Kevin
Queen of Jotos
Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 2448
Location: the closet...i'll come out one day...
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 Posted: Jun Saturday, 2008 9:54 am Post subject: Kung Fu Panda |
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The poster for this film could not have described the movie better, "Prepare for Awesomeness"... How DreamWorks concieved this masterpiece is beyond me, but the result is completely badass. I mean, honestly, for a kids movie, Kung Fu Panda is extremely funny and full of insane fight scenes. The story is flawless, as we follow Po as he is destined to save China and learns to be this unbelievabely talented martial artist. I don't know if DreamWorks is required to have their quality in CGI films better than the one before, or what, because watching this movie's little tiny details, like petals from a peach tree or feather's from one of the characters, move around the backround of the screen proved how dedicated the people behind this were. It's been awhile the last time I enjoyed a kid's movie. Kung Fu Panda, though, completely set the standard for animated films...
From the creative and clever opening credits, (an alternative to the normal DreamWorks logo) you can almost sense you're in for good fun. The opening scene's animation style took me by surprise. It looked amazing and it did a good job of introducing our main character. From there on, the story unfolds pretty quickly. Before you even know it, Po suddenly becomes capable of fighting the villain after a montage with his sensei, a Obi-Wan Kenobi-like red panda, Shifu. It does tread on the "how-did-he-become-so-good-so-quickly?" line, but I guess the prophecy was proven correct here. Shifu did, on the other hand, teach the Fearsome Five which consist of animals that are masters of their respective names: Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey (who, collectively, kick ass). They all, including Po, are examples of Shifu's skilled teachings, which, in turn, is credited to Shifu's shell-sporting sensei, Oogway that reminds me of Yoda (who happens to be an ollllld tortoise). Another student of Shifu's teachings-- the first, actually-- was our villain: Tai Lung. This is the first time you'll take a villain in kid's movie seriously since, Syndrome from The Incredibles. A ruthless leopard that shares history with Po's sensei, Shifu, leads us to thier present conflict. Trust me when I tell you he is a badass villain. The things this leopard is capable of doing will impress the hell out of you.
The voice cast behind this shocked me on two strikes. I think everyone is aware Po is voiced by Jack Black, who does a crazy-ass job. The first shock came when I read Shifu was voiced by Dustin Hoffman at the end credits. What he is doing here is questionable, but he, too, delivered the role. The second shock came when I didn't recognize the voice of Tigress, I figured it was nobody important. Yeah, no, it was actually Angelina Jolie. Again, the end credits made me realize the huge error I had made. Crane was voiced by David Cross... the dude on the wheelchair from Scary Movie 2, people. I recognized his voice, but honestly did not remember his name. Mantis was credited to the badass of an actor, Seth Rogen. Playing a little insect that can kick your ass must have been hard, but Rogen pulled it off with comedic effect that would've been lost with only Jack Black making the laughs. The role for Viper was given to Lucy Liu, who, really, contributed nothing but wierd ways to eat soup and some awesome moves. And last, but definitely not least, Monkey had his voice done by the only person that actually looked like the damn monkey, Jackie Chan. While only having, like, eight lines in the entire flick, I can see how even if Chan isn't exactly seen and only heard, his character can still open a can of whup-ass. The rest of the cast is as impressive with the likes of the easily recognizeable James Hong as Po's father, Mr. Ping, (who happens to be a goose for unknown, but brilliant reasons) Michael Clarke Duncan as one of the Rhino's guarding Tai Lung in prison, and Randall Duk Kim, who I haven't heard from since The Matrix Reloaded, where he played the Keymaker, voices Oogway.
Probably the reason you'll leave the theater excited, would be the fight scenes. I still can't believe how they choreographed these scenes. Seriously, every single fight scene is badass-- every one. I mean, when was the last time you've seen a fight scene with chopsticks? Exactly... Every single battle is creative as the next. Whether it's watching Crane flap his wings and send a gust to the camera or seeing Tai Lung appear as quick as thunder strikes, awesomeness is wrapped around the entire movie. A recurring element is the bullet-time sequences where in the middle of the action, the camera slows down to have the audience fully examine the disaster. It worked perfectly here... The fight between Shifu and Tai Lung is incredible. There's one part where Tai Lung does something to his hands in the middle of that fight that I won't specify, but it really caught my attention. The final fight with Po and Tai Lung was really cool to watch, especially when Tai Lung gets a taste from his own attack (by now, you should know I was obsessed with Tai Lung). Like I said before, it's kinda cool that this was a kid's movie and, yet, I'm here talking non-stop about its fight scenes.
It's a rare case when you see a film like this. You're expectations are pretty low only to be disproved. The thing that hit me while watching was that when this tried to be funny, it was funnier than hell. I guess, I'm saying that because of the other movie I saw the same night (rhymes with Lohan). Nonetheless, this movie is good fun that'll entertain the crap out of you. Instant satisfaction when walking away, too... Nothing beats that...
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"There's a passage I got memorized-- Ezekiel 25:17: 'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.'
...I been sayin' that shit for years and if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant-- I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before you popped a cap in his ass... but I saw some shit this mornin' made me think twice. Now I'm thinkin': it could mean you're the evil man... and I'm the righteous man and Mr. 9mm here... he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness, or it could be you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish... I'd like that... But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak and I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd."
-Jules Winnfield |
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