Hope springs eternal; but unfulfilled in Shrek 3

Rating: 2/10 (30 May 2007)

If we can count on Hollywood studios for one thing it is their unfailing ability to deliver mediocrity when they think they have found the formula for a successful franchise. Formulaic is what they delivered in Shrek 3.
The first two Shreks were irreverent and original. Almost uniquely in Hollywood they managed to entertain both adults and children without neither patronizing the former nor confusing the latter. In Shrek 3, except for a couple of scenes, there was barely a snigger from the audience of any age throughout the movie. With this one don't waste your money at the box office nor the movie rental store.
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the increasingly unwatchable number of movies Hollywood has been foisting on the public with their high-dollar marketing campaigns these past four years? I have walked out of three movies within the last three weeks; Spiderman III (twice - don't ask me to explain) and Pirates of the Caribbean; At World's End. They're boring. It is as though someone spoon-fed me a soporific at the beginning of the show; all I do is yawn until I get up and leave.
Where is the hunger?