Shitty, sucky and so-bad
I think that's a good enough 3 S's for this movie.
Hey, don't call me a kiddie-movie basher just yet. I have always prefered Disney and Pixar to Dreamworks' take on animation. But I have always enjoyes the somewhat less limited themes of Shrek. They aren't afraid to take any theme and bash it with all sorts of humor that Disney would be hesitant to use while retaining its kiddie format.
That would be one of the reasons I loved the 1st two Shrek movies, yes I liked the first two. See? I'm not a kiddie basher. Sure I still preferred Pixar's films to them any day, but the Shrek movies were originally entertaining nonetheless.
Well this right here is where the originality ends, boys and girls.
Sure, the first two Shrek movies borrowed lots of famous fairy tale icons and put a humorous twist to it so to see more of em taken in here is no big surprise. It's the excess of it that sort of gets old.
Sure there's Artie, then again there's also the whole cast of Lancelot, Guenevere and Merlin. Don't forger all those princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel.Alright, I could forgive that, they are fun characters to play with sure. Then you add Captain Hook, the Wicked Witch, the Deadly Living Trees and just about all the villains you could think of.
See, there's nothing wrong with taking them and making them funny, but it gets repetetive and old, and at such a short film length, jumbling all of them is near impossible.
Then comes the Shrek babies, a concept very poorly handled. I didn't find them either cute or funny. And how it plays in the overall storyline is not only predictable but also flat.
The charm of some of the original characters such as Donkey and Puss is still vividly there, among the only saving grace of the film. But characters such Shrek himself seems a bit toned down, probably a result of the character jumbling.
Also, they seem to be running out of jokes. No, it's not that they repeat the same jokes, they just do so in a new way. Most of the jokes are simply recycled stuff presented in a new wrapper.Sure they elicit laughter, but they do make you think... "Wait a minute, haven't I seen this before?"
On another note, they seem to be takeing cheap shots at Disney, which I don't really mind much since they're play of the Disney princesses are one of the most hilarious part of the movie. But when making fun of rival company characters become one of the highlights of your movie, well then you have something to worry about.
Maybe I should make myself a bit clearer at this point. I was entertained by the movie. At some points I did laugh out loud and I found myself going with the characters. I enjoyed it, doesn't mean I liked it. It's a bit of a paradox actually. You find yourself laughing at the jokes but in the end still leave unfulfilled.
In a visual standpoint, Shrek is still pretty eye-catching. Sure it still stands no chance against the Pixar stuff, but it works well on its own. But that seems to be yet another problem. The first movie presented a new visually charming animation. The second seems to really flesh that out with clearly enhanced texturing. The third, well is just the same. It works, but it doesn't do anything new.
Overall, it is becoming clearly obvious that the franchise is looong overstaying its welcome. It was good while it lasted but I must say, with even more certainty than the somewhat disappointing Spiderman 3, adios to Shrek and his lovable pals.
I think that's a good enough 3 S's for this movie.
Hey, don't call me a kiddie-movie basher just yet. I have always prefered Disney and Pixar to Dreamworks' take on animation. But I have always enjoyes the somewhat less limited themes of Shrek. They aren't afraid to take any theme and bash it with all sorts of humor that Disney would be hesitant to use while retaining its kiddie format.
That would be one of the reasons I loved the 1st two Shrek movies, yes I liked the first two. See? I'm not a kiddie basher. Sure I still preferred Pixar's films to them any day, but the Shrek movies were originally entertaining nonetheless.
Well this right here is where the originality ends, boys and girls.
Sure, the first two Shrek movies borrowed lots of famous fairy tale icons and put a humorous twist to it so to see more of em taken in here is no big surprise. It's the excess of it that sort of gets old.
Sure there's Artie, then again there's also the whole cast of Lancelot, Guenevere and Merlin. Don't forger all those princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel.Alright, I could forgive that, they are fun characters to play with sure. Then you add Captain Hook, the Wicked Witch, the Deadly Living Trees and just about all the villains you could think of.
See, there's nothing wrong with taking them and making them funny, but it gets repetetive and old, and at such a short film length, jumbling all of them is near impossible.
Then comes the Shrek babies, a concept very poorly handled. I didn't find them either cute or funny. And how it plays in the overall storyline is not only predictable but also flat.
The charm of some of the original characters such as Donkey and Puss is still vividly there, among the only saving grace of the film. But characters such Shrek himself seems a bit toned down, probably a result of the character jumbling.
Also, they seem to be running out of jokes. No, it's not that they repeat the same jokes, they just do so in a new way. Most of the jokes are simply recycled stuff presented in a new wrapper.Sure they elicit laughter, but they do make you think... "Wait a minute, haven't I seen this before?"
On another note, they seem to be takeing cheap shots at Disney, which I don't really mind much since they're play of the Disney princesses are one of the most hilarious part of the movie. But when making fun of rival company characters become one of the highlights of your movie, well then you have something to worry about.
Maybe I should make myself a bit clearer at this point. I was entertained by the movie. At some points I did laugh out loud and I found myself going with the characters. I enjoyed it, doesn't mean I liked it. It's a bit of a paradox actually. You find yourself laughing at the jokes but in the end still leave unfulfilled.
In a visual standpoint, Shrek is still pretty eye-catching. Sure it still stands no chance against the Pixar stuff, but it works well on its own. But that seems to be yet another problem. The first movie presented a new visually charming animation. The second seems to really flesh that out with clearly enhanced texturing. The third, well is just the same. It works, but it doesn't do anything new.
Overall, it is becoming clearly obvious that the franchise is looong overstaying its welcome. It was good while it lasted but I must say, with even more certainty than the somewhat disappointing Spiderman 3, adios to Shrek and his lovable pals.
5 out of 10
