Monsters vs. Aliens

Okay, I'll admit I'm not big on CG movies as I always find 2D animation much more convincing and involving but I had a good time with this (along with a some relatives) and it's a pretty cool movie. However, I kinda felt a little underwhelmed; the story is good, but there's just wasn't enough substance along with the characters and action. I just felt it needed more. But it's a treat to see all the nods to '50s classic era of films that Monsters Vs Aliens pays homage to along with some good messages about being true to yourself and looking beyond one's appearance in order to know someone. Seeing the film with 3D glasses was a cool idea but in my view, 2D will suffice but still, it's good family entertainment for an afternoon. Hopefully the next film will have more ooomph, more "Monstrosity".

Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is a woman who got upsized by a meteorite on her wedding day. B.O.B. (Seth Rogen) is a gelatinous, brainless creation after an experiment on a tomato went wrong. Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie) is a scientist who turned himself into a hybrid. The Missing Link (Will Arnett) is a creature found frozen and revived. And giant mutant larva Insectosaurus is a product of nuclear testing. The government has secretly collected these monster and now they need them to fight alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson).

DreamWorks has gathered all the iconic 50s sci-fi B-movie creations, and formed a pretty cohesive team. It's surprising that the limited backstory allowed the characters to gel so well right off the bat. It's probably due the fact that these characters seem so familiar to us. It also helps that the actors do some great voice work.

The story itself has one major problem. The movie is basically split in two parts. The pacing slows down dramatically in the middle after a high intensity fight at the start. However the comedy works well especially the brainless BOB. I think this team has good potential.

It might not be the best but it's definitely one of the funniest Dreamworks animated films in my opinion as many jokes seem a bit more for grown ups rather than kids. I also found it quite entertaining overall.

After a rather slow beginning in which a girl gets proposed to, the movie picks up when she gets turned into a giant on her wedding day and from that on the film is frenetically comic. Like most Dreamworks cartoons, this one can feel like it's trying too hard (Dreamworks has a Looney-Tunes-on-speed approach that can be a little exhausting), but at its best the movie is wildly funny.

The story and characters are admittedly generic, but pleasantly so. But there is a certain annoying laziness to the plotting. The death of one character is treated as sad even though the audience is given no reason to care, and the female empowerment angle is a bit on the silly side. The plot is at a kid's movie level, even though the humor is funniest enough for this adult.

Not a great cartoon, but a very enjoyable one.

The President of the United States (Stephen Colbert): "Boys, set the terror level at code brown, 'cause I need to change my pants."

Monsters vs. Aliens is my first 3-D movie—not really, but it is the first time I have felt the process worked within a film as an integral part of the artistic process. It supports the science fiction, titillates at times, but most of all gives the illusion of reality. DreamWorks can be proud of this addition to the pantheon of excellent contemporary animations (dominated by Pixar) that use its Shrek as a touchstone for memorable characters wedded to mature themes and superior techniques.

Monsters vs. Aliens is also a family film in the truest sense: Elders to tots can enjoy the visual delights of 3-D outer space and observe a young bride-to-be Susan Murphy (voice of Reese Witherspoon) grow by a radiation accident into the heroic role of Ginormica, a woman literally too big for her britches. She must assert her independence from a self-centered fiancé and convince family, friends, and the world that an out-sized woman (read overachieving feminist) has a place in the male world, a superior place at that.

A strength of this sweet film is its use of ironic, sometimes sardonic, language to satirize just about everyone, from the president (see the opening quotation, not great humor but entertaining) to the makers of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, whose feel good '70's glow is ripe for 21st-century cynicism, to memories of such chestnuts as The Blob and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The hip,loving mood of the film is exemplified by the alien's proclamation at invasion time, "Humans of Earth, my quest has led me to your planet. Give it to me now! You should, in no way, take any of this personally. It's just business."