SHREK 2
RATING: 8/10
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PLOT:
In this follow-up to the original SHREK, we find the titular monster
living a
married co-existence with his precious princess of a wife, Fiona. They
live in
Shrek's swamp, but are almost immediately invited to meet the princess'
parents, who aren't exactly the most open-minded couple in the world. When
Shrek and Fiona arrive at the palace, the King is particularly perturbed
by his
daughter's marriage to an ogre, and goes through some lengths to make sure
that
the marriage doesn't work out. Will love conquer all or will the King, his
hired assassin and the fairy godmother take care of business "old school"?
CRITIQUE:
There aren't too many films that can follow up the grand success of their
original with a sequel that's just as worthy, in terms of the qualities
that
made its successor a hit, and an ability not to simply re-create the first
one
all over again, but in the case of SHREK 2, they have done just that with
a
continued emphasis on story, humor, entertainment, emotional connection
and
fun, fun characters. This movie started off a little slow for my taste,
but
once things got going, I was hooked, line and sinker with enough gags to
keep
the children laughing and enough in-jokes and homages to other movies, to
keep
adults nodding approvingly. I noted at least a dozen such tips of the hat
including marks to such films as THE LORD OF THE RINGS, ALIEN and
GHOSTBUSTERS,
but plenty of others which I'm sure I missed as well. The film is not
likely to
stand up in time against the first movie, but for what it is, and for what
it's
attempting to be-which is an all-out entertaining motion picture that will
appease both kids and adults for a period of one hour and thirty five
minutes-SHREK 2 does the job just fine and shouldn't be a hassle or
disappointment to anyone who thoroughly enjoyed the first go-around. I
personally could have done without the few burp and fart jokes that were
still
present in this film, but I guess that comes with the territory. The new
addition that really took this film to another level though was the
introduction of its latest star, Puss 'n Boots, voiced brilliantly by
Antonio
Banderas, and featuring one of the more unforgettable animated character
"sad
faces" of all-time. Great stuff.
I also liked seeing the old crew back in action, especially Eddie Murphy's
Donkey, which is pretty much the only thing Murphy seems to have done
right in
the past few years, as well as the cute side-kicks a la Pinocchio and the
Gingerbread Man, who all make valiant "cameo" appearances nearing the
film's
conclusion. A creepier, darker side of the film also helped keep things
fresh,
including a nice rendition of an evil Fairy Godmother, as well as a
run-down
drinking hole featuring Captain Hook drunkenly playing the piano for such
notables as the headless horseman and others (I don't want to give too
much
away). A surprise voice cameo for the "ugly" stepsister is a hoot as well.
The
film also sets up a nice adventure for the three leads, including some
nice
interplay between Donkey and Puss, along with engaging action,
specifically a
brouhaha in the Potion Factory, a very funny take on "Cops" set in the
medieval
times, as well as a finale set to the perfect tune and plenty of
excitement.
The plot also takes a few more twists and turns than the original and I
liked
the fact that they stuck to their guns in terms of the film's overall
message
this time around (nice for the kids) and added a few choice tunes, just to
keep
things moving at an animated pace. And speaking of animation, that also
holds
up quite well in this follow-up, with plenty of details, colors and 3D
graphics
to go around. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoyed the first film
and
anyone who enjoys fun, fluffy, all-around entertaining animated movies
altogether.
Where's JoBlo coming from?
Chicken Run (8/10) - The Emperor's New Groove (8/10) - Finding Nemo (6/10)
-
Monsters Inc (7/10) - Shrek (8/10) - Toy Story 2 (8/10) - Wallace & Gromit
(8/10)
Review Date: May 15, 2004
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
Writers: Joe Stillman, J. David Stern, David N. Weiss
Producers: David Lipman, Aron Warner, John H. Williams
Actors: Mike Myers as Shrek
Eddie Murphy as Donkey
Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
Genre: Animated Comedy
Year of Release: 2004
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(c) 2004 Berge Garabedian
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X-RAMR-ID: 37889
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1282972
X-RT-TitleID: 1132597
X-RT-SourceID: 573
X-RT-AuthorID: 1021
X-RT-RatingText: 8/10
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