'KUNG FU PANDA 2': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Jackie Chan and Jean-Claude Van Damme together in a film at last, even if it is just as voices (hopefully they'll do an 'EXPENDABLES' film together next)! The rest of the all-star voice cast, from the original, returns with Chan as well including Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, James Hong and Jack Black as Po (the 'Kung Fu Panda'). New voices (besides Van Damme) include Michelle Yeoh, Gary Oldman, Danny McBride and Dennis Haysbert. This time the film is directed by Jennifer Yuh, an Art and Animation Department vet but first time film director. It was written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (who also co-wrote the first film). The movie is not quite as much fun as the original (which wasn't a great film to begin with) but it does deliver the laughs and action fans expect.

The first film dealt with Po living out his dream by joining his kung fu heroes, 'The Furious Five', and becoming the chosen 'Dragon Warrior'. In this chapter he struggles with coming to terms with who he really is and where he came from (now knowing that he's adopted). While battling his inner demons he also must lead 'The Furious Five' to face a new enemy with a weapon that destroys kung fu. Of course he won't be able to conquer this new found enemy and deliver peace to his people until he finds peace within himself. To do this he must discover the secrets of his past.

The movie is just about what you'd expect from a sequel. If you're a fan of the original you'll probably enjoy this chapter as well, just not quite as much. Black and the rest of the cast are funny, a lot of the jokes are of course silly and geared at kids but the film has a decent amount of laughs to deliver a slightly older crowd as well (like the first). The action scenes are entertaining although I heard from my two young nephews (who I saw the film with) that the movie is too scary at times and much more frightening than the original (I personally didn't notice). Guillermo del Toro was an executive producer and creative consultant on the film this time around and some say he added a darker tone to it. As I said I didn't really notice much of a difference in that way from the original but I'm sure that could be a slight possibility. The movie is fun regardless and should please most fans of the original.

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