In 2004, Shrek 2 went on to become like the fifth or sixth highest grossing film of all time, with nigh on a billion dollars under it's belt. So Shrek 3 was inevitable. And here we have it: Shrek the Third has finally landed and overall, it's not as bad as the critics would have youe believe it is.

The story pics up after the events of Shrek 2, I'm sure you've all seen the trailer so I'm just gonna dot point the plot:

* King Harold (the frog) dies, Shrek goes on a quest to find Arthur (or Artie as they call him) so that he can take his place as rightful ruler of Far Far Away.
* Meanwhile, Shrek and Fiona are going to have a baby and Shrek is scared because, hell, kids are scary.
* Prince Charming, who hsa been working as a dinner theatre actor, believes he is the rightful king of Far Far Away, so he gathers an army of famous Disney villains (everyone from Captain Hook to Rapunzel) to lead an insurrection against Fiona, who has taken charge of the kingdom while Shrek is off finding Artie.

Things that worked for me:

There are still some very funny jokes, I was smiling pretty much the whole way through and even laughed out loud a few times. At one point in the movie, Donkey and Puss in Boots switch bodies, which serves as nothing but as kind of a lame joke and adds nothing to the plot, but it does serve one hilarious moment during a chase that had me laughing out loud. Also, you can't go past big green ogres jive talking to teenagers.

The character's motivations felt real to me, there were several very tender moments in the film, just like the previous two installments. This movie has a heart, something I thought the writers would've traded out by this point in the series. But they managed to create a nice, dramatic arc for the main characters, which I appreciated. It felt real to me, well as real as something so ridiculously absurd can feel.

Things I could've done without:

The character of Artie is an annoying teenager, made all the more annoying by the fact that Justin Timberlake sounds like a fourteen year old girl. Artie has a lot of lessons to learn and he learns them in the end, I just think that the movie could've benefited from the absence of Timberlake and a little less whining from little Artie.

John Cleese is only in one scene before the frog kicks off! I thought he was the highlight of the second movie, and giving him (and alos Julie Andrews) so little to do here didn't sit very well with me. They're both marvelous actors with terrific voices and deserved better treatment, especially after all the good stuff they gave us in the second movie.

The entire movie seemed rather action-light. The first movie was filled with terrific, exciting action sequences (remember the escape from the big dragon) and Shrek 2 had that awesome giant gingerbread man (called Mongo if I recall correctly). This is a kids movie, but I was epecting a couple more action sequences here and there, the climax of the movie could have especially used one. While I was happy with the ending, I thought it could've been kicked into a higher-gear. it seemed a little rush. I don't know why the filmmakers were trying to get us outta the story so quickly.

Overall:

Shrek the Third is a bright, vivacious, colourful and charming little movie. The kids will love it as much as the other two, though the adults may find this installment lacking in some of the more grown up in-jokes that the first two movies were rife with. Shrek has lost some of his charm, not all of it, but this time around there seems to be something missing. I liked it, but I think Dreamworks should quit while they're ahead. Shrek 4 faces a bleak future, I fear.


Cheers, Chism.