The story of Kung Fu Panda is simple: a panda who loves kung fu but is, to put it nicely, not quite sporting the Bruce Lee physique is “accidentally” chosen to be a warrior by the local dojo in order to combat a psychopathic snow leopard. Training does not go as planned, Po is rejected by the other members of the team, he discovers his secret strength (predisposition to stress-bingeing! now harnessed for motivational use!), saves the day, gains the respect of his peers, everyone goes home happy.
It’s not a new story, but it doesn’t need to be. The small tweaks to the formula, the quality of the animation, and the enthusiasm demonstrated by all of the voice actors involved all make Kung Fu Panda worthwhile. It’s not the best thing that Disney has ever produced, but it is one of the more entertaining bits of their recent oeuvre. Classify this with The Emperor’s New Groove under “throwaway but damn funny”, I guess.
Generally, Disney has a template, and they don’t like deviate from it. It’s worked for donkey’s years and there’s no reason for them to change now. Right? Kung Fu Panda, by and large, plays into this formula -- stressing understanding, individuality, and the ability to succeed against all odds. Where it gets interesting is in where it deviates from the mold. Kids’ movies tend to have a strongly teamwork or cooperative focus, and what really struck me is how independence-focused this one was. Po, our plus-sized hero, does have allies and guidance but he confronts the big bad and triumphs all on his own. It is only after he rejects his position as a member of the team that he is able to succeed. This theme is never made explicit, but the implication is certainly there. There is a line between the importance of being true to yourself and an active dismissal of conformity, and Kung Fu Panda definitely walks it. Striking in a kids’ movie, and a Disney movie, no less.
Also striking: there is no romantic interest whatsoever. The only female character to be found is a bitch -- talented and emotionally-damaged, certainly, but still not romantically appealing. She lives up to her characterization as a tigress, and tigers and pandas don’t play nice. More importantly, she has no arc that would allow her to do so. Respect may be granted between characters, but Kung Fu Panda has no interest in creating frisson. This moral, in and of itself, is refreshing. You can succeed on your own, by the skin of your own teeth, because of your own desire for the end goal -- not because of the motivation offered by a kiss.
Jack Black does, well, Jack Black, but somehow it works. I am not a huge fan of his comedic style, but it’s a lot more palatable when in animated form. There are the requisite fat jokes, PG-rated implications of the obscene, and general JB schtick-- no worries, there. Pandas are also super-cute, which helps, and the rest of the characters are also appealing and work very well as straight-men to the “wackiness” demonstrated by our hero. Dustin Hoffman, in particular, is charmingly dour as the red panda who is the head of the dojo. James Hong, as Po’s oblivious noodle-selling duck of a father, also manages to add heart to what could have been a seriously pathetic role.
I do have a few things to say about the weird kind of fat-positive messages incorporated into this film, but I think that “weight issues” might be an essay unto itself. I realize that I’m probably a bit more sensitive to such things than the average bear, but there was something definitely strange (or at least unconventional) in Kung Fu Panda’s approach to the issue of weight. The one thing that was most off-putting, however, is the esteeming of what is, essentially, bingeing. It’s all for comedic effect, of course, and it is honed into a positive, but still, it’s really unappealing.
Also, in the tradition of Paul, my true ugly point: an ass-clench shot. I really did not need to see a wedgied panda-bum being clenched on a movie-theater sized screen.
It’s a throwaway effort by Disney, but what it lacks in resonance, Kung Fu Panda makes up for in enthusiasm and humor. There’s not a lot of sophisticated humor, but even adults can appreciate sweet and simple amusement, right?
7/10
Showing posts with label Angelina Jolie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angelina Jolie. Show all posts
Friday, July 11, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Full review: Wanted, 7/10
Make no mistake, Wanted is not a good movie. It’s loud, it’s dumb as all hell, and its ultimate message is somewhere between nihilism and just good old-fashioned misanthropism, and yet it’s damn fun. It has style and panache to spare and it celebrates a balls-to-the-wall enthusiasm for blood, guns, and ultra-violence that will appease any fan of Equilibrium, The Matrix, or Fight Club. All of these are infinitely better films, but they are at least well-honored as the templates on which Timur Bekmambetov bases his film. The style, though, is the director’s -- he’s already honed his visually audacious approach to film-making with Nightwatch, another jet-black adaptation of a graphic novel, about Russian vampires.
