Shrek 2 Reviews

2 Much

‘Shrek 2’ is disappointing sequel that relies far too much on parodies and pastiches of films and popular culture at the expense of plot or character. Those movies which are lampooned seem conspicuously out of date and overdone (the grabbing of a hat from under a lowering doorway a la Indiana Jones is a prime example).

Diaz, Myers and Murphy all reprise their roles from ‘Shrek 2’s superior predecessor, but are not given the same quality of wisecracks to deliver and seem like poorer characters for it. The stand out addition to the line up is Antonio Banderas’ impressive comic turn as Puss in Boots who goes some way to make up for the loss of John Lithgow from the vocal cast.

In the end though, and for all it's impressive animation, ‘Shrek 2’ feels rather flat. An opening stream of film homages (including a telling ribbing of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ who is unceremoniously thrown back in the water) sets the tone for the film. The film’s plot is unengaging, the jokes are weak and the wit and warmth of the original feels like a distant memory. Too knowing for kids, too much of a cynical attempt to recreate the original’s winning formula for this adult.

[Highly rated reviewer]

I'm wearing ladies underwear.

When Shrek and new wife Fiona return from their honeymoon, they discover that the Princess' parents, the King and Queen of Far Far Away, insist that they travel to Fiona’s native soil and celebrate their marriage there! Much to Shrek's annoyance, they obey and along the way they encounter some very strange characters.

When I originally considered the advertising poster for Shrek 2, I was simultaneously thrilled and anxious. Thrilled for the reason that I had been eagerly anticipating it for some time and anxious due to not wanting a remarkable original to be impaired by way of a deficient sequel.

Part of the fascination of the original Shrek was its ability to take true pop culture and turn it on its head. Shrek 2 does not fail in this area either -- and one has to take into account part of the reason why the humour in this film seems so timeless is because of the nature of the film.

What begins as a somewhat lacklustre opening packed with insipid pranks and metaphors, develops into another magnificent animation. I was delighted that the writers, instead of opting for the original Shrek humour and character chemistry, introduced a fantastically fresh package that strikes on par with the original.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Hilarious and clever - even better than the first!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found Shrek 2 to be a multi-layered gem.

The plot continues from where Shrek left off (in which a beautiful but cursed princess is rescued not by Prince Charming but by an ugly ogre, whom she falls in love with and marries), and starts from the premise that ogres can't be expected to live happily-ever-after. Instead they would, like the rest of us, need to meet the in-laws, get past the first flush of love, etc. Needless to say, Shrek's in-laws don't like him much....

But the plot is just the backdrop. What makes this film so magical is how wittily derivative it is. The more familiar you are with popular culture (i.e. the more worldly an adult you are), the more you will enjoy this sequel. From the Hollywood-style hilltop sign above the place 'Far Far Away', to a discussion of the 'Miranda' statement police give you when you're arrested, every scene has something funny or amusing. The pace is so fast that you feel there's a lot more to absorb on the second viewing - which I'll need to wait for until this becomes available on the service!

It goes without saying that this film will be as appealing to kids as to worldly adults. A new character sure of particular appeal is Puss-in-Boots, whose strained relationship with Donkey will be recognised by every sibling and schoolchild.

The voices, as before, are great, with John Cleese, Jennifer Saunders and Antonio Barreras adding to the original team of Eddie Murphy, Cameron Dias and Mike Myers. Saunders is particularly good as the nasty Fairy Godmother.

A technical and artistic tour de force. Thoroughly recommended.

Green is Good

This doesn't have quite the same magic of the first movie, which could be put down to the fact that as a sequal it doesn't have that new 'wow' factor of something brand new. BUT, in it's own right it is still fantastic, very very funny and will appeal to young and old alike. The new characters give the movie a fresh look and the new voice cast is absolutely fabulous ('scuse the pun) - with more Brit's than Yanks (or Spaniards) in the main roles it's enough to make you feel proud! (is Mike Myers half Brit too?).

Only letdown is the 'Far Far Away Idol', which with Simon Cowell in is really, really cheesy, and not as good as the Kareoke in the Swamp party from the first movie.

Looking forward to Shrek 3 with hopefully a bigger role for Pinnochio - he makes me laugh...

Don't Bother!

