Kung Fu Panda 3

Let’s review the plot of Mark Osborne and John Stevenson’s Kung Fu Panda (2008). There is a scroll that supposedly bestows ultimate power on a Kung Fu master who obtains it. First is a master who has trained all his life since he was a child, learning every technique and exercising his body to the peak of fitness. He doesn’t qualify. Next are five masters who have trained all of their lives since they were children. They don’t qualify. Next is the panda. He has never practiced Kung Fu in his life. He is overweight. He is undisciplined. He is just a fan. After spending only a few days learning Kung Fu, during which time his motivation for training is to be coaxed with food, he qualifies. He receives the scroll, but it turns out to be blank. He beats the first master anyway. Kung Fu Panda, while visually and humorously appealing, teaches the lesson that laziness and lack of experience succeed over skill and effort. Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni’s Kung Fu Panda 3 is ridiculous in its reflection of the first movie’s message.

The narrative follows three main strands. The first revolves around Po (Jack Black) and his being charged with becoming a teacher of Kung Fu by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). The second revolves around Po being reunited with his long-lost father Li (Bryan Cranston) and the father-son love triangle it creates between them and Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping (James Hong). The third concerns the villain Kai (J. K. Simmons), a warrior from the spirit realm who has the power to steal chi from Kung Fu masters and enslave them as jade minions – Po must learn how to master chi in order to defeat him.

The first and third strands are the most infuriating. Po is the least qualified and as such the least deserving of a teaching position. The film even points out that Po is the least experienced of the group and that he should not be teaching the Furious Five, who are already Kung Fu masters – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Monkey (Jackie Chan). The film even criticises this, pointing out that that Tigress is a much better choice for the job. And yet the film is under the impression that “a teacher” is a part of his central identity.

The father-son love triangle subplot is ridiculously rushed. No time is given to the early development between Po and Li. The film avoids what should be a complex emotional meeting by having them become best friends within a matter of seconds. Po gives no consideration to Mr. Ping’s feelings on the matter. At one point there is a touching scene when Po and Li talk about Po’s mother, but in terms of drama these kinds of feelings are addressed far too late.

Then there is Po’s journey to master chi in order to defeat Kai. Just like in the first Kung Fu Panda, Po is tasked with mastering a skill within a very limited time to defeat an adversary who is by all means above his level of skill (and in this case commands and possesses the combined skills of many, on top of his own). So what is Po’s plan to master this skill? Go with Li to a secret panda village and end up being taught to be lazy and gluttonous, which he of course excels at, and learns nothing as a result! Whereas Kung Fu Panda 2 at least mentioned that Po was improving as a martial artist and losing weight, Kung Fu Panda 3 has Po gorging himself on dumplings and sleeping past noon!

From there it is difficult to summarise what is wrong with this journey without giving the story away. Essentially, other fighters constantly outclass Po, he is an objectively bad teacher and Tigress does nothing to help him, amounting to the success of tricks rather than and against actual Kung Fu, but Po’s plan fails because he is a terrible martial artist and doesn’t learn anything from obvious foreshadowing. A rare display of quick thinking takes the final showdown to the spirit realm, where the following plot hole challenges the viewer’s investment: the beginning of the film clearly established that Kai could escape the spirit realm, so he should be able to escape again and leave Po stranded there for eternity.

Given such disadvantage that the story pits against the “hero”, and without the effort given to improve the development of his journey, the film resorts to the mother of lazy resolutions. Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), the greatest Kung Fu teacher and supposedly wisest character in their world’s history, learned how to use chi through thirty years of meditation. The pandas, plus Tigress and even Mr. Ping, learn how to use chi in only a matter of seconds, with no effort or practice, based on some drawings that only Li saw, and Po of all people masters chi instantly, incomprehensibly possessing energy stronger than everyone else’s! And of course, being objectively incompetent and having significantly less skill, commitment and experience than his opponent, plus the annoying disrespectful mockery of his opponent, and having received no training that would allow him to do so, Po wins.

The film reduces the time it takes for one to master their skills from a lifetime’s worth to a few days – a disgusting thought to those who dedicate their lives to their craft. Through a course of events that include failure, incompetence, a training montage, rushed story development and deus ex machina, Kung Fu Panda 3 once again teaches that laziness and lack of experience succeed over skill and effort. This is why it is important for filmmakers to observe their own work to understand what they’re teaching their target audience.

