Shrek 2

[ZapRowsdower]

Anyone see this yet? God, this is a funny movie. Every bit as good as (if not better than) the first; Antonio Banderas is just great (add Puss in Boots to that list of greatest characters), and... God, it's a riot. A laugh a minute. The review will be up on my website as soon as I reformat my virus ridden computer.

[Bartwald]

Let us know when you have this review on your site, Smitty! Here in Poland we'll have to wait for Shrek 2 until July, I think. Which sucks a lot, of course.

[Heineken Skywalker]

Wow Smitty, I think you and I saw different movies.
A riot? A laugh a minute? Not from where I was sitting.

I saw it today and to be honest, I wasn't very impressed. Thought the first one was much better.
Other than a couple of scenes that were pretty funny, the "COPS" spoof, Donkey's scene during the credits, and one or two others, I was pretty bored by it.
The only new character worth mentioning is Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) who is pretty funny. But why cast comedy genius, John Cleese as such an unfunny character as the king? In fact, other than Puss & Donkey, most of the other characters were pretty dull. Including Shrek himself.
The songs in the first SHREK were nothing to write home about, but the songs in this one really sucked. "Livin' La Vida Loca"?? How annoying, not to mention, played out, is that song, and that was the big closing number?? The original song the Fairy Godmother sings is supposed to be a big "showstopper" ala Disney"s "Be Our Guest" or "Under the Sea", but it's not very good at all. And that group who ruined David Bowie's "Changes" should be strung up by the short hairs.
I'd give it a 5/10 (Average)

[ZapRowsdower]

I don't know about other people, but I usually associate "clever" with "funny", and Shrek 2 was extremely clever. And I laughed a lot.

Humor is a highly subjective thing. What some people find funny, I find irritating, and vice versa. Guilty pleasures of mine include the Cat in the Hat and Freddy Got Fingered. I know I SHOULDN'T like them, but I do. Not my favorites, obviously, but I had fun with them. My friend thought the Master of Disguise was funny. Whatever. The dumbasses I sat next to in Troy thought Troy was funny. So I guess Shrek 2 just wasn't really your bag of tea, but at least we're in agreement on a couple of things: Puss in Boots and the Cops spoof were AWESOME!

I'm sure we ALL hate Livin' la Vida Loca by now, yes. But check out what the characters are DOING during that whole sequence. It was great. It's sad that they chose to revive THAT song, there are much better Spanish titles to choose from, but I'm not really complaining. Hell, I'm sure even the director knew everyone was sick of that song, but then again, when was the last time you HEARD Livin' la Vida Loca? It wasn't a bad song the first time I heard it. Even Chris Rock called it the Puerto Rican "Whomp, There it Is". Why do I dislike the song now? I blame MTV.

[LivingDeadGirl]

I wanna see this movie..the previews I've seen are hilarious. Also wanna see A Shark's Tale. Guess I'll have to take the niece & nephew so I won't look like a big dork going to see it alone. ;D

[Heineken Skywalker]

"Humor is a highly subjective thing."

Oh, absolutely. Movies in general are subjective. You and I both thought TROY was an excellent movie, yet reviews have been average and film fans overall don't seem to be crazy about it, so what do I know.
The movie wasn't awful, I just didn't find it all that funny or clever or whatever. For one, the main characters just weren't interesting enough to hold my attention. Shrek, Fiona, her parents, the Fairy Godmother. They were all kinda dull characters, IMHO. So the flick ends up resting on the shoulders of the supporting characters, mainly Donkey & Puss in Boots, and I didn't think they were enough to carry the movie.
It's kind of fitting actually. Antonio Banderas ended up having his last movie, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, stolen from him by Johnny Depp and now he steals this movie from Mike Myers.
I'm sure I'll be in the minority regarding my opinion of this movie. It's getting mostly positive reviews and it did huge box office this past weekend, so obviously everybody wants to see it. I did. I thought the first one was very funny and clever. Part 2 almost seemed like an empty shell of the first movie. All the elements are there, but for me it just didn't seem to ever come together. Not the worst sequel I've ever seen, just not one of the best either.

[Bartwald]

Shrek 2 finally arrived in Poland and the theatres are full of children laughing the hell out of them... or so I presume. I think I'll finally go and see it after the weekend.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Still haven't seen it yet. But I read that they were thinking about doing a spin-off movie for the Puss In Boots character. I've heard he's the best part of S2.

[Heineken Skywalker]

livingdeadgirl said:

Still haven't seen it yet. But I read that they were thinking about doing a spin-off movie for the Puss In Boots character. I've heard he's the best part of S2.

He was definitely one of the big highlights. A whole movie based around him? Hmm, not sure yet. Might be too much of a good thing.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Yeah, you may be right. I think they're just tossing the idea around right now though. Nothing in concrete.

[Bartwald]

I remember reading your comments on Shrek 2 the first time round: I was glad Smitty liked it so much but I was almost sure that at the end of the day I'll rather feel about it as Heineken did. Now I have finally seen the movie - and I, too, think it's (almost?) as good as the original!

Sure - John Cleese is wasted. Sure again - some songs suck. But is Shrek 2 funny? God it is! They did it again! I really thought it won't work as well for the second time - and I'm glad I was wrong. My only real problems with it are:

- it looks too kitsch sometimes (too many colours, too many fireworks and magic wands doing oh-so-great tricks),
- the Fairy Godmother truly is annoying.

But it's easy to forget about these two when you laugh so much! And the between-end credits sequence? Ohh, really - that's too much!

And by the way: genius Polish dubbing here! Especially for the Donkey again!

7,5/10

[jol]

Saw it last Monday. I haven't laughed so deeply watching a film for a long time.
While Shrek and Fiona were overshadowed and rather dull most of the quotes and referrences were well-used. And the animation was superb! For example Fiona and Shrek's skin seemed meshy, and hair of Mr Charming looked quite natural. Good job!
Loved MI sequence.

However, in my opinion, Polish dubbing was better in the first one.

[Bartwald]

Oh, that's a surprise... I really thought that Jerzy Stuhr as Donkey was even better this time round - which seemed almost impossible at first!

[Termination]

Seen Shrek 2 once, had its moments. There was more adult humor in the first one imo.

Do you think Shrek 2 can make $8,417,302 before its theatrical run is over?

Well if it can, then it will surpass Star Wars EP I & take over 4th all time domestic gross.

[Heineken Skywalker]

Those box office numbers are truly incredible. Really, was this movie that good??
What am I missing here??
It's an entertaining movie with some laughs, but are people really this starved for entertainment??