Please, make this the last one

Rating: 5/10 (20 December 2011)

Considering the quick deterioration the Shrek franchise went through in it first three installments, the most incredible thing about Shrek Forever After is that it isn't any worse than Shrek the Third. In some aspects, actually, it's slightly better. That's not saying much though. Like the previous movie, Shrek Forever After is stale, repeats old jokes and basically, doesn't justify its own existence. Unlike the second and third movies, this one doesn't introduce any new characters that are in the least big interesting or funny. Rumpelstiltskin (they're really reaching for fairy-tale characters) is a dull and unimpressive lead villain, a disappointment in the series that produced excellent villains in Prince Charming and Lord Farquaad.
Shrek Forever After is, in fact, the least funny of all four Shrek movies. The story is somewhat better than the previous entry, though, and the one thing that the movie does well is present a satisfying and conclusive ending to the series. As long as it's indeed the last one, it's as respectable a farewell as we could have expected from this rustic, once great franchise... oh, hold on, is the Donkey movie in production yet?