Half as good as the first - Shrek 2 Reviews

A big newspaper reviewed Shrek 2 with: "...it's a slightly zombie-like version, with the size, look and shape of the original movie, but without its lightness or spirit, its soul." I'm in complete agreement. It's like half the movie of the original. Mike Myers does the accent only half the time, as if he forgot he was doing a character. Hey, a cool ten mil, why bother trying? The story was only half written, full of gaping plot holes and "should haves..." those plot turns that are obvious and expected (and desired) by the audience but are never taken, building disatisfaction right from the top. The gags and jokes are not as funny as the bad skits they save for the last fifteen minutes of Saturday Night Live. The music, playing such a hilarious and noteworthy role in the first for its blend of the contemporary with the fantastical in a witty contrast, was pointless and ineffective here, even juvenile. The denouement welds the storyline back together, but achieves nothing greater than what the characters had at the beginning. In the first movie, they were lamentable in the opening, then once the story developed, the change that occurred benefitted everyone. The upshot is: wait for the DVD.