'Shrek Forever After'

'Shrek Forever After' (PG) (2 stars)

Writers: Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke
Director: Mike Mitchell
Starring the Voices Of: Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Walt Dorhn, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Lake Bell, Mary Kay Place

Watching "Shrek Forever After" I realized how special and damn good the original "Shrek" was. The magic is very much gone especially with these last two "Shrek" movies. You would expect fireworks from the last installment of your enchanting franchise. The fourth "Shrek" movie makes the third one look much better for I only chuckled maybe five times during this movie. The voice work is awesome as it has always been and the character's good will makes this at least watchable. The problem is the jokes aren't as rapid fire, witty or clever as the first one which was brilliant. There are some good sight gags but my favorite ones are going to go way over the head of adults just as much as kids. The charm is gone for the story seems tacked on and boring. The newest character is the evil Rumpelstiltskin who is very well voiced by Walt Dorhn. The problem is I would have liked to see more creative, new characters. The main characters aren't as fun as they once were and the movie feels like everyone wanted to get this over with and were forced to make it. It is a lazy movie even though it does get busy but substituting smart jokes with manic action is a disservice to "Shrek" Fans.