Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 3..almost delivers a skadoosh

While Kung Fu Panda will always get points for originality, it is Kung Fu Panda 2 that really raised the stakes for this franchise. The quality of it all – moving to the 3D arena, picking up where the story left off, giving such a natural progression to the story line and a formidable villain with superb animation – it gave us hope and belief, that this series would not aim low to just be a money spinner but instead be one of those rare gems that takes time, effort and polish to make it look just right. Resultantly, expectations were high from Kung Fu Panda 3..will it do the impossible and go one better yet again?…

I would have liked nothing better than to say that, in its own way, it does but that would not be stating the whole truth. For a large part of its runtime, it does exactly that but just as it begins to fill you with hope, the movie loses its natural flow and abruptly cuts to a less than thrilling and rather rushed climax. This is really a pity because the movie does so many things right, one wonders what went so wrong for it to make the finale the way it did. It almost felt like that there was another, more measured storyline planned, but it couldn’t be executed due to some constraints and they had to end up going with this one. That’s how out of place the climax feels.

Kung Fu Panda 3 has a beautiful soul. The storyline progresses to its next natural step from the last installment as well. The Furious Five are in great form and even though, Kai is nowhere close to Shen the Peacock, he does just about enough to keep you interested. The animation quality is stellar and yet again the franchise finds new ways of painting the same canvas in creative ways – some as flashbacks to familiar times, others to tell a new unfamiliar history. The action is fast and engaging. The voice acting is top notch as well and the entire cast, led from the front, by Jack Black as Po is in top form.

The jokes, even though some are repeats, never get old and there is plenty that will have you chuckling every now and then. There are some good lessons as well, but they either seem rushed and forced or too subtle to leave an impact. The coming of age of Po that was the highlight of its sequel, doesn’t seem nearly as convincing in his third outing even though the attempt is made again.

But for its climax, the third installment virtually delivers a skadoosh. There is no denying, despite the disappointment of the climax, this is a trilogy that has delivered at a high bar all throughout and Po and this franchise will go down in history, truly as the dragon warrior they always deserved to be. On the bright side, though, I have heard some talk of this saga originally having 6 chapters and not just 3 so there may be hope after all. For now, though, it brings closure and if you’ve loved part 1 and 2, there’s no reason you should miss this third and seemingly, final installment