Our favorite green Ogre and his lovely but equally green wife are back. So are the irrepressible Donkey and the debonair but fluffily cute, Puss In Boots. In my honest opinion, Shrek the Third is the weakest amongst the three Shrek movies that Dreamworks Animation has assailed us with and the least funny (my personal fave is Shrek 2, actually). While the first Shrek was a revelation and an inspired laugh-fest, its sequel took it a step further by being smart and witty in its myriad inferences to well-known fairytale characters and stories. This third installment however, feels abit tired and old; the pacing was rather dull and dreary in the beginning and the film only picked up momentum after the first half. Even so, the really laugh-out-loud moments were few and far between. However, this could be due to my exceedingly high expectations and my own warped definition of what is funny and what is not (attributable to my wry sense of humour, I suppose).
On the positive side, the animation is top-notch. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eddie Murphy and even Justin Timberlake (though I couldn't make out his whiny voice at first); the cast list IS impressive and equally talented. I just feel, however, Shrek the Third should have been better and funnier than it is. Perhaps I simply miss Jennifer Saunders' Fairy Godmother character?? The latter was one of the reasons why Shrek 2 was downright hilarious...
Despite its shortcomings, Shrek the Third is undoubtedly one of the better THIRD installments of a film trilogy to be released during this June period. At the very least, I was still able to understand what's going on...
my ratings: 3.5/5 stars!!!
