[Dreamworks, 2024]

Rating: 3/10

By: Cody Englander, Staff Writer

Suffocation is a nasty way to go out. It denies the inevitable. Kung Fu Panda 4 suffers from the fact it doesn’t realize it’s suffocating. This theatrical release plays out more like a late 90s straight to VHS animated Disney sequel. The third movie, being the more lukewarm entry in the franchise, contributes miles more to the canon and story of these characters than this one even attempts. Titular characters from the franchise are missing, new characters are introduced, and in the end it at best is an unforgettable time.

Unfortunately Kung Fu Panda 4 is rarely at its best. This is a very basic script, feeling as though there was sort of a combination of all three movies and this is what popped out. But this isn’t the most fair critique, it does exclude the fan favorite Furious Five. While likely for budgetary reasons, they’re written out in some throwaway line early on. To compensate, Jack Black as “Po” plays off of newcomer Akwafina’s “Zhen”. This new character is sort of a funnel for Akwafina’s humor combined with pop-culture lines, giving the audience enough time to long for the missing characters.

Read more: Movie Review: The Holdovers 

The entire premise is a ‘passing down the torch’ moment between these two, but Po has no reason to be handing the torch down aside from a fifth movie in a dying franchise. Po ranges from unlikeable and annoying to dumb and clumsy. The back track on his character development is simply an unfortunate circumstance. He’s a well rounded character in everything proceeding this, but this treats him like a buffoon. 

But the draw to this franchise is often the villains. Maybe not known by name, but the design and dynamics is a big draw of what makes this franchise special. So, does the villain live up?

Not at all. The villain relies on past bad guys to make her any sort relevant. The only bright side to her inclusion is the performance by Viola Davis, who is seemingly never able to phone in a performance. 

Franchises live and franchises die. It’s ok to leave them buried, because eventually when you keep returning to the gravesite, the body of the franchise will have been dug up so much there is no dirt left to bury it.