Should you see "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish?" How do you feel about Antonio Banderas?
The Spanish actor debuted in the second "Shrek" film and has supplied the voice of suave, confident Puss in several more, as well as in his own "Puss" features and shorts. Banderas stole scenes in every one because his characterization is so cartoonishly self-assured and because, when he wants sympathy, the way animators shift him from Latin lover to big-eyed kitty-cat is hilarious.
It's surprising, then, and surprisingly delightful that "The Last Wish" is willing to shake up the formula. Puss dies at the beginning, for instance, leaving him with just one of his nine lives. And having multiple lives seems to have been the source of much of his bravado. So he spends the rest of the movie in a sort of purgatory that's similar to the world he came from except he can't assume that everyone will bow down to him anymore and he's stuck with a dog sidekick who annoys the heck out of him (voiced by Harvey Guillén). It's fun to see Puss laid low and in need of help from others, so both story decisions are great.
So are the primo actors in the cast. Olivia Colman adopts a working-class accent to play the Mama Bear whose bed Goldilocks once occupied and Florence Pugh is the golden-locked ingrate, who seems to have been hanging out with the dimwitted bear family for at least a decade longer than she'd like. The bright script hands out zingers to both of them, and to Salma Hayek as Puss' will-they-or-won't-they.
It's easy to recommend all of that stuff to fans of Banderas or of the off-kilter fairy-tale universe of "Shrek," but the visual aspects of the film are not as strong. The main characters have the clarity and detail of the "Shrek" movies but much of the rest of "Puss" is substandard, particularly when early scenes call for lots of background characters, all of whom have the blank, bland look of low-budget animation.
Those scenes look like they were completed hastily, or with small screens in mind. So maybe it would be wise to wait a couple of months until "Puss" is available to watch them on those screens, at home.
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'PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH'
2.5 stars (out of 4)
Rating: PG (for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments)
Running time: 1:40
How to watch: Now in theaters
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