The first two Shrek films were funny, inventive fun for all the family with such attention to detail and multi-layered humour that they paid repeated viewings. The third film was a crashing disappointment - an unfunny string of celebrity cameos without a plot to string it all together (none of the people I went to see this with, could even really remember what happened in it!). So can Forever After see a return to form or further debasement of what was once a quality franchise.
The answer, rather predictably, is somewhere in the middle. This is a vast improvement on the last episode - there is a plot (a kind of spin on Its a Wonderful Life, where Rumpelstiltskin tricks Shrek into an agreement which finds him marooned in a world where he had never been born), there are some good sequences (shrek's first moments enjoying being a real ogre again are a delight reminiscent of the first picture), both Donkey and Puss are used much better and Fiona leading an ogre rebellion works well. Add into this, some nice riffs on the likes of the Wizard of Oz, and you're starting to head towards what made Shrek great.
However, the film never really gets there. You can't escape the fact that the entire concept, four films and many imitations in, is feeling a wee bit tired. Its good but never gripping, funny but never hilarious, clever at points but never inspired.
Overall - 6.5/10 A definite improvement - a much better place to finish the franchise, but they do need to finish it now.
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