While I have enjoyed the
Shrek movies, they aren't my favorites. The movies are entertaining, but no where near as good as the Pixar movies. I still think
Monsters, Inc. should have gotten the Oscar instead of
Shrek. Anyway, I did still want to see
Shrek Forever After and I decided to go Friday to the first 3D showing. There weren't as many people there as I had thought there might be...no where near what was at
Iron Man 2.
The plot makes an attempt to me original by having Shrek agree to a deal with Rumpelstiltskin that will allow him to feel like a real ogre for a day. He just has to give up a day in return..and that is where everything goes wrong. Shrek has fun at first running around scaring people before he realizes that things are really messed up in Far Far Away. Rumpelstiltskin is King and he has the witches working for him, hunting ogres. No one, not even Fiona, knows Shrek. Once he realizes just how bad the situation is, he has to try to figure out a way to get his life back.
At first glance, the deal with Rumpelstiltskin is original, though after thinking about it more, it doesn't seem that way anymore. A lot of movies and even television shows have had a character have some sort of crisis or breakdown after marriage, so Shrek wanting to be a real ogre again is really nothing more than that. What really pushes him to the brink is how most days with Fiona and the kids are the same. The different version of Far Far Away is interesting, though it does lead to situations that are similar to things that have happened before. Shrek and Donkey have to meet again..and Shrek and Puss. Shrek goes to the castle where Fiona was locked up again. Dragon is shown again as a monster who wants to eat all living things. I had forgotten about this before, but she is dealt with in a somewhat similar manner with chains again as well. The more I think about things, the more similarities I see to the previous movies, especially the first one. Shrek already had to face potentially losing Fiona in the second movie..and here it is again. The final scene is a recreation of the final scene from the first movie, complete with the same song, though it is sung by someone else. Maybe this was intended to sort of bookend the series, but I think more originality would have been better. The movie is still entertaining, but some people will have more issues with all the similarities.
Much of the humor is silly and some of is gross again. Things are funny, but the movie isn't as funny as the first two movies. I didn't notice pop culture references like were used in the first two movies especially. Those did get a bit over used at times, but they did add to the humor, so a few could have worked. Music isn't used like it was in the first movies. There are only a few short spots that feature music, and none work as well as what was done with the first two movies.
The animation was done very well, though I think Pixar is better. I do think the movement of Fiona's hair looks better. Most of the 3D is more subtle, though it does stand out in some scenes. The movie beings by showing a storybook - another similarity to the first movie, complete with pages being ripped out while a character is heard reading the story. The book seems to float right off the screen and across the theater until it almost smacked me in the face. That image was done very well. When the credits begin, the images sort of serve as a recap of the previous movies. It seems like that should have been done at the beginning instead. More is shown from the first two movies and just a few basic things from the third are shown. It does seem like someone decided to try to ...forget about certain parts of that movie.
I think the returning characters are basically the same as they have been. The alternate versions of the characters are a bit different, but there isn't much to the development of them. Some of the supporting characters, like Gingy, are barely in the movie. Some others aren't back at all. There isn't even a mention of Artie from the third movie.
Even though I do think this movie has issues, I was still able to enjoy it as a fun, entertaining movie. I can see why some people would be more disappointed with it though, especially since I have remembered a few more ..issues since first seeing the movie. I also understand why the movie isn't doing as well as predicted for the weekend. I think people who were disappointed by the third movie are being more wary of this one. I do think
Shrek Forever After is better than the third movie, but not quite as good as the first two movies.
I did get a review posted on Epinions. I would have gone with 3.5 stars there if I had the option..since I didn't, I decided to round up to 4. So I'll use 4 here too.
Here's the link if anyone would like to take a look.
Shrek Forever After
