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Shrek Forever After Is One Too Many

shrek squareIt was 2001 when the original Shrek captured the attention of audiences around the globe.  Kids liked it for the fun characters and colorful delivery.  Adults enjoyed it for the cleverly placed humor throughout the film.  The sequel came out three years later and it was another round of laughs and adventure for theater-goers and big bucks for Dreamworks.  You know Hollywood.  Where success was once found, try and try again.  Here we are in 2010 and the fourth film in the series has made its way to cinemas across the country once again.

Shrek Forever After includes voice acting mainstays of the franchise such as Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas.  In this last and final round of the Shrek franchise, the underhanded Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) coaxes Shrek into signing a deal of a lifetime.  Once again, Shrek can relish the fact that the villagers run in fear at the mere sight of his green skin.  Unfortunately, Shrek learns the fine print of the magical contract the hard way. As the old saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.”

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There is very little new material offered in the fourth installment of the Shrek line.  Everyone’s favorite ogre is now a frustrated parent being tugged in every direction, yet is equally distressed as he revisits his bachelor life.  While the animation and detail is stellar, the humor is sparse and the overall story is forced throughout 93 minutes I fought to stay awake in this downtrodden cartoon.  Not any of the all-star talent behind the variety of characters provided any glimpse of a shining star to save this movie from the rock-bottom excuse for entertainment it tried to put forth.  Then again, you can only do so much with what you were written.

The first Shrek had a fantastic charm that became further diluted as the series went on.  By the time we reach Shrek Forever After, it becomes blatantly obvious that this franchise should have stopped at a trilogy and left it at that.  There is zero charm in this movie billed as ‘The Final Chapter’.  Please, I can only hope the production team sticks to their guns on that tagline.  I can’t bear to watch another gazillion-dollar effort that is less fun than spinning quarters on a table.

puss

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6 Responses to “Shrek Forever After Is One Too Many”


  1. Brian White

    I hear you Gregg…Shrek #1 was OK, but I loved #2 and when it came to #3 it just seemed to fizzle out for me. You are right, IMO they should have stopped at a trilogy. I have no interest in this #4.

    Classic – ” There is zero charm in this movie billed as ‘The Final Chapter’. Please, I can only hope the production team sticks to their guns on that tagline. I can’t bear to watch another gazillion-dollar effort that is less fun than spinning quarters on a table.”

  2. Gerard Iribe

    I’m over Shrek. I only saw part 1 and don’t care to see the rest.

  3. Gregg

    When this year comes to a close, I can’t list this as one of my biggest disappointments because I didn’t have high hopes going into it. Still, I thought it was going to be a little better than what the final product offered. Garbage.

  4. Brian White

    They are just trying to milk the franchise for every last drop left. Sad 🙁

  5. Sean Ferguson

    The first one was okay and I really liked the 2nd one, but the third one was terrible and this one was only better than the previous one. I think Shrek is done but I wouldn’t mind seeing the Puss in Boots movie they are working on.

  6. Brian White

    Yeah…I kind of agree with Sean. Although I’m passing on this film, I probably wouldn’t mind seeing a Puss in Boots film if one was made.