Shrek the Third is now in theatres across America. The movie is bound to make a tidy sum for Dreamworks this weekend but for the first time in it's franchise, the reviews aren't going down so well. Is it that third movie syndrome rearing it's ugly head once again? Has a change of director done this series harm? This is what some of the critics are saying about the flick...
"It makes the mistake of thinking slapstick action is funny for its own sake. True, characters zooming and bouncing around are easy to write because no creative invention is required to set them in motion". - Roger Ebert(Chicago Sun Times)
"A blockbuster phenomenon that wouldn't exist without the efforts of other films, and somehow smugly pats itself on the back for it". - Andrew Wright(The Strangler Seattle)
"It's just that when you're offered two delicious treats in a row, and then the third one feels rushed, bland and undercooked, it's tough not to feel a bit disappointed". - Scott Weinberg(Cinematical)
"Flat and pointless, Shrek the Third is a sequel made for the worst reason, merely to keep a mega franchise in the public eye and to position it for TV and Broadway spinoffs". Jeffrey Westhoff(Northwest Herald)
"Shrek the Third seems at once more energetic and more relaxed , less desperate to prove its cleverness and therefore to some extent smarter". A.O. Scott(New York Times)
Lots more reviews at
Rotten Tomatoes.
IMDB Rating - 7.1 Rotten Tomatoes - 44% Rotten Rating. 113 Reviews (Fresh 50, Rotten 63)
Shrek the Third is the only wide release movie of the weekend. No other studio dared go up against that giant ogre. With
Spider-Man 3's numbers dropping so much last week, of course Shrek is going to top the Box Office this weekend, but just exactly by how much will be interesting to see. For us here in the U.K, Shrek comes out next month.