Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Directors: Alessandro Carloni & Jennifer Yuh Nelson, DreamWorks Animation, PG, 95 Minutes.
That delightful Panda is back as Jack Black reprises his animated character Po in a fun-filled action adventure that sees him having to contend with a war lord from the spirit world intent on eliminating all Kung Fu masters.
This includes Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) as he prepares to hand over to Po to carry on teaching his five trusted friends-Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu) Mantis (Seth Rogen), and Crane (David Cross).
The enemy is represented by Kai (JK Simmons – ‘Whiplash’) who has found a way of entering the mortal world and who then begins capturing the masters, magically transforming them into small ornaments that can be brought to life to do Kai’s bidding.
Kai’s main objective is to do the same with Po as he is considered to be the Dragon Warrior and would be a major feather in his cap if he managed to master Po at his own game.
At the same time Po has found his long-lost father Li Chan (voiced by Bryan Cranston – ‘Trumbo’) which causes considerable consternation for his adopted father Mr. Ping (James Hong) the goose chef especially amongst the village full of pandas.
If Po has any chance of defeating Kai he must first learn the mastery of Chi which it so happens his real father Li Chan can teach him.
It is only a matter of time before Po has mastered the Chi and is successful in sending Kai back to the spirit world; mainly due to Shifu finding a secret scroll.
Directors Alessando Carloni (‘Kung Fu Panda’) and Jennifer Nelson (‘Kung Fu Panda 2’) have come together to make the third in the panda trilogy combining their distinct skills to deliver another entertaining storyline for the whole family to enjoy.
But once again it is Black’s performance as Po that makes the Kung Fu Panda movies such an enjoyable ride from start to finish and complemented by a splendid cast that include in particular Hoffman, Cranston and Simmons.
And besides the brilliant colours in the animation one cannot overlook the wonderful pandas.
Kung Fu Panda 3 is being televised on 9GO at 7.30pm on Friday 2 April.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
