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Shrek 2 Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 19 Reviews)

New Gags, Same Message
The movie Shrek taught us all to be ourselves, and that it is what is on the inside that matters, not the outside. It also taught us that ogres are like onions, not cake. And that one person's annoying talking donkey is another person's comedic treasure. Yeah, Shrek was a very funny movie with a very deep and meaningful lesson. In Shrek 2, we get some old gags, plenty of new gags, and the same old message. Ok, so now Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are back from their honeymoon, but they find that Donkey (Eddie Murphy) isn't the only person waiting them for them. Fiona's parents, Herald (John Cleese) and Lilian (Julie Andrews), who are the King and Queen of a kingdom called Far, Far Away, have summoned the newlyweds to the kingdom to be the royal guests of honor at a wedding ball. However, upon their arrival, they are immediately shunned by the people of Hollywood, I mean Far, Far Away. Let's not forget that Shrek and Fiona are ogres, and Donkey is an annoying talking animal. Anyway, Fiona is visited by a sleazy Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) who tries to convince her to be "happy", or marry her son, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). Fiona declines because she loves Shrek. Meanwhile, it turns out King Harold and Fairy Godmother have some secret pact, which, if not honored, will have dire consequences for the royal family. Anyway, Shrek, feeling rejected by Fiona, takes a "Happily Ever After" potion which turns Shrek and Donkey "sexy". Soon, Fiona is forced to choose between the old and the new Shrek.
The whole potion bit is a metaphor for plastic surgery, or something related. After all, Far, Far Away is very Hollywoodish, and in Tinsel Town, looking good is everything, even if it doesn't mean feeling good. Anyway, this was a very funny movie. There were some original jokes, some jokes from the first movie, and some film spoofs, such as Spider-Man, Mission: Impossible, and E.T. Once again, the Shrek/Donkey duo generated a lot of laughs, but the real scene stealer was the new Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). Finally, I was a little disappointed not to see some sort of cameo from Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), who was a great character from the first film who got too little screen time. Anyway, this movie, while it is a bit of an echo of the first film, but it is still worth seeing.

Different, but Better Than The First
Hilarious. Adults will love it's fast paced, bit mature, twisted humor. I liked it much better than the first Shrek. The laughs come at a non-stop fast pace. There are no boring parts. Small children may not catch much of the humor (at least I hope not), but the movie is a visual masterpiece. A feast for the young viewer's eyes. Great fun. Loved it.

Half-Done and ultimately unrewarding
Shrek 2 is the follow-up to the almighty 'Shrek', a 2002 offering from Warner Bros., and re-teams the vocal talents of Mike Myers as the titular Ogre, along with Cameron Diaz (his lovely bride Princess Fiona), and Eddie Murphy (Donkey).

When Fiona's parents, the King and Queen of Far Far Away, meet Shrek, her Father, disgusted with an Ogre for a son-in-law, is blackmailed by the Fairy Godmother (Absolutely Fabulous' Jennifer Saunders) into having him 'taken care of', so her son Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) may have her instead. Enter Puss-In-Boots (Antonio Banderas) who, failing in his task to dispatch our Heroes, joins them instead, and they uncover a dastardly plot full of magical intrigue and mayhem.

The first thing one notices about Shrek 2 (besides the absolutely flawless, magnificent animation, that is) is the slightly darker, more adult theme of the first half of the movie. Here we are dealing with more grown-up themes like love and familial rejection, and unfortunately the comedy value of the movie suffers for it. It's down to Donkey and a couple of nice visual in-jokes (the Kingdom of Far Far Away, the transgendered Ugly Stepsister, the Drive-Thru restaurant) to keep us amused. Sadly, in the wake of the first movie where Shrek himself dealt out a fair share of the jokes, this doesn't work as well as it could have and forced smiles seem to be the order of the day while we wait for something funnier.

It does come - 'Shrek 2' does not disappoint with the hilarious second half of the movie - and the comic talents of Jennifer Saunders and Antonio Banderas are wisely put to very good use, making for a sequel that is, at least in part, as good as the original. The final ballroom scene and parallel battle sequence with Mongo The Giant Gingerbread Man is worth the price of admission alone and the movie does come into its own with more visual and verbal jokes than it's possible to take in.

The animation is superb - it's really getting to the stage where we won't be able to distinguish between CGI and human actors for much longer - check out the human form of Shrek and Princess Fiona's facial expressions for proof of this - and the visual sumptuousness of the movie is an absolute delight.

That said, for a slow beginning and some rather advanced themes (especially for smaller kids), 'Shrek 2' just doesn;t push as many Happy Buttons as the excellent Original. It's good, but it could have been so, so much better.

Maybe for rental, instead.

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