Second rate Shrek

Rating: 3/10 (27 December 2010)

A shame to see what was once so original, both in terms of graphic representation and slick but sharp comedic chops reduced to this really rather tawdry, hopefully "final chapter" as its US title would have it, in the Shrek franchise.
It's only 90 minutes long but seems greatly padded out, with a plot that fatally and unoriginally owes more to "It's A Wonderful Life" crossed with "Harry Potter" than the toon world which inspired the original prototype.
It's basically all plot and almost no laughs, only one line - Donkey's "Time-share" quip - broke my silence, nothing is added to our knowledge or empathy with the characters and you couldn't care less about the denouement. There's nothing new in the art department, ditto the use of soundtrack music, in fact the whole thing reeks of formula and cash-in.
Time to retire the big guy and all his entourage. When the inevitable Christmas boxed set hits the shelves, this is the one you'll never play more than once.