Kung Fu Panda 4

Awkwafina is a hoot, as always, but Davis is surprisingly ineffective, failing to evoke the irresistible charisma that marks the best of villains. In the many battles that result, it's easy to lose attention and hard to care, knowing pretty well how the story goes.

Kung Fu Panda 4 may not be the best of the franchise but it's still a worthy addition filled with exciting action and stellar animation.

The irony is that “Kung Fu Panda 4” arguably has the same problem, proving too content to play the hits and emulate the franchise’s past films rather than charting a newer, more exciting path.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is a serviceable sequel that relies too heavily on Jack Black's charm and Awkwafina's energy to mask a thin plot and formulaic action sequences that lack the inventiveness of the earlier films.