Review: Shrek Forever After

Shrek: Forever After is the fourth and final chapter in the Shrek tale. While it, like the other sequels, failed to capture the inspiration of the first, it was still solid and enjoyable.

The story starts at the triplets' first birthday. And Shrek is suffering under being a new dad. He's frustrated that he's hailed as a hero, stuck in routine, and missing the days of being the fearsome and hated ogre he once was. So he makes an ill-fated deal with Rumplestiltskin and gets transported to a paradoxial world where nothing is how it was before. In many ways reminiscent of the second film, yet still with enough twists to make it feel a little less repetitive.

Rumpelstiltskin is a fun villain, though not any more menacing than Fairy Godmother or Prince Charming. His army of witches reminded me a lot of the third movie, but again it didn't feel like a complete repetition. The Pied Piper was certainly the coolest flute-playing bounty hunter ever. they did well with his music where it was varied both in style and tone, and was able to convey a lot when he used it to communicate.

The biggest difference between this and prior iterations of the movie trilogy was this focused less on the idea of "be yourself, no matter what" and more on the importance of love. While the former lesson is still present, much of it is more in the undertone that accepting your situation and finding happiness with it is important. More important, is Shrek learning to reprioritize his life. Learning that repetition and a loss of his "evil ogre" image is far less important than his family and friends is the heart of this story.

The enjoyability of this movie really comes down to whether or not you enjoyed Shrek 2 and 3. If you enjoyed these, then you'll enjoy this latest installment. If Shrek 2 and 3 left you feeling blah, then you probably won't enjoy this one either, as it offers no more than these.

As far as 3D, I would say not worth it. I saw it in 2D, and didn't feel like I missed anything without the 3D. So save yourself a few bucks per ticket and just see the 2D version (if it's even still playing in 3D in your area).