Finally a film this Summer that ALMOST lives up to the hype...

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2001)

With it's rapturous reception at Cannes and box-office success both sides of the Atlantic, what I'm about to say may come as a bit of a shock.....sitting comfortably?.....pulse ok?.....Shrek is not quite as good as you think.
Recovered? Good, because Shrek is still a damn good film. It looks great, is funny, and the characters are endearing. Myers' Ogre may be a little dull sometimes, but Diaz' fiesty princess and the Donkey (an absolute scream, and possibly Murphy's best role in years) more than make up for that. Most of all, it's brimming with an attitude and streetwise nature which many of Disney's films lack, which recognises that kids really can be nasty little sods at times, and are far from stupid. 'Shrek' really does pull the conventions of the fairy tale to pieces at times, and it's combination of body jokes and black humour (the Magic Mirror's 'Blind Date' style description of Snow White ("Though she lives with 7 guys, she's not easy") for example) are an unceasing attack on Walt's whole back catalogue of kiddies classics.
However, it does have it's faults. The script is a little light in the joke department. When it's funny it's really funny, but there's not enough humour for all ages to strike a perfect balance and you feel that, without Murphy's wisecracking ass, Shrek could have been pretty boring (the rumours were that Dreamworks cut much of the black humour out of the film to get its certificate, so this may explain it). The main premise of the film isn't used enough either. Aside from the start and end sequences of the film (with the exception of one hilarious fight with Robin Hood and his Merry Men), the fairy tale cast is anonymous - a shame, as it's a great idea.
Despite that, Shrek is still a great piece of entertainment and shows that Dreamworks, although they lack the quality script of a 'Toy Story', aren't too far off of stealing Disney's crown.
8/10