Lyzsi SinclairCinema release review - "Shrek Forever After"...
Family-friendly film franchise “Shrek” is one that has been brought to our screens both big and small, for 9 years now by Dreamworks. After a less successful third instalment, “Shrek Forever After” promises to be the last in the series, and so bringing us to the end of our adventures with the loveable green ogre. Original cast members Mike Myers (“Austin Powers”), Cameron Diaz (“There’s Something About Mary”) and Eddie Murphy (“Doctor Dolittle”) all return, and is it brought to us in glorious 3D, (although a 2D version is available for a much cheaper ticket price if you prefer).
Big green ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) has sure had an eventful few years, but now it seems he’s finally able to settle down and enjoy his ‘happily ever after’ with wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and their three lovely children. His best friend Donkey (Eddie Murphy) of course is never far away, with him and his brood round for daily play-dates; and all his previous adventures have made him somewhat of a celebrity – no longer feared and known by all. However, all of Shrek’s days begin to become monotonous, and he starts to find himself regretting the day he ever rescued Princess Fiona from her tower and curse. A bust-up between the couple on the day of their children’s birthday party leads to an angry Shrek storming off and running into Magic Contract Wish Granter specialist – and naughty trickster – Rumplestiltskin (Walt Dohrn). Down on his luck, and in need of a willing victim to deceive in order to get his own life back, he convinces Shrek to sign a contract which exchanges a day of his Shrek’s current life, for a whole day as a feared Ogre again. However, it all goes wrong as Shrek lands himself in a parallel world, where Far Far Away is ruled by the evil Rumplestiltskin, ogres are hunted and Fiona and Shrek have never met. To make things worse, at the end of the day Shrek will be erased from all existence - with true love’s kiss being the only way to save him from this fate. With Fiona hating him, his friends not knowing him, and only a day to live – can he get the kiss that will save him and change the parallel world back to the way it was…?
Let me cut straight to it; this was a completely unnecessary film. Mildly entertaining? Yes. Animated well? Yes. Delivering something new to the franchise? No, and that is why this was a sequel too far. I haven’t actually seen the third “Shrek” film (I heard some bad reviews about it so haven’t got around to it yet), but the first two are films I’ve seen countless times. I can pretty much give you a word-for-word run down of them (maybe a bit of a pathetic life skill for a 21-year-old there), and enjoyed them immensely. They were fresh, funny, charming, and beautiful to look at. “Shrek Forever After” fails to hit many of those marks. With a fourth outing, the tiredness sets in and things aren’t as new or exciting as before – the same old plotline leading the way definitely doesn’t help. Recycled jokes, and far too many songs sung by Eddie Murphy’s character Donkey tend to set in an annoyance factor – and you find yourself wishing for the characters to just let loose and do something interesting.
I’m not totally calling into doubt how good it looks, animation is something I wish I was good at, but I found myself grinding my teeth at glaring continuity errors. At the start you see a flashback scene with the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews) of Far Far Away, nearly signing themselves away to cure Fiona of her curse. I realised the Queen looked different, and just put it down to ‘well, she would have been younger then’. The next scene she appears in at the birthday party years and years later, she looks exactly the same as in the flashback – but not the same as in the first two “Shrek” films. Another case of this was a flashback to Princess Fiona (as a human girl) locked in her tower, and her face looking fairly different to me than from the first two films. When I got home I checked this, but I wish I had a side-by-side picture to help me to prove my point. Regardless, that’s something that shouldn’t be a problem – the other films on celluloid should help avoid careless mistakes like these. Perhaps I’m just being too pernickety though…
There were no great laugh-out-loud moments in this film at all either. I found myself smiling and lightly laughing at the obese version of Puss In Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) from the parallel universe, but it wasn’t enough to cause a knee-jerk laugh reaction. I have honestly never been in a cinema screen where it was so quiet. There were barely any giggles at all, and that is probably caused by the reused jokes I mentioned before. I guess I was expecting a bit more from this film (whether I’d have expected the same if I had seen the third film), and I ended up disappointed. There were a few heart-warming moments – particularly at the conclusion where Shrek is more concerned with saving loved ones, than being obsessed with having his own life back – but it all seemed a bit ‘too little, too late’.
The voice cast performances were solid (I have another continuity problem with one voice, but I shall let it lie unless requested to divulge), but that is a usual thing for the franchise. There’s never been a problem for me with casting, or how things were played out. It’s all a bit like hearing a long-time friend talk – you don’t listen to how they’re saying stuff, or notice changes in their voice, because you’re used to it. Walt Dohrn was a nice addition to the cast as Rumplestiltskin, and had a fittingly trickster-esque (I know I’ve made a word up there) voice.
I also feel I have to ask how many more times we have to witness another pointless dance sequence in a film. It seems that all too often the characters all break into dance, and it wasn’t really needed in this, (although the first time this gag plays out with some witches is slightly amusing). The 3D in this film wasn’t breathtaking or something that added to the story. I took my 3D glasses off at one point, and was surprised by how much of it was normal animation – with only a few 3D bits scattered here and there amongst each scene. Definitely save the money if you have to choose between 3D and 2D, it’s the same either way.
Overall this film just falls flat - whereas it should have gone out with a bang. It’s not a completely awful film, but if you’re looking for the magic and greatness of the first film, then you will be disappointed. Children of course will enjoy it as it’s familiar and fun to look at – but for me the appeal as an adult has just gone out of it. We’ve all come to love and accept him as a great animated character, but I definitely agree that it's the time for us all to say goodbye. “Shrek Forever After” gets a measly 5/10. Flix Out.