For the sake of addressing more positive aspects, its visual design is quite appealing. With the exception of occasional flat backgrounds that clash with the overall style the film (sometimes devolving into anime speed lines), the CGI animation is fluid and detailed. Character design is mostly familiar and passable – for example, the pandas are given ample variations to tell one from the other – though Kai’s proportions in particular seem a little mismatched. The different environments throughout the film have a great deal of character to express tone based on situation, especially the spirit realm, which can be illustrated as supernaturally tranquil or chaotic. Voice acting is almost always seamless; if there is one example of a delivery that doesn’t match the mood of the visuals, it would be that of Jack Black during the climax at the moment of Po’s “revelation”, coming off slightly intense despite the animated character’s fluid movements and other uses of sound during the moment. But other than this example, the overall performances are sound.

The story introduces supernatural elements into its context. While character abilities and special effects have implied the utilisation of a natural metaphysical energy during combat and other scenes throughout the series, it mostly kept to a semi-realistic subject matter. It’s strange, but not necessarily an unwelcome addition. To its detriment however, the film sets up the rules for these supernatural elements and either ignores or forgets them. On top of that, the film beats the “yin-yang symbol” like a dead horse.

The film presents Kai as the series’ newest villain. To the film’s credit, it does represent him as an intimidating figure. His appearance is rather threatening, though his bulging muscles make him look top-heavy. His signature weapons are fun in that they resemble the swords-on-chains used by Kratos from God of War. While not as sympathetic or sly as Tai Lung from the first movie, he does have a certain villainous charm to his personality. On top of his design, his powers seem a legitimate threat when our heroes are forced to fight against the ominous jade duplicates of other masters and of each other. However, his goal and motivation aren’t exactly clear. His backstory would imply that he simply wants to accumulate chi and become stronger, but we don’t know why he originally wants to do that. At the beginning, it seems his goal is to get revenge on Master Oogway by destroying his legacy, which makes sense considering that Kai has been forgotten historically (even though he didn’t know he had been forgotten during his time in the spirit realm), but it doesn’t explain why he’s willing to go to such lengths against someone who used to be his friend. The sad thing is Kai could have been a sympathetic villain with clear motivations like Tai Lung and Lord Shen, if the transition of his past relationship with Master Oogway illustrated how it affected him and reflected on his character or on the story. Even worse is the film’s apparent need to undermine the threatening atmosphere surrounding Kai by having no one know who he is from history and by having Po mock him during battles.

At the end of the day (and for lack of a kinder adjective), Kung Fu Panda 3 is wretched. Even with Po’s narrative faults in the first two films, the character was at least likeable and understandably relatable. In this film, he is extremely annoying, ridiculously gullible, and completely disrespectful. The film objectively favours laziness over hard work and attempts to justify this backwards attitude with the ideal of self-belief. The comedic timing is completely wrong, often interrupting what should be emotional and dramatic moments. Its twists are predictable, its logic is skewed, its plot is weak, many of its jokes are repeated from the first film, its montage sequences are terribly edited, and its positive aspects are minor at best. A thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Grimsby

Louis Leterrier’s Grimsby is (so far) the most outrageous comedy of 2016. The film follows the hijinks of Nobby Butcher (Sacha Baron Cohen), an idiotic inebriated football fan, as he finds his long-lost brother, who turns out to be MI6 secret agent Sebastian Graves (Mark Strong); Nobby unwittingly sabotages his brother’s mission, forcing the two to go into hiding and solve the case. Just a heads-up: if you are going to see the film, do not underestimate how gross it’s going to get. Let’s just say there would have been no short amount of childish giggling during work in the props and prosthetics department.

Joining in the cast are Isla Figgs as Agent Grave’s support Jodie, Rebel Wilson as Nobby’s girlfriend Dawn, Penélope Cruz as philanthropist Rhonda George, and Ian McShane as the head of MI6. Figgs and Wilson put on convincing differentiated British accents. Wilson is not featured much in the film, but for what time she is onscreen, she gives a funny performance, and the romantic chemistry between Graves and Jodie is subtly introduced and a humanising addition to Graves’ character. Ian McShane gives a good performance of a commanding and serious man-in-charge, but with a sociable side from time to time. Penélope Cruz’s portrayal of a philanthropic actress is charming, as is her portrayal of the character’s personality, fitting superbly into her role of the movie. All the characters in the film are introduced, recognisable and understandable.

