Pandtastic follow-up to Po & co
Many years ago, the peacock villain Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman) made plans to take over all of China by harnessing the power of fireworks. But a goat soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) warned him that 'a warrior of black and white' would ruin his plans. Shen assumes that warrior is a panda, and wipes out a whole village of the cuddly bears.
Flash forward to the present. Panda Po (Jack Black) is still a Dragon Warrior alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five. One day, as they are fighting an army of wolves (who happen to work for Shen), he spies an emblem on one of the wolves' sleeves which causes him to have a flashback. When he sees the emblem again during another battle, Po gets the feeling Shen had something to do with his separation from his parents.
Po's fight is no longer just to protect the country against villainy - now it's personal.
Disillusioned movie lovers will agree that many sequels just don't work. But with a blend of relatable characters, incredible artwork and gripping story, DreamWorks has achieved that rare thing, an effective follow-up.
This is a movie packed with action, incredibly smooth kung fu moves and a guaranteed 91 minutes of laughter.
Finally, while I'm not a fan of 3D movies - the effects in Deathly Hallows: Part 2 were yet another addition to my list of letdowns - DreamWorks has made it work.
