Tried and tested

Shrek 3
Directors: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Writer: Andrew Adamson
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
Genre: Animation / Adventure
Rating: PG
Running Time: 92 minutes
Seef Cineplex II  at  11am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm and 12 MN.

SHREK the Third doesn’t really offer a new plot. Instead, it careens from one joke to the next.
Some will take issue to this, but I felt it offered more laughs than most family fare. With their PG rating, the makers push as far as they can.
Some parents might complain that certain gags go too far, which is understandable, but I found that to be quite a relief. Shrek faces an extremely tough job of pleasing all demographics; kids, teens, adults, and seniors.
I felt part two was mostly geared towards families, as it left out most of the edge of the first one. It was a bit too cute, whereas the first one was cute but still managed to criticize a lot of pop culture.
Shrek the Third returns with the same twisted sense of humour from the original Shrek, and also plays around with epic franchises like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
Story wise, Shrek the Third is not very good – but at the same time, it does make fun of itself. There is one scene in particular in which the material careens towards sappy drama, and the characters even acknowledge it – as an overly gooey soundtrack piles on the emotional overtone.
Touches like this made me appreciate this sequel even more; they’re aware of the clichés. Visually, Shrek the Third looks incredible.
It’s a pretty funny movie, which for a kids’ movie is not something people tend to say very often. I tend to think most family fare is too light and safe – and Shrek the Third proves there is some hope in turning that around.
– Tim Graham