On a side note, the hair, costumes and makeup of the cast greatly illustrate the characters visually. The film also attempts to appeal to various levels of class by portraying varied levels of class through characters and settings, each with both positive and negative aspects.

The film mixes the regional rudeness of lower class British humour with the thrill of high-octane spy action. At first it may seem like the two genres and respective tones drastically contrast from each other, but as the characters Nobby and Sebastian converge, the identity becomes clear and balances very well. Despite its advertised image as a rude comedy, which it is, Grimsby surprisingly contains incredibly touching scenes regarding the brothers’ past and the development of their rekindled relationship. The comedic parts never seem to detract from the seriousness in the film’s other genres.

As an action film Grimsby provides dramatic tension to the overall plot. It changes up locations, provides great action, and elements of risk throughout. The twist is spoiled by the trailer, but would otherwise be a good and surprising twist. To compliment itself, the film does well adding a sympathetic dramatic narrative to a comedy that exploits such vulgarity. If you want to see emotional storytelling, fantastic action and a British brand of comedy and drama – and if you think you can handle the gross vulgarity in said comedy – the Butcher boys of Grimsby is an unexpectedly fine choice.

Hail, Caesar!

With an all-star Hollywood cast including Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, and direction by the Coen brothers, who have created such praised artistic works as The Big Lebowski (1998), No Country For Old Men (2007) and True Grit (2010), one goes to see Hail, Caesar! with high expectations.

The first problem is noticeable right from the get-go. Most of the stars that have been advertised as being in major roles hardly appear at all. Looking at the poster and the trailer, for example, one sees Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes and Jonah Hill. Their screen time consists of the scenes represented by the trailer. They appear in two scenes each, at the most. Jonah Hill appears in all of one scene, his character having no influence on the story at large, but rather on particular subplot. The dramatic performances, talents and voices of the film’s actors are quite good. They convey their characters’ emotions and attitudes quite nicely. It’s just a shame that the actors hardly get any screen time or that the characters contribute so little as a result.

The main roles really belong (almost only) to Josh Brolin as studio producer Eddie Mannix, a historical Hollywood figure, with George Clooney as Hollywood actor Baird Whitlock and Alden Ehrenreich as young Western actor Hobie Doyle, parodies of Kirk Douglas and Kirby Grant respectively. Whitlock is somewhat of a comic relief, mostly owing to his naïveté in a hostage situation where he himself is the hostage. While Mannix is challenged with business, the studio world, the factors leading to the fall of Hollywood film popularity and Whitlock’s kidnapping, Hobie is challenged with adapting to a different film genre and meeting the expectations to keep up appearances in the public eye. While this means that Mannix has to deal with technically greater challenges than Hobie, it could be said, at least by the end, that Hobie proves to be an arguably, if slightly or even accidentally, more proactive character – the key word being arguably. As Mannix plans to resolve Whitlock’s kidnapping by paying the ransom, Hobie leans more towards rescuing him, though admittedly by chance.

The comedy isn’t great, generally earning a short laugh here or there. Some parts are funnier than others, but for a comedy film it is a little disappointing. The most entertaining portions of the film are those where the actors’ characters perform in early-to-mid 20^th Century-style film segments, such as Scarlett Johansson as a mermaid in an aquatic spectacle or Channing Tatum as a tap-dancing sailor in an energetically choreographed bar setting. The costumes are glamorous, classic and bold. The cinematography too is at its best when it mimics the style of the past. One could even visualise these parts as black and white even if the images are brightly coloured. Perhaps, from an entertainment angle, the film should have had more focus on these kinds of segments and the drama of the characters participating in them.

Since the kidnapping plot amounts to basically nothing, it might have been better to simplify the plot to these scenes imitating classic Hollywood filmmaking, interconnect the multi-strand narrative in some way, and create a story that, while perhaps a little abstract in its progression, shows clear goals, important involvement from its characters towards this end and a risk that challenges them from reaching it. The idea of the studio facing difficulty alone feels like it could create more drama without the focus being drawn on this kidnapping plot. But if the filmmakers’ hearts are set on a kidnapping story, at least have the cast of characters contribute to the narrative and include some sense of difficulty to its climax. But one can speculate.

