Shrek Forever After (史瑞克快樂4神仙)

But what singles this movie out from the others is that Shrek has upgraded himself, jumping onto the 3-D bandwagon that Hollywood is so desperately trying to sell to everyone. The addition of 3-D means ticket prices are steeper, bringing extra revenues for the studios. But is it worth it, and therefore should you go see it or wait for the DVD or Blu-ray release?

Having already found happiness with Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Shrek (Mike Myers) finds that being a celebrity has its downsides, and he longs to be the ogre he once was, feared and left in peace — a form of male ogre menopause if you like. A traveling magician named Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) is the man of little stature in this year's release, reminiscent of the evil Lord Farquad, but without the title. He overhears Fiona and Shrek talking and hatches his sinister plan. Shrek falls for his trap and has to save the day yet again.

This chapter is strangely a prequel in a sequel, as Shrek is granted a wish from Rumpelstiltskin to return to his former scary self for one day only, at the cost of one day from his past. Unfortunately the day taken is his birthday, which means he never even existed, and so Shrek finds himself in the paradox of having one day left of his life that never was, before he is gone forever. Still following?

Yes the story does seem a little farfetched even for fairy tales, so the kids might find this confusing. But with the regular celebrity cast lending their voices to the feature, this film still provides a decent level of entertainment and clearly remains a winning formula.

Director Mike Mitchell revamps the old effects to bring The Land of Far Far Away more in line with recent productions. It's the first movie in the series to be displayed in widescreen, possibly also due to the use of 3-D which does not add much to the film that was not already there in the first movie. It also appears to affect the overall image quality, as some essential image darkening is required for the fantasy 3-D effects. The result is a darker, less vibrant viewing, not helped by a landscape more bleak than the previous adventures. Animation-wise, compared to the recent “How To Train Your Dragon,” it's so 2001.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email