May 22, 2007 -- The computer graphics are better than ever in the third Shrek movie, but the screenplay is lame and the jokes are weak, making this the least entertaining of the three Shrek films. Revving mightily to gain momentum, the story spins its wheels, never really going anywhere. All the same characters are there, and many more have been added for this film, but there is little for them to do, despite the considerable voice talents (including two members of the renowned British comedy troupe, Monty Python, John Cleese and Eric Idle) tapped for this film. Voice talents for the main characters are the same as in previous films, Mike Meyers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (Fiona) and Antonio Banderas (Puss In Boots).

As good as the artwork is, and the animation is much more lifelike than before, and as good as the voice talents are for this film, the writing is weak, and it's no wonder. Most of the writers have written stinking screenplays before. Andrew Adamson wrote the story, and he worked on the much better “Shrek 2,” but Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman wrote the terrible screenplay for “Wild Wild West.” J. David Stem and David N. Weiss wrote the screenplay for one of the worst films made in recent years, “Are We There Yet?” There are seven writers in all who worked on this film, not including William Steig, who wrote the book this is very loosely based on, and nobody's blaming him for this film. It looks like the million monkeys with typewriters theory is at work here. If you put enough screenwriters together and work on a script by committee, maybe something good will come out of it. There was no magic in this effort.

In this story, Fiona's father, the king who became a frog in the last movie (voice by John Cleese) dies, naming his son-in-law, Shrek as his successor. Shrek wants no part of being king. He wants to go back and live in his beloved swamp, so he seeks out another successor, Fiona's cousin Arthur (Artie), a high school kid who is constantly picked on. He has the same issues of inadequacy that plague Shrek. He is still determined to put the kid on the throne. There is a bit of magic in the film in the guise of a befuddled sorcerer, Merlin (voice by Eric Idle), but magic plays a minor role in this film.

Meanwhile, the ousted Prince Charming is stuck playing dinner theaters in the land of Far, Far Away. He plots a comeback, organizing a squad of disgruntled fairy tale villains to storm the palace so he can regain the throne he believes is rightfully his. Finally, Shrek, Artie, Fiona, Prince Charming and his minions all confront each other at the end. The resolution of this conflict is unusual, to say the least. There is little cleverness to the plot and the jokes are few and far between. There are the usual cultural references that are the trademark of this series. It is a good-natured film and its heart is in the right place, but it is kind of bland and boring. The story is not compelling. The film rates a C.

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Copyright © 2007 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
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