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I've never been that crazy about the Shrek movies. I don't dislike them, and they do have their moments. The scene in "Shrek 2" where Puss n Boots gets caught with the catnip still makes me laugh. It's just that I have never been in a rush to go out to see them. It took me a while, but I finally dragged myself to see it at The Bridge Cinema near Culver City to a mostly empty audience with kids in back of me who just wouldn't shut the f*ck up. Reviews for it have not been terribly enthusiastic, and now I can see why. We're back to threequelitis again. "Shrek The Third" is another in a long line of 2nd sequels to original box office smashes. The first one brought us something new and incredibly clever with the Ogre saving Fiona from that dreaded castle, and how he ends up falling for her. There were great moments and it had a very strong satirical moments (it's jab at the It's A Small World ride was classic), and it had some vivid vocal characterizations that did not simply have you trying to picture the actors speaking into microphones. You believed in their characters, and that caught you up in everything going on. Then "Shrek 2" came out, and it proved to be at least equal to, and maybe even better than the original. Many clever moments ensued, especially seeing Shrek turn into a human and Donkey turning into a stallion. We also got introduced to Puss n Boots who instantly became a classic character in the Shrek universe. Seeing that cat plead with those sad eyes was classic and still gets to me. Now we have "Shrek The Third," and what was once fresh and innovative has become worn out by a formula we have seen twice already. Shrek is presented with another dilemma when the king passes, and he is put in a position where he may have to take the throne. He would much rather let someone else rule so that he and Fiona can go back to their swamp and wallow in the sticky mud living happily ever after. Shrek finds out about a family member that is technically an heir to the throne. As he sails off with Donkey and Puss n Boots, Fiona yells to him from the shore that she is pregnant. So Shrek is once again doubting himself and is unsure of himself being a good father let alone being the next king of Far Far Away. When he finds Arthur, cousin to the king, he appears to be a high school social reject (voiced ironically by Justin Timberlake) that is the butt of everyone's jokes and humiliation. Hardly king worthy material, but Shrek doesn't give a sh*t. He is taking Arthur back to be king whether he likes it or not. In the meantime, Prince Charming is back to once again take his place (as he sees it anyway) as king of Far Far Away. He felt cheated out of what he felt was rightfully his, and this time he has the villains of all those fairy tales we grew up on to back him up. Once I had an idea of where "Shrek The Third" was going, I became less and less interested. It certainly isn't a terrible movie, but a lot of what was so magical from the last two movies feels lost here. We have all seen Shrek tried and tried, and we know that he always comes out on top. So seeing this character go through the motions again felt somewhat lifeless to me. It's not that you want Shrek to win the day, it's that you know that he will win the day. The jokes this time are more miss than hit. It's kind of like watching one of Mike Meyers' "Austin Powers" movies which are largely hit and miss, but the stuff that does hit is frickin' hilarious in a gutbusting way. Those moments here are few and far inbetween. Puss n Boots has a great moment as the ship leaves shore that is just too good to spoil here. Seeing Donkey and Puss n Boots switch bodies was also a kick even if the joke kind of wore out after awhile. But most of the other jokes in the movie only got a snicker from me every once awhile. Now that we have had two other Shrek movies, we can see the jokes coming from a far (but not far far away). Part of me was waiting for the movie to get to it's inevitable climax. The voice actors are great as always. Mike Meyers is great as always as Shrek, giving life to burly ogre who there is more to than meets the eye. I have always loved Eddie Murphy's work here as Donkey, and I still love his work here. Some of his best comic work has been in these movies with precise comic timing and scenes that he can improv off of fairly easily it seems. Antonio Banderas is back voicing Puss n Boots, and it is great to have him back as well. All the voice actors are great here. It's just that the material is lacking here, and that depressed me. Seeing something so fresh get worn down by it's own formula just feels unfair. But not to worry, there are already 3 more Shrek movies planned for the future. I just hope that they take the time to play with the formula some more so that they can bring back some of the freshness of the last two. email this review to a friend
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