After the absolute masterpiece that was Shrek, this sequel was eagerly awaited. Unfortunately, part of the first films charm was the unknown soundtrack, Shrek 2 uses well known and dated tunes to accompany a dire new 'character' Puss (as in septic) in boots, and the equally annoying Fairy Godmother voiced by the talentless Jennifer(sorry,are you supposed to be amusing)Saunders.

A bland tale with only two amusing scenes ie: are we there yet and pinnochios underwear. A desperatley poor attempt to keep the ball rolling. We were really disappointed. Shrek 1 has been played to death and will continue, Shrek 2 has been donated to the local charity shop.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Flimsy plot, but still funnier than most.

Shrek is a masterpiece. Shrek 2 as is the way with sequels to masterpieces isn’t. The plot is too flimsy, as Shrek goes to meet the in-laws with Donkey in tow. The jokes are spread too thin and the new characters lack any sense of dynamism with Jennifer Saunders Fairy Godmother being the worst culprit. While the original superbly parodied Fairytales themselves as well as gleefully eviscerating popular culture Shrek 2 flails around for targets to lock onto and often ends up misfiring.

That said, it’s still funnier than most cinematic attempts at comedy. Donkeys expressions are worth watching on their own, and it’s send up of “Far Far Away” as some ghastly sub -Hollywood centre of rapacious consumerism is superb. The one new character who does work is “Puss in Boots” who never quite lives up to his splendid entrance but is still good value. I also enjoyed the fact that “Prince Charming” was some vacuous floppy fringed spouter of lothario cliché. It’s another welcome subversion of the norm in films and it leaves you wondering why it’s mostly cartoons that are up for this type of genre rug pulling. (“The Simpson’s” do it virtually every episode)

The performances by the leads are excellent with Eddie Murphy again the star of the show, but if a third film is to follow I’d like to see the makers take a risk with the characters and the plot or it risks running out of steam.

Shrek 2

Having seen the first movie, I was worried whether Shrek 2 would be a let down; thankfully this was not the case. Although not as good as the first movie, it has many things to write home about. Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) often steal Shrek?s thunder when it comes to one-liners, yet the three work very well together as a whole.

The reason this was not as good as the first one is because this movie was more about mocking as many big Hollywood hits as possible and they neglected to have a fairy tale plot that involved rescuing a princess or saving the fairy tale kingdom. There are many obvious movie references yet there are many subtle ones that are often funnier than the ones that jump out at you.

Eddie Murphy was his usual hilarious self as the donkey that everyone loves. The introduction of a new character (Puss in Boots) was well done and was made funnier due to the fact that he was played by Antonio Banderas who we all know played Zorro. Often sweet, Puss can turn into an evil and vicious character that can kill without mercy.

Basically, Shrek, donkey and Puss have to save Shrek?s marriage by midnight or else Princess Fiona will fall in love with Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). Unfortunately, Cameron Diaz was slightly disappointing as Fiona as her role in this movie was minimal, where as Everett played the part of annoying pretty boy very well. John Cleese (the King) and Julie Andrews (the Queen) were extremely good and helped the movie along when I sensed that the plot might be a little thin on the ground.

The thing that really does this movie justice is the fantastic animation that deserves an Oscar. Rather than setting the words to the animation, the artists have recorded the words and then adapted the mouth movements of the characters around the words so it appears that the characters are speaking rather than the voice overs. The facial expressions are almost as good as any human ones and the lighting and music fit in perfectly with the attitude of the movie and the individual scenes.

Overall, this movie is thoroughly enjoyable and deserves 8 out of 10, yet I would still choose the first movie rather than this.

Excellent film really funny, enjoyed by the whole family many of the jokes could be taken at different levels. Definately as good if not better than the first film.

Excellent!

This film, like the first may need to be watched several times to pick up on the subtle background humour. The first film was definitely a tough act to follow. This film does just that. Jennifer Saunders steals the show for me!

To say this film is sheer brilliance is a huge understatement. I thought the first one was good, but this, it's the best ever, congratulations Dreamworks Pictures!! The pure genius of Eddie Murphy as donkey (again), and coming a close second and third are Antonio Banderras as Puss in Boots, and Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother make this film a definite must see. Interactive phrases that you can use again and again such as "are we there yet", "yes", "really", "NO", work well in the car for bored kidz!!! I could go on for hours and not find the words to describe how good this film is, but I won't, I will just retreat and go 'far, far away' and eagerly await the release (hopefully) of Shrek 3. Re-capture your childhood and reserve this now!!