Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with another positive review of SHREK 2. I'm excited that the buzz is so good on this flick. I really dug the first film when I saw it theatrically, but it lost a lot on the second viewing for me... As a matter of fact, I haven't been able to sit through the whole movie since I saw it in the theater. I'm a little nervous that the sequel has just as many nods to this specific date and time, but I'm also looking forward to what those nutballs over at Dreamworks have cooked up. Anyway, enough of my ramblings! Tread lightly, constant readers... here there be spoilers! Now on with the review!
Hey Harry and the gang, just got back from a Shrek 2 preview screening in my hometown of Vancouver, B.C. And thought i'd drop you fine "cinemadmen" a line and let you know if it's Toy Story 2 or straight to video, Timon & Pumba type garbage (we all know Scar shoulda had his own flick) Anyway guys, here's the news from Vancity:
We were gathered at the theatre at around 10:30, the curtain went up at 11. After going through a rather rigorous (sp?) Security checkpoint, where my friends digital camera was confiscated (to be returned of course, the Dreamworks people arent animals after all) I was in the theatre when they let in a bunch of local school kids to watch the show too. I feared the worst from these kids, but they were surprisingly obedient. We were welcomed by some Dreamworks exec guy( didnt get a name, didn't really care. Unless you are big, green and voiced by SNL alumi i dont wanna listen to you today. BTW keep an eye out for "The Hulk 2" starring Norm Macdonald. j/k).The Dreamworks dude told us that we would be the second audience to see the film, which got a hearty applause from all in attendance. He then told us that they had brought in a Digital projector to insure that we would see a print of the highest quality. "First Generation" he called it. He dropped some names, said it wasnt the final cut, said his thank yous, gave us one final warning about piracy (They had guards walking up and down the eisles with Night Vision scopes, it was like i was a character in a bond film...who just so happened to be watching Shrek 2) So after that final warning, the lights went out and so began Shrek 2.
From the very first frame of film, which was a semi-new dreamworks logo (basically the same with balloons. One time only thing im guessing) You could tell how sharp the visuals in the movie were gonna be. The opening, which contains Prince Charming's quest and many hilarious recent pop-culture references in a musical montage of Shrek and Fiona's honeymoon. Dont want to spoil anything but I'll say this, the director of "Lord of the Spiderman" would probably want to sue. The movie gets going pretty quickly. Shrek and Fiona return from their Honeymoon to find Donkey housesitting and doing a pretty shit job of it. Shrek and Fiona tell Donkey they want to be alone, Donkey goes into a batch of dialogue that will explain the Dragon from Shek's absence throughout the picture (Any die hard Dragon fans would be best off not to see this...but you still should cause it rocks) After that bit the King and Queens royal trumpet "peeps" show up and invite them to a big ball in Far Far Away. Fiona wants to go, Shrek gives her to ol' "no dice" and of course, they go because otherwise there would be no movie.
