filmgiven the profits that it had raked in, that won't be an insult to itsfans, and yet maintaining that same level of appeal the original had.Kung Fu Panda 2 succeeded.Although it certainly did seem that passing the reins over to rookiedirector Jennifer Yuh was bewildering, but Yuh turned out to be perfectin guiding the sequel and the beloved characters in yet anotheradventure, with bigger set action pieces, touching dramatic moments,and retaining plenty of humour from the get go. Credit of course mustgo to writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger in coming up with anatural progression of the story of Po (Jack Black), and filling itwith a lot more elements from classic martial arts film formulas suchas a jail break involving skilled pugilists in captivity, a pagoda,getting beat down, recovery and recuperation, and the learning of anew, ultimate skill. To think that the worries came from the scribesbeing responsible for the snooze-fest Monsters Vs Aliens, and Alvin andthe Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.Kung Fu Panda 2 brings back the A-list voices of Black as Po the Panda,now very much comfortable in his celebrity role of the prophesiedDragon Warrior, and the Furious Five consisting of Angelina Jolie asthe no-nonsense, hard hitting Tigress, Seth Rogen as the wisecrackingMantis, David Cross as Crane, Lucy Liu as Viper and the underusedJackie Chan as Monkey, recognizable animals used in distinctive martialarts boxing styles. Also returning are Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifuand James Hong as Mr Ping, while joining the fray are Gary Oldman asthe chief villain Lord Shen the vain peacock, Michelle Yeoh as TheSoothsayer, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc, Dennis Haysbert asMaster Oxen and Victor garber as Master Thundering Rhino, the latterthree forming some formidable masters of kung fu whose city they'reprotecting falls under siege.The story continues to loosely adopt from historical developments inChina, with the premise being set during the time when gunpowder wasdiscovered and fireworks created, but with the more sinister use of thematerial also for the creation of weapons such as the cannon,threatening the extinction of martial arts with its formidablefirepower. Lord Shen becomes fanatical in plundering metal from theland with the ambition to rule all of China, but for his Soothsayer topredict his downfall to come from something black and white, hence hisdogged massacre of pandas with his wolf pack goons, before setting hissights on and signaling his diabolical intent on some legendary martialarts masters.It's pretty amazing how this under 90 minute film also managed tosqueeze in plenty of pathos in the form of Po having to unlock hisrepressed memory of being necessarily abandoned by his parentsfollowing a pattern ala Moses with the pandas being threatened withforced extinction, which provides tons of baby panda to milk somescheming, crafty moments to tug at your heartstrings, and you can hearthat audible gasps of "oh so cute"s from female members of theaudiences. Well done, if the studio decides to make money frommerchandising. Narratively it's pretty predictable following thegeneric essence of typical kung fu film classics, what with thelearning of inner peace and new skills involved that resembled verymuch like Taichi-quan, but what mattered of course is the delivery thathit expectations, and not buckle under that same weight brought overfrom a successful first film.Then of course there's the spectacular fight sequences, especially whenPo and the Fearsome Five combine to protect the innocent masses againsthordes of enemies that come with the requisite comedy, from slapstickto lyrical, like poetry in motion when they showcase their respective,distinctive moves. Big action set pieces are well designed, and I givemy thumbs up to how the villain is modelled after the peacock, which initself brings about the theme of vanity that almost all villainspossess, but in the context of kung fu, it's extremely smart to designLord Shen to move and utilize his own innate weaponry, that of sneakydarts and fans - a weapon that in Chinese martial arts film, is theweapon of choice of the "wei jun zi" - the "fake gentleman" (sorry ifmy interpretation sucks, but you get my drift).No qualms about this installment, I would put it in my highlyrecommended list as a sequel that didn't forget about the spirit of theoriginal, and if the filmmakers can continue to capture exactly whatmakes martial arts movies tick and distill it like it did for the firsttwo films, I dare say we're in for a mighty strong franchise that willappeal to kids, and every kung fu film fan out there who will probablygo nuts at how well this animated series managed to get the formularight.
paudie 05 May 2012
Enjoyable sequel
I enjoyed "Kung Fu Panda" and am happy to report that the sequel isnearly as funny and smart as the original.The animation is again top class, with bright colours and brilliantfacial expressions bringing the characters to life.The story is about the Po's search for how he was separated from hisfamily as a cub and is quite touching and sad at times. Shen, the evilcharacter that broke up his family, has returned and is trying to takeover China this time.As in the first film there are some spectacular action sequences tokeep the kids happy. Perhaps there isn't as much smart humour for thebenefit of the adults as in the first movie but this is still a greatmovie for all the family.Jack Black is perfect as the voice of Po and the surprisingly stellarsupporting cast (Angelina Jolie/Dustin Hoffman) again do a great job.The ending leaves the viewer almost certain that there will be a thirdmovie, so I'll look forward to that also.
04 May 2012
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.
tabuno 04 May 2012
A Decent Sequel
The sequel out of necessity was unable to capture the freshness and thecharacter development of the first movie and had to rely more on theaction thrills and more of the me vs. them plot of good and evil. Therewere so slow parts but by the end the emotive climax was solid. Themovie was helped along with some substantive and well balanced tidbitsof one-liners of humor and the involving action sequences (somereminiscent of Croaching Tiger, Flying Dragon (2000) animated stylemaintained the momentum and interest in the movie. The actors' voiceswere less pronounced and distracting as it appeared that the sources ofthe real actors didn't seem to be so identifiable, except Jack Black,and enabled the audience to focus more on the animated characters thanthe actual actors as actors themselves.