Kung Fu Panda 3

The Good Stuff (in order of awesomeness)

1. Superb animation and various art styles used. Hits are emphasized well with excellent sound design and voice acting. Good action.

2. Jokes are (mostly) good, made me laugh out loud multiple times.

3. The plot and pacing is pretty good and character development is adequate.

The Bad Stuff (in order of amplitude)

1. Antagonist is not really memorable with vanilla personality and motivation.

2. Film is obviously meant for a young-ish audience and contains some irritating slapstick and bad jokes.

3. 99% of Panda characters are completely forgettable.

Should you watch it: Probably, yes. I can't stress enough how good some of the visuals are.

After the fantastic first movie where Po is a classic hero after being a loser, where the villain has his own story and where the others play a role making Po the character he is, came a second movie with a dark, deep and personal story greatly told, and now we have just an excuse to make Po even more bada** fighting a villain nobody cares for and who came out of nowhere. This makes me sad because it was getting more "mature". But I understand it is a kids movie, so it's still entertaining and pleasant to watch, and I'm pretty sure the kids love this movie.

As a certain character once said, a James Bond movie is only as good as the villain. The same rule actually applies to just about any story with some kind of confrontation, with the best of such stories having villains which you even want to relate to.

Kung Fu Panda trilogy is no exception. One of the reasons behind the first film's excellence was Tai Lung, a character so intense, conflicted and deeply rooted in the history of the KFP universe, that his story managed to combine the vibes of two great confrontations: Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader and Darth Vader vs Luke. So it's no wonder that my greatest wish for every next KFP movie was to have him back somehow. Those vain hopes...

The villain's complexity became the foundation on which the rest of the story could develop. Including the main character. First film's Po was so great because he was a classic "loser with a dream" type of character: confined in his bleak reality but refusing to accept his destiny. Po's power was in finally letting himself pursue the dream he's been having on his own for so long, and in how a true dream can overcome any obstacle in its way.

The problems began when Po was raised to the supreme position. It's where the pursuit of a dream was replaced with a job. Po is not a leader, he's not even a hero, he's just a guy who does what he can because his heart tells him so. But letting him keep that spirit would mean losing pace for the franchise. So each next film was basically creating a new villain out of thin air (or, in this film's case, from the other world, literally) and imposing the duty of defeating him on Po, using it as a justification for granting him another magic ability.

The gods are what we create ourselves. And, at the end of the day, KFP3 finished creating a cult of the Dragon Warrior by transforming Po from a goofus with a heart and spirit into some kind of omnipotent golden Buddha, smiling and just-be-yourself-preaching. The complexity is gone, the humanity, with all its inherent flaws, is gone. The only thing that's left is the divine perfection and invulnerability. Maybe the kids will love such glossy happy ending, just like they love playing video games in god mode: easy win, plain and simple. But for someone more mature, that kind of easy is just boring.

Time to go back into the world of DreamWorks animation. I had read more information about the company's corporate shakeup that not only involved several people replace and relocated, but it also involved the closing of the Northern California studios and the reduction of the output of feature films. It seemed like a formidable movie fiscally, until the release of last year's Home, which I mentioned that I didn't care for. I guess I wasn't the only one as the critical reviews were tepid, and the box office numbers were low (not a failure, but not even close to a hit). Has DreamWorks truly learned?

If the new original features aren't doing well, then the next strategy would be to take advantage of some of their past hits. Shrek, Madagascar, and How to Train Your Dragon seem to be the franchises that they like push and make more sequels and television programs. I like those movies (except Madagascar), though my favorite is the Kung Fu Panda films. This is the ultimate "don't judge by its cover" story as it's dumb title is really a silly martial arts story that teaches a lot about Chinese philosophy. Po's training is taken the next step in Kung Fu Panda 3.

Master Shifu (played by Dustin Hoffman) has announced that's he's stepping down as the teacher of the Furious Five: Master Tigress (played by Angelina Jolie), Master Crane (played by David Cross), Master Mantis (played by Seth Rogan), Master Viper (played by Lucy Liu) and Master Monkey (played by Jackie Chan). Shifu says that the only one who can teach them is the dragon warrior, Po (played by Jack Black). Po is still his silly self and doesn't feel like he can be a good teacher. It's evident on the his first day when the masters are unimpressed.

While visiting his adoptive father Mr. Ping, a large panda named Li Shan (played by Bryan Cranston) comes looking for his long lost son. Po is excited to finally meet his father let alone another panda, who were thought to have been gone. Shifu knows that the Panda's were masters of controlling chi, so he tells Po to go with his real father to discover chi. Within the hidden Panda village, Po learns more about being one of his own and learning more about his family.

Meanwhile, Kai (played by J.K. Simmons), a powerful spirit that can take away one's chi has entered the mortal world in order to gain chi from all the Masters. Tigress shows up at Po's village to reveal that all the masters have been taken by Kai and it's up to Po to fight him and teach Kung- Fu to all the pandas.

I really appreciate DreamWorks for not only taking Chinese martial arts and philosophy seriously, but for taking the story of a Kung-Fu fighting panda just as seriously. Not only is Po really learning more about what his skills can do, but really seems to be growing as a person…or a bear.

Kung Fu Panda 3 still boasts some of the most beautiful computer animation I've seen from DreamWorks. It is so atmospheric, that this is one of the few movie worlds I'd love to live in.

The characters from the previous movies are all back and play up their parts just fine. The newcomers Bryan Cranston and J.K. Simmons both bring in their own spark, fitting in just fine. Without giving anything away, I only have two gripes. While J.K. Simmons does well as Kai, he's not as intimidating as Gary Oldman from Kung Fu Panda 2. Also, when Po's father Li Shan make a big discovery about himself, it's a little rushed.

I'll give this eight Chinese scrolls out of ten. This is a part of a series that is just so funny and beautiful, that I find it hard to find much to nitpick. Kung Fu Panda 3 is a great piece of family entertainment that should get both the parents and children engaged. I hope these characters continue Kung Fu fighting for a while!

Kung fu panda is a concept so ridiculous that we think to ourselves.. it is actually genius. Jack Black returns as the lovable Po, and shows us just why we missed him so much in the years we had to wait. These films always deal with acceptance and Kung Fu Panda 3 is no exception, with an added family element. I give praise for this for the simple reason that Bryan Cranston is AWESOME and really stands out in a movie that already has some brilliant stars, he was so funny and heartwarming as Po's biological father and makes a welcome addition to the cast.

The story follows Po as he is asked to teach the furious 5 so Shifu can retire and master 'Chi'. After a bad session he meets his father by chance and finds out about a new supernatural threat from the spirit realm, played by the brilliant J.K Simmons. He adds his own stamp to this character and gives us a badass villain, like Cranston becoming a welcome edition. Po embarks on a journey to a secret panda village to himself master 'Chi' and take out Kai for good. So for a start the story is brilliant, it keeps everyone entertained and never lingers on for too long. The members of the furious 5 however do get less screen time, even Angelina Jolie's Tigress although she does play the biggest role of the 5. The standout for the limited screen time he has is Seth Rogen's Mantis. I don't know what it is but i love this character and wanted more of him.

If you are a fan of the other films in the Kung Fu Panda franchise like i am then you won't be disappointed. The film manages to stay on par with both previous films and has all the humour and kung fu action you can expect from it. If the franchise ended here i would be happy, i would love more from the characters and the world built around them, but i really don't want the franchise to outstay it's welcome at the same time. But anyway, go see Kung Fu Panda 3. It is much better than the forgettable London has Fallen and you won't regret it!