I think the title of my review says it all. If I had to come up with a word to describe the film, it would merely be, "passable." I chuckled a couple of times and my kids (6 & 7) loved it. At the end of the day, I suppose that's money well spent. That being said, I am a huge fan of many DreamWorks franchises, including the first 3 KFP films, with the 3rd installment being the weakest of them, but still a good time. Compared to KP4, which didn't really add anything to the franchise, the 3rd film is a masterpiece. I found the pacing and the humor of KP4 all over the map. It felt like the film was rushing the audience along without time to really feel any of the emotions it wanted us to feel. It felt like a Saturday morning cartoon rather than a memorable addition to the KFP film canon.
So, in the end, I'm glad my kids loved it because I am promptly going to forget everything about this movie. When I think of KFP, scenes like Po finding inner peace in the ruins of his village in KFP 2 will always readily come to mind. I will continue to laugh at the jokes in the first 3 films, but even now I'm struggling to recall the best jokes of KFP4 and I just saw it not even an hour ago. The best, most enduring part of this movie is callback to villains of the previous films. Otherwise, it was one big colorful, fast-paced "Meh."
The kids will enjoy it though.
So, in the end, I'm glad my kids loved it because I am promptly going to forget everything about this movie. When I think of KFP, scenes like Po finding inner peace in the ruins of his village in KFP 2 will always readily come to mind. I will continue to laugh at the jokes in the first 3 films, but even now I'm struggling to recall the best jokes of KFP4 and I just saw it not even an hour ago. The best, most enduring part of this movie is callback to villains of the previous films. Otherwise, it was one big colorful, fast-paced "Meh."
The kids will enjoy it though.