2008 kung-fu movie with anthropomorphised animals and Jack BlackRating: 15/20
Plot: See here, where I already wrote about the not-all-that-original plot.
OK, mea culpa. This is Dreamworks' best movie, and it's got a whole lot to like about it. The action sequences, contrary to what I thought the first time I watched this movie, are actually really cool, and the characters, though either a little cliched or underdeveloped, are good. Voice works good, too, although I don't like Jack Black here all that much. But David Cross makes up for that. I really liked the colors and the details in the multitudinous settings. There's some real beauty in the animation here. The final fight scene is a bit of a let-down, going too much for the funny throat instead of anything meaningful. For whatever reason, the stuff that ticked me off in this one (the faux-homages to classic kung-fu movies or the deluge of martial arts movies motifs) were enjoyable in this one. Add Dreamworks best animation efforts and a good score, and you've got a movie that I don't mind watching over and over again.
Speaking of that, Buster likes this movie, but after about six attempts, she has not made it to the end of the movie. She has no idea what happens to the fat panda!
Nice that you revisited this one...I still like it more than you, but at least its closer.
ReplyDeleteIts one of the more watchable animated movies made. There is a lot going on, and its worth seeing all the way through to the end.
And I liked the final fight sequence. I thought it was done just right, with the Pandas pure defense and size finally overwhelming the snow leopards flashy attacks. Skadoosh.
Now as for the sequel? Eh.
The original gets an 18 from me. Its in my top ten animated films.
Also an 18 for me. It has great balance of humor, characterization, emotion, and action. It was nice that you were open-minded and gave it another try. Now about "Field of Dreams"...
ReplyDelete"I've had a rather long, and disappointing day"
ReplyDeleteI love that line from David Cross.
The voice work is really good in this. Ian McShane is wonderful. I think he could read "Everybody Poops" and it would sound like a threat.
The fight scenes were bigger than life, but fit the theme.
And Jack Black is not annoying, something he has not been for quite a while.
18/20