James MacAvoy, as Wesley, our dweeby American-accented hero, makes a rather impressive and Fight Club-Narrator-esque transformation from passive desk-jockey to active killer, but really, who wouldn’t put up with extended hazing for the chance to scamper along moving trains with a scorching-hot Angelina Jolie? Jolie, for her part, does little except slink and pout, but her quicksilver cool is captivating. It’s not really “acting”, but I guarantee that a summer of boys (and girls -- I’m not discriminating here) will have found their eye-candy of choice for at least a few months. Between the icy-hot Jolie and the stylized gunfights, with slow-motion firing and arcing-trajectories of sculpted silver bullets, what’s not to love? Or, rather, what’s not to get your testosterone racing?
This hormonal excitement is clearly intentional, as on a meta level the whole movie plays like one long emotional Viagra infusion (again, hearkening back to Palahniuk/Fincher’s anti-domestication screed) for every emasculated office-worker in the audience. It was striking that in a movie filled with bullets, graphic acts of weaponized violence and torture, the only cheers from the audience (and I do mean actual cheers) came from a scene in which Wesley takes out his aggression on his corporate co-workers. Clearly, women are hot and guns are fun, but giving your manager what-for is where it’s at.
On this theme of non-cooperation, Wanted is interesting because it actively argues against the possibility for real human connections and emotions. Wesley goes from having a girlfriend, a so-called best-friend, co-workers, and the ability to relate to other people to being the ultimate lone wolf. The girlfriend was boinking the best friend, the best friend was a douche, the co-workers were stooges, and generally the lesson becomes that other people suck. Even the talented, hardened, capable people suck.
As multiple characters say, in variation, throughout the movie, “don’t send sheep to do a wolf’s job”, but the ultimate moral is that everyone, even self-professed wolves, are sheep. And sheep always get eaten. The only truth is the one you keep to yourself. There’re not a lot of messages touting peace, love, or teamwork here. Take that for what you will. For good or for ill, it’s nice to see a movie that sticks to its guns regarding the alienation that a “lone wolf” must endure if he wishes to keep himself out of the flock.
Wanted is not going to win any awards, and if you think about it too long you’re going to end up annoyed with yourself for liking it, but for what it is -- an amped-up charge of adrenalin, fueled by hyperviolence and super-stylized action -- it’s great. It's not life-changing, but definitely the spectacle of the summer. And dear lord, does Angelina bring a new level to pure physical perfection -- that, in itself, is awe-inspiring.
James MacAvoy, as Wesley, our dweeby American-accented hero, makes a rather impressive and Fight Club-Narrator-esque transformation from passive desk-jockey to active killer, but really, who wouldn’t put up with extended hazing for the chance to scamper along moving trains with a scorching-hot Angelina Jolie? Jolie, for her part, does little except slink and pout, but her quicksilver cool is captivating. It’s not really “acting”, but I guarantee that a summer of boys (and girls -- I’m not discriminating here) will have found their eye-candy of choice for at least a few months. Between the icy-hot Jolie and the stylized gunfights, with slow-motion firing and arcing-trajectories of sculpted silver bullets, what’s not to love? Or, rather, what’s not to get your testosterone racing?
This hormonal excitement is clearly intentional, as on a meta level the whole movie plays like one long emotional Viagra infusion (again, hearkening back to Palahniuk/Fincher’s anti-domestication screed) for every emasculated office-worker in the audience. It was striking that in a movie filled with bullets, graphic acts of weaponized violence and torture, the only cheers from the audience (and I do mean actual cheers) came from a scene in which Wesley takes out his aggression on his corporate co-workers. Clearly, women are hot and guns are fun, but giving your manager what-for is where it’s at.
On this theme of non-cooperation, Wanted is interesting because it actively argues against the possibility for real human connections and emotions. Wesley goes from having a girlfriend, a so-called best-friend, co-workers, and the ability to relate to other people to being the ultimate lone wolf. The girlfriend was boinking the best friend, the best friend was a douche, the co-workers were stooges, and generally the lesson becomes that other people suck. Even the talented, hardened, capable people suck.
As multiple characters say, in variation, throughout the movie, “don’t send sheep to do a wolf’s job”, but the ultimate moral is that everyone, even self-professed wolves, are sheep. And sheep always get eaten. The only truth is the one you keep to yourself. There’re not a lot of messages touting peace, love, or teamwork here. Take that for what you will. For good or for ill, it’s nice to see a movie that sticks to its guns regarding the alienation that a “lone wolf” must endure if he wishes to keep himself out of the flock.
Wanted is not going to win any awards, and if you think about it too long you’re going to end up annoyed with yourself for liking it, but for what it is -- an amped-up charge of adrenalin, fueled by hyperviolence and super-stylized action -- it’s great. It's not life-changing, but definitely the spectacle of the summer. And dear lord, does Angelina bring a new level to pure physical perfection -- that, in itself, is awe-inspiring.
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