"SHREK THE THIRD" (2007) (voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy) (PG)
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QUICK TAKE:
Computer Animated Comedy: A swamp ogre tries to get a young man to be the next king of Far, Far Away Land, all while dealing with a diabolical prince as well as news that he's going to be a new father.
PLOT:
In Far, Far Away Land, King Harold (voice of JOHN CLEESE) is on his death bed, and thus tells his son-in-law, Shrek (voice of MIKE MYERS), that he wants him to be the next ruler of the land. Yet, the green ogre would rather return to his swamp home with his wife, Princess Fiona (voice of CAMERON DIAZ), and thus seizes upon Harold's last words of there being another heir.
Accordingly, and while Fiona and her mother Queen Lillian (voice of JULIE ANDREWS) stay at the castle, Shrek sets sail with his sidekicks Donkey (voice of EDDIE MURPHY) and Puss in Boots (voice of ANTONIO BANDERAS) in search of Arthur. What they find, however, is Artie (voice of JUSTIN TIMERLAKE), a picked-on high school kid who doesn't seem to be king material. Nevertheless, Shrek convinces him he's right for the position, and they set off on their return trip, eventually needing the assistance of former high school magic teacher Merlin (voice of ERIC IDLE).
Unbeknownst to them, Prince Charming (voice of RUPERT EVERETT), one-time beau to Fiona but now relegated to performing in dinner theater, has hatched a plan to use all of the fairy tale world's villains to help him storm the castle and give all of them a happy ever after ending. With Shrek captured, Prince Charming's plan seems to have fallen into place, but Fiona, with the aid of her mom, masculine barmaid Doris (voice of LARRY KING) and others, including Snow White (voice of AMY POEHLER), set out to rescue him and restore Far, Far Away Land to its former glory.
OUR TAKE: 5.5 out of 10
The third time isn't exactly the charm for "Shrek the Third," the second sequel in the hugely popular and once highly enjoyable series about a green swamp ogre, the princess he saves, a wisecracking donkey sidekick, and a plethora of fairy tale characters, all of which entertained viewers of all ages with equal combinations of wit, charm and heart.
While undeniably the most technologically impressive entry of the bunch -- three years from the 2004 film being a lifetime in terms of increased computer horsepower and artistry know-how -- the film suffers in the area that's most important, the script.
With a new set of writers and directors, the pic feels as if it's just going through the motions of delivering what we've come to expect from the series, rather than taking the material and doing something creative or hilarious with it, which is what occurred with the original film segueing into the first sequel. The result is that many viewers may experience the "been there, seen and heard that before" reaction. Although that isn't a horrendous flaw, and the film does have some fun and funny moments, overall it feels like a letdown compared to what the first two films had to offer.
With the fairy tale material seemingly having been tapped out by those predecessors, writers Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Chris Miller, and Aron Warner somewhat oddly transition over into Arthurian territory for the main gist of the new story. It seems that King Harold (voiced by John Cleese) is about to croak on his death lily pad, and thus wants our title character to be the next king (why Julie Andrews' Queen Lillian wouldn't take over is never explained).
Yet, Shrek (once again, Mike Myers reprising his role) would rather return to his home swamp with Princess Fiona (ditto for Cameron Diaz), and thus seizes upon the dying king's last words about there being just one other heir, a fellow by the name of Arthur. Unbeknownst to them, he's yet to find Excalibur, as he's just a picked-on high school kid. While co-directors Chris Miller and Raman Hui get a little mileage from a medieval look at contemporary high school life, it's not as hilarious as one might expect (the valley girl speak spoof is like, omigod, so last decade for sure).
The bigger problem is that "Artie" (voice by Justin Timberlake) is far too bland for this series that's otherwise populated with charismatic characters. He doesn't offer much in the way of laughs, and thus the film pretty much bogs down to a seat squirming crawl whenever the story features him.
At the same time, and bearing an uncanny similarity to something similar that occurred in "Happily N'Ever After" earlier this year, many fairy tales villains literally and figuratively storm the castle in an effort to get their just due. They're led by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) who's been relegated to doing dinner theater (and being irked by constant interruptions and having his dressing room out in the alley), but still wants to be king.
That would normally bother Shrek, but he's preoccupied with stereotypical worries about being a first-time dad now that Fiona has announced she's pregnant. Some amusing moments stem from that (including a brief "Rosemary's Baby" type spoof, followed by the seemingly requisite baby vomit scene, projectile style), but like the rest of the film, they come up a bit short in terms of delivering the sort of big and inspired comedy expected from this series.
Perhaps most disappointing is that the sidekick characters of Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) have pretty much been neutered as far as spawning laughs. While they're around quite a bit, there's far less amusing and/or hilarious exchanges between them and/or Shrek. A magical screw-up caused by Merlin (Eric Idle) has some potential when the two exchange bodies (a cat mentality in a donkey's body and vice-versa), but beyond a few random chuckles, that's also a surprising letdown.
Although our familiarity with all of the characters certainly doesn't breed any sort of contempt for them or the picture in which they appear, it does mean that the film isn't as funny, entertaining, or enjoyable as its predecessors. And that's what makes it feel even more disappointing. Needing a new jolt of inspiration and wit should it continue on to yet another sequel, the third installment rates as just a 5.5 out of 10.
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