After a bit of a stretch in terms of laughs, the road weary/ ugly trio finally arrive in Far Far Away. I will advise you this right now, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE STOREFRONTS IN THE BACKROUND. Awesome jokes live back there, and they stew in hilarity-sauce. (Who would'nt shop at stores called "Old Knavery", "Saxon 5th Avenue", or "Farbucks coffee") They arrive to a giant public welcoming and of course, mom and dad are surprised to see that their daughter is once again hideous and green, and she has married someone hideous and green. There is a great bit of dialogue exchange on the red carpet as the two pairs approach each other, each person cutting off the other into the two different conversations. you'll know what I mean when you see it. it's great. Then after some early, forced pleasantries, they all have their dinner together where it becomes abruptly obvious that Shrek and the King are mad at each other. the King says some, well, i'll just call it "Ogrecism" and Shrek lets him have it about locking up Fiona in the tower. Decent scene i thought. Then Shrek and Fiona have a fight that ends with the introduction of the Fairy Godmother, who seems nice during her first scene but we soon find out is a straight up, medieval bitch-cake with icing...cold icing. We find out that her son is Prince Charming and she and the King made a deal to let the Prince marry Fiona. Fairy Godmother then tells him to take care of it and he goes to what can best be described as the "Cantina" of Far Far Away. There he hires Puss-In-Boots (Antonio Banderas, bra-f'n-vo for him, he was great) to kill Shrek, as he is, of course a famed Ogre killer. The king then lures Shrek out to the forest with talks of a truce, and then we have the fight sequence between P-in-B and Shrek.I wont say anymore of the detailed plot, but i will tell you that ive been going to the movies for nearly 2 Decades and thsi digital print was the best looking film i have ever seen. I dont know what it looks like on regular prints, but because of the bright colors and great visuals of the film i strongly reccomend you see this film on a digital projecter if you can. If not , it is still worth the price of admission, and then some. I'll stop the description there, bust out the Shovel and do some "Ditch Digging"
What I Dug -
The New characters! - At the end of Shrek , I was tired of Donkey's antics. Yes he was funny, but Eddie Murphy to me is like bread in a wind tunnel. He gets stale quickly. I got through the first one enjoying his performance but I was dreading sitting through the same schtick for another 90 minutes this time around. Thankfully, Rupert Everett(Prince Charming) , Jennifer Saunders (Fairy Godmother) and Antonio Banderas (Puss In Boots) Add a great sense of freshness to the already established characters. Banderas most of all stands out and the three of them (Shrek, Donkey, P in B) have some of the funniest 3-man dialogue delivery i've heard in awhile.
The music - The score by Harry-Gregson Williams was top notch ( I still get down to his theme to Metal Gear Solid 2) but the thing that i was most surprised with was the Musical numbers. Normally the part of the movie where i long for the return of dialogue had me tapping my toe and really getting into how the music connected with the story. the music department deserves a lot of credit for making the Audio portion of Shrek 2 as good as the visual and story.
The Pacing - Although we were told that it was not the final cut, I felt that the pacing of the film was great. There was only one spot i could think of where it kinda dragged. Other than that, looking back i find it hard to believe how much happened in the movie. The last 1/2 hour really pops with a kinetic energy not seen since Reptile fought Lui Kang in 1995's Mortal Kombat. (I'm thinking im alone on that one) But the pacing was great nearly all the way through
The References - In the words of that brave X-wing crew that took on the deathstar in A New Hope, "They're coming in hard and fast!". I cant even remember a good portion of the refrences and in-jokes because it seemed like every two seconds there was another one. I thought they would be getting that stuff out of the way during the opening honeymoon montage, but i was wrong. I wont spoil them for you, but i will say this. Any movie with such an evident Ghostbusters reference deserves the highest portion of love one can give. Ku-f'n-dos to whoever writes those delightfull in jokes.
THE SURPRISES - This movie is bubbling with the same cool and fresh (although semi-spoofed) ideas that made the first one so great. I'll say this, about 2/3's into the movie, what you know and have come to expect from Shrek should be thrown out the window. new Dynamics are created and that makes this movie such an Enjoyable experiance. Do you need to have seen the first one? not really, this movie really deserves to stand on its own.
What I Buried-
After seeing the first Shrek, i did not walk out of the theatre saying to myself. "Wow *beatrix*, that was a great movie, if only they had a cameo from Joan Rivers all my CGI wishes would've come true". That woman bugs the crap out of me and although miniscule, I didnt like her part, i get the joke, it was funny, but I would rather have Melissa Rivers (Now i dislike Joan more for making me type that last sentence)
Filling in the Holes - Shrek 2 deserves to stand proudly with Toy Story 2 and the yet-unmade Kazaam 2 as sequels that are better than the original. I say better because it was easy for the first Shrek to be original, there had not been a Shrek precursor to set the bar and tell people what to expect. Molds are in place for audience expectations for this film and in my mind, it broke free of every single one of them by introducing great new characters, one joke after another, great musical sequences and new Dynamics and twists to the whole Shrek world. Oh, and those Die Hard Dragon fans I made mention of earlier...you might want to stay after the main credits.
Just call me "Obscene Lantern"...thanks for reading
