Review of Shrek Forever After (2010) by Brunovn00 — 26 Mar 2020

This is the TRUE Shrek 3. It's such a day and night improvement over the god-awful third movie. This isn't a "Cars 2 and 3" situation, because this isn't just an "okay" movie like Cars 3 is...This is an actually great film.

Sure it doesn't have the same lighthearted tone as 1 or 2. It feels "darker" (well I might be using the term wrong but the tone is different, that's for sure) and larger scale and the "fairytale satire" the franchises is known for is almost absent here and the very few it has is more subtle here. It fleshes out its protagonist perfectly as well as other characters like Fiona (and hell, even Donkey). The story flows perfectly. There's not a single slow or boring moment. While it doesn't have the same amount of jokes as the previous movies, the few it has it's actually funny. The story it tells, the resolution and underlying messages are pretty powerful and all its emotional moments work really well.

It doesn't feel like a spin-off or anything, it feels like the next step following the story set in Shrek 2. It makes Shrek the Third completely pointless because you don't have to watch it to understand anything. The movie makes sure through its writing that you can enjoy it without even having to watch any of the previous movies. It does stand on its own. I feel like this movie is pretty underrated and "overhated". I feel insulted when people say this one was the worst. Sure, I don't think it's the best but it's on par with Shrek 1 and 2. If Shrek 3 didn't exist, then probably Shrek could've been one of the best animated film trilogies ever. I do understand why this could be hated...Like I said, it doesn't have the same lighthearted tone as the previous movies, but that doesn't matter, because this is an example that you can change the tone of a franchise as long as you make it good...And this movie...Is just great. It deserved an Oscar nomination.