‘Shrek III’ Isn’t Bad,
But Not Good Either

"Shrek the Third" is the third sequel-to-a-sequel I’ve seen in a row, and I have mixed feelings about the rising clout sequels have. Until very recently, a good sequel was about as easy to come by as a red emerald. Sequels (often released directly to the dominant video format of the day) were often painful, hackneyed affairs where a minimal fraction of the original cast would return for a halfhearted stab at mediocrity.

I think a lot about this, because sequels are a very strange breed. The greatest power of the silver screen lies in its ability to tell a finite story. Real life doesn’t work like that. The ending of a film is usually conclusive, and if it isn’t, the vagueness is usually deliberate. Creating a sequel destroys both of these things.

However, a sequel that lives up to the original has become a more common event in recent times. I’ve seen all of the "Pirates," "Spider-Man" and "Shrek" movies, and for each one the sequel was comparable to the original. And yet—and I really shouldn’t be surprised—money always triumphs over style, giving birth in 2007 to the sequel-too-far phenomenon.

Studios will just keep making sequels until they get one nobody will watch. "Shrek the Third" hasn’t delivered the franchise there yet, but I’ve got a bad feeling about "Shrek 4."

In this computer-animated film, Shrek (an ogre voiced by Mike Myers) and his wife, Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are acting as the pro tem king and queen of Far Far Away while Fiona’s father, a frog king voiced by John Cleese, is sick. When he dies unexpectedly, Shrek (who is already sick of being temp king) and Fiona are next in line. So Shrek sets off to find the next to next in line, a high school student named Arthur, so he (Shrek) can go back to his swamp.

Meanwhile, Prince Charming (the bad guy from "Shrek 2," voiced by Rupert Everett) goes off to drink at the end of a bad day at work at a pub for bad guys from fairytales, and leaves with a squadron of barflies bent on getting their Happily Ever After in life.

To further complicate things, Fiona is pregnant, and Shrek is having doubts about how good a parent he’ll be. Meanwhile, Arthur (voiced by Justin Timberlake) is a loser at the high school he’s been installed in, and Shrek has a hard time dragging him off to do a job he doesn’t want any part of.

This movie is distinctly half-baked, and I don’t mean that sarcastically. With perhaps another 30 minutes or so, the plot could have realized all its elements. As it is, the story ends up forking in two directions—the Prince’s bid for the kingdom, and Shrek’s bid for personal resolve—and although both are served adequately, they both would have benefited from more screen time.

The music is good, but I could tell that I was listening to someone putting together a soundtrack that will sell as a CD. And, unfortunately, this movie isn’t especially funny. There are a few really hilarious moments, but for the most part this movie doesn’t really come across as trying to be anything. I know from the previous two films that this is supposed to be a fantasy-comedy-drama with overtones of sarcasm and personal growth, but, fantasy aspect aside, I’m just not feeling it.

Bonus points for Shrek trying to relate to Arthur, Mr. Merlin’s answering machine, and that whole battle sequence with Snow White and the little twittery birds. I’m a sucker for battle sequences choreographed to music. Kevin gives "Shrek the Third" three and a half stars out of five.