MacGruber hits theaters, fails to blow minds of critics

You can expect plenty of explosions, mullets and one liners from "MacGruber." Image from Wikimedia Commons.

There were rumors of a “MacGruber” movie for a long time, and now it is finally here. The “Saturday Night Live” parody of “MacGyver” was a hit with fans, and it made for some great commercials, but it is not much of a hit with critics. It will be competing at the box office with the fourth and final installment of the “Shrek” franchise, “Shrek Forever After.” So far, the reviews have been somewhat positive, but kind of lukewarm.

‘MacGruber’ hits the big screen

After numerous appearances on television, including some famous Super Bowl spots, “MacGruber” is finally hitting the big screen. This “SNL” related film will be competing for fast cash from the box office against a film with an “SNL” alumnus, Mike Meyers, in the lead role. The MacGruber character parodies action heroes from the 1980s, complete with mullet. Granted, the target audience may be too young to remember “MacGyver,” or John Carpenter’s masterpiece “They Live.” That said, “MacGruber” has a 66 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the overall response seems positive, except from Kurt Loder who does not have a lot of kind words for it.

‘Shrek Forever After’ will do, donkey

“Shrek Forever After” is the fourth “Shrek” film, and it will be the last. Rotten Tomatoes has bestowed a 51 percent Fresh rating, which is not very flattering, but it is a sequel. Sequels tend to run out of steam eventually, and some film franchises run out of steam oimmediately because they just stink. (“Transformers,” for instance.) However, it would appear that this final installment has one thing going for it, which is 3D. Visually it should be interesting.

Survey says

If you’ve seen the “MacGruber” trailer, you know what you’re in for. It will be lowbrow, but it may be funny. It seems “SNL” movies just aren’t what they used to be, but considering that they’ve had several flops to every success, a quality “SNL” film is a rare bird. The new “Shrek” film, like many other movies these days, is relying on 3D to sell it. Just because the visuals are great, doesn’t mean the rest of a film is up to par. However, a lot of people sure are convinced that it does.