In the first act, big laughs are "Far Far Away." But that doesn't mean the film is bad, just different than expected. In fact, save for the "necessary" action scenes, I don't see a whole lot here for the kids. That said, middle-aged marrieds will relate to Shrek's very married mid-life crisis to which the whole film speaks, a la, George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life (which, by the way, if you're so young you haven't seen this classic, you'll find it on any cable station during Christmas).
So, strangely George (I mean Shrek) starts out as a poignant drama with some cute notes here and there. Midway through, Shrek begins to remember that, once upon a time, he used to make audiences laugh out loud. The grease starts kicking in with edgy satirical humor. The quiet theatre comes alive at this point. We hear each other laugh. But the film stays loyal to its earlier dramatic tone as well and ends more concerned with its sweet message than climactic action. I appreciate that. Further, while earlier action doesn't rise much above run of the mill. That last castle-ball-breaking scene is actually elegantly imagined and choreographed. (A nice visual analogy for the push-and-pull of married life.)
Despite a long wait for big laughs, and a tedious contract-signing scene, I'm tempted to give Shrek 3 an A- because it kept my interest, made me laugh and actually touched me in an emotional way. Further, I greatly enjoyed its use of that big beautiful IMAX 3D. It's a marvel to look at. (I'm sure seeing it in 2D would negatively impact the viewer experience.) However, I found the villain character "Rumple" somewhat annoying. I'm not sure if the problem is in the scripting or the voicing, or even the rendering, but for this reason I'm rounding down to a B+. Still, an enjoyable experience overall though.
-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --
|