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In a summer literally screaming for something original, the sequels have been the saving grace. “Spider-Man 2” and “The Bourne Supremacy” were both better than their predecessors. Filmmakers finally understand how to make great sequels; “2” is becoming okay at the end of a title. The point is that these sequels, even if they aren’t as good as the originals, are awesome.
“Shrek 2” is now in that category, and for good reason. What I get so sick of is the unannounced, unnecessary absence of certain characters in the continuations simply because the plot no longer needed them. “The Matrix Reloaded” fell victim to that, and “The Return of the King” sort of did (we’ll see those missed characters in the Extended Edition DVD). Thankfully, that happens merely once in the course of “Shrek 2”, and they don’t all around forget about that character – she’s still mentioned.
Don’t see this until you’ve seen the original because you won’t know who these now-beloved characters are, or why Fiona is an ogre, or why Donkey is still around, or how all of the fairy tale creatures become central characters, blah blah blah. Now that Shrek and Fiona are back from their honeymoon, they get a letter from her parents asking them to come in for a marriage celebration. The trouble is that her parents are fully human and King Harold (John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) of Far, Far Away. The scene in which they travel there and when they arrive is uncontrollably funny.
When the meeting of Shrek and Fiona’s parents doesn’t go exactly peachy, Harold hired a hit man to kill Shrek. The hit man is Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), in a character that steals nearing every scene he’s in. Puss in Boots becomes Shrek and Donkey’s loyal friend eventually and helps them on their quest to rescue Princess Fiona – not from the highest room of the tallest tower, but from Prince Charming, a prissy, spoiled, child-like man with dazzling good looks.
The final third of “Shrek 2” is basically non-stop laughter with the exception of some touching moments that only furthered the message of the first film. These are films that are funny and sad, loud and raunchy, sophisticated and delicately vulgar, but somehow they find a heart. *** ˝