Poor screen writing ruined this film.

Rating: 4/10 (21 January 2008)

Alright, there were several problems with this film, which is why it didn't do well with the critics. The first problem is that there are too many slapstick and poop jokes. The first Shreks used similes and odd situations to be funny. This time, the writers tried to appeal to their children audience, but by doing so, alienated their adult one. Another problem is the plot structure inconsistency with the first films. In the first two, Shrek was always the underdog with the most obstacles to overcome. In this film, Shrek almost has a villain's advantage over Charming. Charming has to gain the trust of the Fairy Tale rejects, take over a castle, and declare himself king. Had Shrek been in his place, the film would have been in agreement with the first two. Finally, this film left out the "journey" feature the first two had. What I mean is that, in the first two, Shrek had a long journey to accomplish his goals, but this film was just connected, episodic misadventures. If Merlin hadn't just warped them home, the movie would have been more enjoyable because we could have identified with Shrek's hardships.
"Shrek the Third" is by no means a bad film, but compared to its predecessors, it is inferior. I cannot recommend it to anyone over the age of 12 due to the poor plot, inconsistent characters, and the immature jokes and situations.