Hail, Caesar! is sadly disappointing for those interested in being entertained. Based on the deconstructable qualities of past Coen brothers’ films such as The Big Lebowski, one wonders if there was an intentional purpose behind filming an all-star Hollywood cast in a film about Hollywood and neglecting their screen time or character involvement. Is the film experimentation with plot or narrative that deviates from basic storytelling? Was there an issue of time during production? Is the film a middle finger towards Hollywood writers, whom the film portrays as the antagonists? Instinct tells one there is something to deconstruct in the way this film was told. However, though it has admirable visual design, in terms of an audience’s response, Hail, Caesar! wastes a fitting all-star Hollywood cast, the characters’ subplots don’t contribute to the main story, and the film is resolved far too easily; there is no threat or risk, no chance that the main characters won’t succeed, and the twist of who is the real antagonist has no discernable reason or consequence. Is it a bad film, or is it secretly good? As a spectacle it entertains and has the potential to do more, but in terms of basic storytelling or as a comedy in some cases, its audience reception is likely to be that of general dislike.

Deadpool

Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) was highly criticised for several reasons, one of which was that the character Deadpool, played by the handsome Ryan Reynolds, the amazing bullet-deflecting swordsman and talkative personality in the film’s prologue was turned into a hideous Frankenstein’s monster of mutant powers with his mouth sewed shut at the end (because they thought it was best to remove one of the primary characteristics that fans love about him). Audiences and Marvel Entertainment alike have more or less rejected the film as part of X-Men Cinematic Universe continuity. However, many agree that Ryan Reynolds was perfect to play the role of “the Merc with a Mouth” based on his portrayal of the character in the first third of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Thus, Reynolds was cast again as the title character in Tim Miller’s highly anticipated Deadpool.

The character Deadpool is best loved for his relentless sense of humour and breaking the 4^th wall. The film does not disappoint. It provides a healthy mix of dirty humour, classic or basic jokes, physical humour, intertextual references, fourth wall breaking, and Ryan Reynold’s charm. The audience’s interest is caught right from the opening credits. That’s not to say the comedy is to everyone’s liking. Some may receive Deadpool’s constant riffing as annoying, or that some of the basic jokes have been used too often before, like when during an action scene Deadpool wonders whether or not he left the stove on. Deadpool’s apparent catchphrase, “maximum effort”, while amusing at first, feels overused and slightly forced the more he says it. However for the most part, the cinemas are filled with laughter throughout for all jokes involved. It may simply be a matter of personal taste.

Character design, particularly with our main heroes, is quite good. Deadpool’s voice is clear despite the mask covering his mouth. CGI is used on his eyes to give his mask expressiveness, working to dramatic and comedic effect. The costume as a whole accurately resembles the character’s design in other mediums, giving the audience what they want visually, which seems more fun than if it were altered. Joining Deadpool are fellow X-Men Colossus (Stephan Kapičić) and the awesomely named Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). Strangely, Colossus spends the entire film in his metal form, never once reverting to his organic appearance, even eating breakfast as a metal giant. In terms of continuity, his personality (and height) is nothing like his representation in the X-Men trilogy. However, it’s not like the trilogy or following X-Men films actually established a personality for him anyway, so a new take on characterisation is warranted. His character may not be a faithful transfer from his comic book counterpart, being portrayed as an idealistic semi-pacifist with a soft spot and a strong, possibly stereotypical Russian accent, which has likely been made to be this way for noticeable contrast to Deadpool’s personality. Negasonic Teenage Warhead is initially given a goth-style outfit to reflect her moody personality, though she later reveals a yellow X-Men-style costume. The costume contrasts greatly with the X-Men’s leathery black uniforms in their cinematic universe, being based instead on a comic book design. In a world where Hollywood cinema forces adaptations to go darker to seem more practical or fashionable, the bright yellow costume is a welcome change of pace that stands out incredibly well. Fun fact: in the comic books, Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s powers were telepathy and precognition (begging the question, at least to the uninitiated, of why she has this name). The film’s writers decided to give her the powers of detonation belonging to Cannonball, which, at least for the film, seems much more fitting to her name and contributes to some variety to the trio’s powers.

