Shrek Forth And Multiply

When the first Shrek was release way back in 2001 it's post-modern dissection of Fairy Tale mythology was considered both clever and humorous. Skip to 9 years, and 3 sequels later, and Shrek has run almost completely out of steam. Like Shrek The Third before it, Shrek Forever After's story is tired, the jokes are flat and the characters are over-familiar and safe. No life and no joy to be had...and that's from a first movie that I thought was merely OK to begin with.

The one positive thing it has in common with the other sequels is that of the Puss In Boots character. I've never been the greatest fan of Banderas, but everytime he voices the fantasy, feline swashbuckler he makes me chuckle uncontrollably. And he's given some great material to work with as Puss is now fat and pampered. Comedy gold.

But there's a bright side to this tepid sequel. It's the last Shrek movie. And in it's place we get a Puss In Boots solo adventure in 2012. It's just a shame it took Dreamworks Animation nearly a decade to figure out that's where they should have steered their fairy tale franchise.