Puss-in-boots forever! - Shrek 2 Reviews

All along, ever since the announcement of Shrek 2 just shortly after the 2001 surprise hit's resounding success, I've been constantly defending the upcoming sequel from the near-constant moans by the artsy schmaltzy snobs who were assuming that it was going to be terrible and pointless, especially reminding them about Toy Story 2. I'll have to admit that when the commercials first started to air, they were very underwhelming and didn't seem as something that would scream to be seen. On the flipside, it was the extremely positive advance reviews that confirmed the fact that I was seeing it opening day. Having just come back from the theatre... I'm glad that I don't have to eat my words. Simply put, Shrek 2 is every bit as funny and memorable as the first, and in my opinion, it joins Toy Story 2 and Terminator 2 among the rare list of sequels that are actually far superior to the original. Among the many standouts, Puss-In-Boots was screamingly hilarious and forever restored my faith on Antonio Banderas. All I will say about what makes him so great is that the entire room will simply be in awe at how adorable he is when he makes his puppy-eyed expressions. I'm glad to see, for once, a feline-like character that isn't portrayed to be evil or rotten. He is EXACTLY what this type of sequel needs so that it isn't the same old. And speaking of the rest of the cast, they were also very funny--there's far too many hilarious antics to list, even if I wanted to ruin the movie for you. The movie's message, which is once again about being happy under your own skin, is actually needed even more this time around. With primetime garbage like Fox's The Swan sending less-than-great looking people the wrong message, it's nice to see that there are human beings out there that still believe on true beauty being on the outside. There are but only a few problems to be had with the movie, mainly the fact that the movie is so funny during your first viewing that it'll derail your attention span on the actually quite complicated central plot, and thus be led into believing certain things that aren't intended to happen. But of course, that's what second viewings are for ;) What are you waiting for? SEE IT NOW. This is going to be the act to beat for the rest of the summer box office derby.