Shrek the Third

Review by Loc

Guarded optimism. I may not have coined that term, but I sure like to think I did. After all, that’s the phrase I came up with win I first began anticipating the first X-Men flick. After that, lots of movies have come and gone, and some have earned that anticipatory rating from me. So, I’m gonna go ahead and claim it as my own, “guarded optimism”, courtesy of BMF. What does this have to do with the third installment in the Shrek series? Quick hit: sometimes, being guarded is good.

The Shrek series has been a mixed bag. The first was eh, pretty decent but not nearly the level of comedic genius that so many claim it to exude. But cut to the sequel and the referential jokes were spot on. Starbucks joke being the best little joke that I still remember today. So why walk into Shrek the Third with guarded optimism? Because this series is totally dependent on clever comedy, and at some point, comedic genius runs out. For instance, like in Shrek the Third.

In technical terms, Shrek hits some good notes. The animation is quite seamless, having gotten better with every movie. While the every installment looked good, the little advancements helped push Shrek the Third from good to great. There are faces that look good, expressions that look better, people moving around almost like real people. Overall, it look really good.

Story-wise, Shrek begins to break down. Each flick has had its fun turning classic fairytales on their sides. Imagine Wicked with humor instead of the drama. Like Prince Charming being a conceited, self-involved numbass or the evil dragon being a lovesick animal looking for real love. But the third installment fails to serve up any fun nuggets like that. Sure, we get some glimpses of storied villains bonding in a saloon or the legendary Knights of the Roundtable being high school jackasses, but it seems like the writers never quite realized the potential in these characters. Captain Hook, Wicked Witch, all those villains never get the shine time they deserve.

Then there’s the missing comedy. Funniest parts? Watch the trailers. Funniest parts not in the trailers? Don’r really remember any. Secondary characters, Donkey and Puss N’Boots, not really showcased. Shrek, eh nothing too special. Really, there’s not a moment in the film that let anyone rolling on the floor, child or adult. The slapstick is pretty mundane. And the clever comedy, the stuff that is so subtle but so funny that it raises Shrek to “adult comedy” level, just not there. At all.

Overall, Shrek the Third is serviceable. It’s not great, it’s not even really good. It’s just good and mildly entertaining. And for some movies, that’s really more than enough. But for something like Shrek, being good is really, just being good enough. And that’s not good enough. If that makes any sense. Out of 4 Donkey-dragon babies, Shrek the Third serves up 2.5 fire-breathing monstrosities. There’s really nothing else to say.