Beyond the Rhetoric

If you go to your local cineplex today, you’ll find that there are three movies that are the third installments in their respective series. I haven’t had a chance to watch Spider-Man 3 yet and I’m still avoiding the crowds for Pirates of Caribbean: At World’s End, but this past Friday evening, I took a short trip to the movie theatre and soaked in the experience known as Shrek The Third. In following with my promise to review every movie I watch in 2007, here are my thoughts on the animated flick featuring a talking donkey, a cat with a sword, and an ogre ordained to be king.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you surely already know about this green monstrosity voiced by Mike Myers. The first Shrek movie was wildly original and gut-wretchingly funny. This was because although it had the appearance of a children’s movie, there were plenty of “inside jokes”, so to speak, that only the older audience would understand. As a result, Shrek was a movie that could be enjoyed by all ages… it was funny, great to look at, and surprisingly intelligent. The first two might still apply to this third edition of the Shrek franchise, but I’m very, very hesitant to give it that third characteristic.

Don’t get me wrong, Shrek The Third is still reasonably funny and it’s got its moments, but it’s far from being as smart as it once was. The voice acting was fine — although I didn’t particularly enjoy Justin Timberlake as “Arty” — but the script was severely lacking. The story wasn’t compelling at all and it just didn’t hold my interest the way that the first two movies did.

It’s funny, really, because the two best characters were also the ones that got, by far, the least amount of screen time. Gingerbread Man and Pinocchio were hilarious. The one scene that really sticks out in my mind was when Pinocchio is getting interrogated about Shrek’s whereabouts and in an effort to avoid lying (and thus allowing his nose to grow), he goes on like a politician with non-committal statements. I’m paraphrasing, but it went something like “It cannot be said with absolute certainty that it may be true or not whether Shrek is here or there and this knowledge, notwithstanding….”

It was also fun when the ladies above set out to escape from their prison. I won’t ruin it for you, but their initial strategy wasn’t exactly what you would expect.

In the end, Shrek the Third was mildly amusing, but it is by far the worst of the trilogy. If you’ve already watched the first two Shrek movies, you might as well watch this one and complete the set, but don’t go in with high hopes of terrific comedy. Instead, go in expecting some mild chuckles and some smirk-inducing sight gags. If you’ve got the time, I recommend you check Meet the Robinsons. Same style of animation, but more intelligent and (arguably) funnier.

2.5 stars out of 5

Filed under Arts and Entertainment.