Review: Kung Fu Panda 2/Hangover 2
The Wolf Pack is back and so is the Panda!
After having an utterly rotten weekend which involved both the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Manchester United losing humiliatingly in their respective finals, a run-in with the traffic police amongst other things which led me to even contemplate suicide or murder for a bit; I decided to start the week with something that was sure to lift up my spirits – a visit to the movie theatre.
I skipped football practice in the morning and having my mom’s bike at my disposal ; I took that instead of the bus. I reached the theatre, Fame Shankar Nag, a bit early and surprisingly met my best friend from school at the ticket counter (which was the 1st of the many surprise meetings the day threw at me). After getting those 3D glasses, I sat down to watch
Kung Fu Panda 2
I have grown up watching Kung Fu movies and Jack Black’s stoner comedies, I relished the first one and was equally excited about watching the sequel. The movie starts off with the best use of 3D I have ever seen with brilliant animation that really brings it to life. You’re introduced to a peacock, Lord Shen, voiced by Gary Oldman who tries to harness the power of fireworks and decides to take over the world and upon hearing a prophecy that he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. He massacres all the pandas and is banished by his parents and thus, he spends years developing his weapons. Po, on the other hand is living his dream fighting alongside the Furious Five is given the task to find the inner piece by Master Shifu as they journey to bring Lord Shen to justice.
Kung Fu Panda 2 rises above the mark set by its predecessor, being a much darker piece probing the dark side of Po and his quest to find who he really is. Interesting characters like the fortune telling goat, voiced by Michelle Yeoh and Danny McBride’s one-eyed wolf light the screen up every time they come on. Hilarious dialogues and witty one-liners by Jack Black steal the show. The action sequences in 3D are a bit hard to follow initially but you eventually get used to it.
Final verdict: Well, I’ll go as far as to call it the Godfather 2 of animated movies, right up there with the Toy Story series and it leaves you wanting more of the adorable Panda.
After this, forgetting that 12 o’ clock, and not 1, comes after 11, I headed off to Rex on Brigade Road to watch another sequel and after realizing I had an hour to kill after buying the tickets; I ate momos, bought DVDs of Rango and Mr. Nice. I also fooled around with the XBOX 360 at Planet M and returned to meet one of my friends from PU with a bunch of his friends who I had met a couple of times before. (blah blah blah) After which, I proceeded to watch…
Hangover 2
Well, the Wolf Pack is back. This time Stu is getting married in Thailand to Lauren after dumping his bossy girlfriend at the end of the last movie. With a new member added to the group, Teddy, played by Ang Lee’s son Mason Lee as the bride’s younger brother, the movie is another wild adventure. The group also convince Stu to invite Alan.
Well, Hangover 2 is not as much of a sequel as it is a remake of the first one. For starters, they lose Teddy and have no memory of the previous night. It is Alan’s fault again who also dishes out trivia about Bangkok every now and then. Stu gets a tattoo rather than losing his tooth and again has something to do with a prostitute. And in all of this, there’s Mr. Chow, a drug-dealing monkey, a monk with a vow of silence, false lead and a pretty simple way of figuring out who the missing person is. Of course, there are dirty pictures to show in the end.
Well what happens in Bangkok isn’t quite as much fun as what happened in Vegas but the film has enough laugh-out-loud moments to merit a trip a to the theatre with your ‘bros’. Zack Galafinakis and Bradley Cooper are a delight to watch together. I predict that if there’s another sequel, the missing person will be found in the basement.
Well, two sequels: one gives more of the same, the other goes further than the original could possibly go. Both are hearty laughs and entertaining. Choose wisely.
Share
About the Author: Lipi Mehta
