Shrek 2 2004
This was not a movie I was going to go out of my way to see, but when Shrek 3 came out in 2007, my girlfriend wanted to catch up on the first two so she could go see the third (which got terrible reviews). At its best, Shrek 2 is better than the the original. But those bright moments are rare and much of this movie is dark as Shrek and Fiona’s relationship is strained from both within and without. The movie centers around a plot to break up Shrek and Fiona so that Prince Charming can marry Fiona instead. There are more big names this time around, with John Cleese and Julie Andrews playing Fiona’s parents. And Antonio Banderas is very good as Puss in Boots, playing a role similar to Inego Montoya in The Princess Bride. This provides Shrek with two wisecracking sidekicks, which works out better than the sometimes tiresome Donkey by himself. They also make better use of the ample material provided by fairy tales. Instead of just brief sight gags with fairy tale characters, we get a little more detail, especially with Pinnocchio and the Gingerbread Man.
Despite the angst at the beginning, this is probably a better movie than the first. So while I gave the last one a B-, this probably deserves a B. Also the DVD’s for both Shrek movies have pretty good extras.
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital