Today’s post begins with a fractal called Green Eye. I picked it because it contains a review of Shrek the Third. (I'm even using green text for the review if it weren't obvious enough!) If you can’t figure out the connection please feel free to crawl back under the rock you’ve been hiding under for the last however long . . .-
Sequels always make me worry: often the producers feel the need to pile on new characters, more plot lines, bigger effects and louder soundtracks while neglecting the plots and characters that made the previous movies such a huge success. Shrek was a revelation: Shrek 2 was the rare movie sequel that proved to be better than the first one. And now Shrek the Thrid rolls into the theaters: needless to say I was worried . . .
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Maybe I went in with too-high expectations for this movie: after I saw the first Shrek I wondered how they could make a sequel: I knew making this third installment would be even more difficult--especially considering the proliferation of “fairy tale send-ups” that have shown up recently (Hoodwinked and Happily Never After spring to mind.) Sadly, Shrek the Third falls into the sequel trap and proceeds to chew off its own leg.
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Here’s the plot: Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) longs for the swamps of home and chafes under the responsibility of filling in for King Harold (John Cleese in a brief and all too cheesy bit). After the king “croaks” Shrek is forced to find another butt to fill the throne. He sets off with sidekicks Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) to find Artie (a true “star turn” by Justin Timerlake). Meanwhile Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) is reduced to playing himself in a particularly cheesy “Dinner Theater” show (which is one of the best sequences in the whole movie). Charming recruit’s a bunch of fairy tale villains and sidekicks to take over the Kingdom of Far Far Away leaving Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and a squad of other Princess (voiced by a number of female SNL Cast Members AND Larry King) to battle the usurper until Shrek and Artie can arrive to save the day.
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Don’t get me wrong--the movie isn’t bad--but compared to the first two installments it’s just not very good. I laughed so hard at the first two movies that my face literally hurt. I had a few good laughs in this movie too--and quite a number of chuckles--but there just wasn’t the same level of originality. Shrek is now almost “cuddly-wuddly (NOT a good thing for an Ogre) and he and Fiona are trapped in a plot that could have been lifted from an I Love Lucy episode. Adults will enjoy playing “spot the movie reference” (I counted five) and plot won’t go above the heads of any children in the audience--and they’ll enjoy the jokes and action. The animation is even more spectacular than the first to movies and looking at the art almost makes it worth the price of admission.
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FINAL GRADE: C-
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