P.s. I HATE bad Hollywood pun titles, but where was the title “Shrek FOURever After”? Maybe I should head for a career in bad movie puns…?
Big green ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) has sure had an eventful few years, but now it seems he’s finally able to settle down and enjoy his ‘happily ever after’ with wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and their three lovely children. His best friend Donkey (Eddie Murphy) of course is never far away, with him and his brood round for daily play-dates; and all his previous adventures have made him somewhat of a celebrity – no longer feared and known by all. However, all of Shrek’s days begin to become monotonous, and he starts to find himself regretting the day he ever rescued Princess Fiona from her tower and curse. A bust-up between the couple on the day of their children’s birthday party leads to an angry Shrek storming off and running into Magic Contract Wish Granter specialist – and naughty trickster – Rumplestiltskin (Walt Dohrn). Down on his luck, and in need of a willing victim to deceive in order to get his own life back, he convinces Shrek to sign a contract which exchanges a day of his Shrek’s current life, for a whole day as a feared Ogre again. However, it all goes wrong as Shrek lands himself in a parallel world, where Far Far Away is ruled by the evil Rumplestiltskin, ogres are hunted and Fiona and Shrek have never met. To make things worse, at the end of the day Shrek will be erased from all existence - with true love’s kiss being the only way to save him from this fate. With Fiona hating him, his friends not knowing him, and only a day to live – can he get the kiss that will save him and change the parallel world back to the way it was…?
Will Shrek get his kiss and save the day...?
Let me cut straight to it; this was a completely unnecessary film. Mildly entertaining? Yes. Animated well? Yes. Delivering something new to the franchise? No, and that is why this was a sequel too far. I haven’t actually seen the third “Shrek” film (I heard some bad reviews about it so haven’t got around to it yet), but the first two are films I’ve seen countless times. I can pretty much give you a word-for-word run down of them (maybe a bit of a pathetic life skill for a 21-year-old there), and enjoyed them immensely. They were fresh, funny, charming, and beautiful to look at. “Shrek Forever After” fails to hit many of those marks. With a fourth outing, the tiredness sets in and things aren’t as new or exciting as before – the same old plotline leading the way definitely doesn’t help. Recycled jokes, and far too many songs sung by Eddie Murphy’s character Donkey tend to set in an annoyance factor – and you find yourself wishing for the characters to just let loose and do something interesting.
Donkey was less loveable, more irritating...
I’m not totally calling into doubt how good it looks, animation is something I wish I was good at, but I found myself grinding my teeth at glaring continuity errors. At the start you see a flashback scene with the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews) of Far Far Away, nearly signing themselves away to cure Fiona of her curse. I realised the Queen looked different, and just put it down to ‘well, she would have been younger then’. The next scene she appears in at the birthday party years and years later, she looks exactly the same as in the flashback – but not the same as in the first two “Shrek” films. Another case of this was a flashback to Princess Fiona (as a human girl) locked in her tower, and her face looking fairly different to me than from the first two films. When I got home I checked this, but I wish I had a side-by-side picture to help me to prove my point. Regardless, that’s something that shouldn’t be a problem – the other films on celluloid should help avoid careless mistakes like these. Perhaps I’m just being too pernickety though…
There were no great laugh-out-loud moments in this film at all either. I found myself smiling and lightly laughing at the obese version of Puss In Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) from the parallel universe, but it wasn’t enough to cause a knee-jerk laugh reaction. I have honestly never been in a cinema screen where it was so quiet. There were barely any giggles at all, and that is probably caused by the reused jokes I mentioned before. I guess I was expecting a bit more from this film (whether I’d have expected the same if I had seen the third film), and I ended up disappointed. There were a few heart-warming moments – particularly at the conclusion where Shrek is more concerned with saving loved ones, than being obsessed with having his own life back – but it all seemed a bit ‘too little, too late’.
Puss has let himself go a bit - and ditched the boots...
The voice cast performances were solid (I have another continuity problem with one voice, but I shall let it lie unless requested to divulge), but that is a usual thing for the franchise. There’s never been a problem for me with casting, or how things were played out. It’s all a bit like hearing a long-time friend talk – you don’t listen to how they’re saying stuff, or notice changes in their voice, because you’re used to it. Walt Dohrn was a nice addition to the cast as Rumplestiltskin, and had a fittingly trickster-esque (I know I’ve made a word up there) voice.
Walt Dohrn played Rumplestiltskin well...
I also feel I have to ask how many more times we have to witness another pointless dance sequence in a film. It seems that all too often the characters all break into dance, and it wasn’t really needed in this, (although the first time this gag plays out with some witches is slightly amusing). The 3D in this film wasn’t breathtaking or something that added to the story. I took my 3D glasses off at one point, and was surprised by how much of it was normal animation – with only a few 3D bits scattered here and there amongst each scene. Definitely save the money if you have to choose between 3D and 2D, it’s the same either way.
Overall this film just falls flat - whereas it should have gone out with a bang. It’s not a completely awful film, but if you’re looking for the magic and greatness of the first film, then you will be disappointed. Children of course will enjoy it as it’s familiar and fun to look at – but for me the appeal as an adult has just gone out of it. We’ve all come to love and accept him as a great animated character, but I definitely agree that it's the time for us all to say goodbye. “Shrek Forever After” gets a measly 5/10. Flix Out.
P.s. I HATE bad Hollywood pun titles, but where was the title “Shrek FOURever After”? Maybe I should head for a career in bad movie puns…?
