After challenging an evil dragon, rescuing a beautiful princess and saving your in-laws’ kingdom, what’s an ogre to do? Well, if you’re Shrek (Mike Myers), you suddenly wind up a domesticated family man. Instead of scaring villagers away like he did in his youth, a reluctant Shrek now agrees to autograph pitch forks. Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker, Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) and suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) have never met. Now, it’s up to Shrek to undo all he’s done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one true love.
This is the fourth and final chapter of DreamWorks' Shrek franchise.
After the overstuffed yet bland excesses of 2007’s Shrek the Third, this supposed swansong to Dreamworks’ not so jolly green giant is something of a welcome relief. However, it is still far, far away from the heights of the first two installments.
A revisionist take on the original tale, Klausner and Lemke’s story channels It’s a Wonderful Life by way of Back to the Future and The Matrix trilogy (raves included). But while this raises the drama and action stakes, the comedy is sadly lacking with only Donkey and a paunchy Puss ‘n Boots raising much more than a titter.
As usual there are some clever musical and sight gags with a Carpenters-scored montage of Ogre-ing and a gladiatorial Gingerbread Man taking on animal crackers the highlights. Main baddie Rumplestiltskin lacks the menace of John Lithgow’s Lord Farquaad or Rupert Everett’s Prince Charming, with a cupcake-eating clown’s look and Dohrn’s voice combining to make him seem like a cross between Eric Cartman and Clay Aiken.
No cat-tastrophe, Shrek Forever After is more than acceptable school holiday fare but some parents probably won’t be able to wait until it’s ogre.
By James Croot, Flicks.co.nz
bla bla bla something more intersting please!
It's hard to believe this is the final instalment in the hugely lucrative Shrek quadrilogy - even though a Puss in Boots spin-off is already in the works, this is ostensibly Shrek's last outing.
DreamWorks could be entering a period of fresh creativity. With How To Train Your Dragon and a balanced, darker-hued and very funny Shrek finale, they’ve found the magic again.
Reveals a definite been-there, done-that feeling.
Whatever else gets tossed into the mix, Shrek must be the heart and soul. In this, Myers is a master; he makes it seem easy being green.
What fortifies Shrek Forever After are its brilliantly realized principal characters, who nearly a decade after the first “Shrek” film remain as vital and engaging fusions of image, personality and voice as any characters in the history of animation.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 24th Jun 2010.
Release date: June 24th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