Joining the supporting cast are Deadpool’s love interest Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), his best friend Weasel (T. J. Miller), his elderly roommate Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), a Weapon X recruiter (Jed Rees), and the villains, the pain-suppressing Ajax (Ed Skrein) and super-strong Angel Dust (Gina Carano). In the first third, Vanessa is represented as Wade/Deadpool’s perfect partner, competing and compatible with his comedic and physical personality, but developing to a slightly more emotionally damaged state later in the film due to Wade leaving her to spare her his death by cancer, though she maintains a kind of strong disposition. One is almost certain that T. J. Miller was cast in this film for the purpose of insulting Deadpool’s disfigured face by expressing similes of its appearance. Leslie Uggams portrays Blind Al as a loveable grumpy grandmother-type, essentially the opposite to Deadpool in their little duo. Jed Rees portrays a charmingly untrustworthy “Agent Smith” who fits incredibly well as part of the inciting incident.

Then there are the main villains, Ajax and Angel Dust. For the most part, their character designs don’t stand out necessarily very well, unlike our main heroes. Angel Dust is basically portrayed as a female thug, which doesn’t make her greatly interesting. Ajax could be considered one in a long list of underdeveloped Marvel movie villains. His sadistic personality and ruthlessness give him some outwardly entertaining qualities as a villain, but aside from that there’s no time to give him the slightest of complexity, essentially making him an action movie antagonist, a criminal whose motivation is primarily money, who just so happens to be able to hold a man up by his throat with one arm. Not even his immunity to pain is given the illustration to indicate how his ability affects him as a character. His costume stands out a little during the climax, where he wields twin steel axes, as it seems vaguely warrior-like yet modern and practical, although as a comic book supervillain one could argue that the design is somewhat forgettable. It’s a good performance on Ed Skrein’s part, just not a great antagonist for the story.

Comparing the film to its source material, one notices a few changes, if even perhaps minor ones. Deadpool’s namesake in the comic books comes from a gladiatorial gambling ring held by the inmates of Ajax’s laboratory; in the film, the “dead pool” is a series of bar fights held by Weasel. In the comics, Deadpool’s healing factor comes from his being injected with Wolverine’s DNA, but in the film it is the result of Wade’s apparent “latent mutant genes” being activated through a serum. While it may seem like nitpicking, in a film that establishes itself as part of the X-Men Cinematic Universe in which Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine exists, it’s seems a strange push to change this part of Deadpool’s origin. At the very least the film could have made a joke about it, and it would have met the pseudo-comic book design that the adaptation mimics in other areas. Vanessa was also a shapeshifting mutant called Copycat in the comic books, but the film doesn’t portray her as such. This is arguably more understandable, given it would have probably lead to an additional subplot, if a minor one, and possibly a drain on the film’s limited budget, which the film openly admits the studio had in order to make it. While she is definitely an enjoyable character and a fitting love interest for the protagonist, she is ultimately reduced to a damsel in distress by the end of the movie.

Complimenting the light-hearted tone of the film are incredibly energetic action scenes. Combat includes and mixes gun fighting with swordplay and quick, even spontaneous acrobatics. The two main action scenes of the film are memorable, though mostly the opening scene (which may or may not owe to its constant use in advertising the film), ranging from slapstick to abstract gore and ranged or melee combat to ensuing chaos. The duel between Deadpool and Ajax shows good choreography and a sense of drama and increasing difficulty. In retrospect, any fears for Deadpool’s success are compromised when one considers that Deadpool is for all intents and purposes immortal, being able to survive shots to the head or even recover from being melted to a puddle in other mediums. Between a man who can heal from anything and an adversary who is only immune to pain, the fight seems one-sided on paper. One then considers that the threat is not on Deadpool’s life but rather whether he can save Vanessa’s when Ajax holds her prisoner. As a comedy or an action movie, Deadpool doesn’t disappoint.

Deadpool may not tell a particularly great story. Its use of recognised yet mostly underdeveloped characters could be received as either narratively simplistic or lacking in inventive characterisation. However, the focus of effort is directed at visual style and entertainment aspects, which are the main things that appeal to the film’s audience. Ryan Reynolds steals the show as the loveable and witty protagonist. The humour throughout is diverse and creative. Its purpose is first and foremost to entertain, but its story is essentially told through a simple Hollywood narrative (though a non-linear one). While this doesn’t make Deadpool a perfect movie, the film knows what it needs to do and what expectations to meet to keep its audience’s interest. The actors’ performances are likeable, the humour is balanced with serious tones and emotional moments, and the action is engaging and exciting. It is pleasing to fans and to young adult audiences and older (aged 15 and over, parents). For a good time, Deadpool is recommended.