Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageShrek the Third (2007)
Director: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Synopsis
When Shrek’s new father-in-law falls ill, the green ogre is looked at as the new heir to the throne, a role he he not too keen on.
Movie review
From Time Out London
As with many film franchises, you could string together all three of these money-spinners and not notice the joins. The trouble with this third instalment, though, is that a) its Arthurian premise is dispiritingly conventional and b) the pop culture references are starting to wear thin.‘Shrek the Third’ centres on hammy wannabe actor Prince Charming (voice of Rupert Everett) who, it turns out, isn’t that charming after all. In fact he’s a spoiled egomaniac who loves himself more than his heckling audiences do. When Charmless finds out that the dying King Harold (John Cleese) has asked his ogre of a son-in-law, Shrek to seek out his natural successor (a distant nephew called Arthur Pendragon), he seizes the opportunity to organise an ego-boosting coup against the meek civilians of Far Far Away. With Shrek (Mike Myers) and his wise-cracking sidekick Donkey (Eddie Murphy) away in search of the new king, it’s left to the loveable ogre’s beloved wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and her bevy of fairytale femme fatales to kick a few butts into touch. But that’s not all, there’s a sub-plot boiling away in Shrek’s mind and it involves babies…
Despite a number of protracted moments, a few scenes are truly inspired: the dying-frog sequence for one, and Shrek’s ‘Exorcist’-inspired nightmare about parenthood for another. Some jokes sail close to innuendo, but in the main they’re balanced enough to appeal to all ages. The CG animation, too, is as refined as we’ve come to expect. Just a shame it lacks the smart sassiness of its predecessors. Time to call time, we think.
Author: Derek Adams
Time Out London Issue 1923: June 27-July July 3 2007
User reviews of this film
-
- jamie said...
- Posted on Aug 11 2007 20:09 gd
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Jamie said...
-
Posted on Aug 11 2007 19:58
I thought it was great the princesses rocked aswell !
10/10 the shrek films never dissapoint - Report as inappropriate
-
- bob said...
- Posted on Aug 07 2007 12:29 can any of the people posting comments spell??????
- Report as inappropriate
-
- -.- j-o- ,!, ( >.< ) ,!, said...
- Posted on Aug 06 2007 13:25 this was the biggist load of rubbish i have ever seen !
- Report as inappropriate
-
- cazyjazy said...
- Posted on Aug 04 2007 13:17 fell asleep, yawn! yawn! Film getting tired now! should have stuck with 1 & 2 which was brill. move onto something else now!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- rebecca said...
- Posted on Aug 04 2007 11:32 IT WAS RUBBISH
- Report as inappropriate
-
- zahra said...
- Posted on Aug 02 2007 10:04 I did not enjoy this film as much as the first and the second!! Still was funny!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Amii said...
- Posted on Jul 29 2007 22:19 hiya, i love sherek. i wanna see this one so badly but i have to travel all the way to cheshire oaks cause the cinema near me has closed down!! Lv it-x
- Report as inappropriate
-
- laura said...
- Posted on Jul 27 2007 21:07 the film was exellent but i prefered the first two. i think when 3 or more films come out on the same thing the novelty wares off. but it was still great.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Lucy said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2007 11:27 Can't belive Juilie Andrews is the Queen and Shrek and Fiona have babys! Great film thoght!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Lucy said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2007 11:20 Can't belive Juilie Andrews is the Queen and Shrek and Fiona have babys! Great film thogh!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- madmoo said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2007 11:02 What an amazing film! I found myself laughing along with everyone else. I found it really enjoyable - it appeals to all ages as the kids enjoyed it as much as I did (I'm 51).
- Report as inappropriate
-
- jodie said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2007 10:21 i think this film was excellent i also think it is better than the last two becus shreks babies are right cute arr.and i think it was quite funny.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- SUDZ said...
- Posted on Jul 24 2007 22:29 i HOPE ITS GOING 2 BE GREAT IM SEEIN IT ON THE 25TH 2MOZ!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Jade said...
- Posted on Jul 23 2007 14:18 i thout it wer alrite not as gd as the first 1 tho !
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Producer: Aron Warner
Genre(s): Children's, Comedy
Rated: U
Duration: 93 mins
UK Release: Jun 29 2007
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now