Monsters vs Aliens Review [2]

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 04.02.2009

What does DreamWorks latest 3-D animated film share in common with Airplane! and Blazing Saddles?

Directed by Rob Letterman
Written by Rob Letterman

Cast
Reese Witherspoon ... Susan/Ginormica
Seth Rogan ... B.O.B.
Hugh Laurie ... Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D
Will Arnett ... The Missing Link
Kiefer Sutherland ... General W.R. Monger
Rainn Wilson ... Gallaxhar
Stephen Colbert ... President Hathaway
Paul Rudd ... Derek Dietl
Amy Poehler ... Computer



Rated PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language

Monsters vs. Aliens provides an example of how 3-D movies can succeed in today’s world. The movie uses the format to build its world and, with a few minor exceptions, doesn’t use it as a gimmick to make things jump out at you. While never as beautiful as Coraline, it looks amazing and I would predict, as 2009 proceeds, 2-D animated movies will go the way of black and white films. While I have not seen the 2-D version of the movie, I don’t see how it can hold a candle to the beautiful animation of this 3-D effort.

Monsters vs. Aliens is an old fashioned film at heart, harkening back to 1950s drive in horror movies. Everything in the movie references a movie from the past, before the kids this was marketed for were born. Hell, the movies it parodies were around before some of the parents were even born. Area 54 has hunted down and imprisoned a number of monsters over the years. There is the evil scientist who created a machine and ended up as a diabolical cockroach as a result. The machine looks very familiar to the old horror movie The Fly, although the scientist, now known as Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D, retains his immense intelligence. B.O.B. is a gelatinous blob, a straight homage to the Steve McQueen horror flick, The Blob. The Missing Link could be referencing a number of movies, but I see it closest resembling The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Strangely, the monster missing from most of the posters and promotional material is the one most likely to have kids screaming for the toy the minute they leave the theater. That creature is Insectosaurus and, for some strange reason, reminds me a little too much of my Chihuahua Tater. To control the monster, all the guards have to do is distract it with bright lights. If you startle it, there is an all too real possibility it will pee in fear, which is a bad thing for everyone involved. The movie it is based on is Mothra vs. Godzilla and it is, from its powers to its eventual fate, a carbon copy of Mothra, except with the mind of a retarded dog.

The movie opens with a long sequence where Susan, the actual hero of the tale, is preparing to marry her sweetheart, a news anchor with his eyes on being a major star. Unfortunately, on the day of her wedding, a giant meteor crashes on her. She comes out of the accident dirty, but no worse for wear until she reaches her wedding. At his moment she begins to glow and then grows into a giant. It is once again a reference to an old movie, this time the classic film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. She is quickly captured by the military before she can comprehend what is happening and taken to the mysterious bunker prison.

While there, she becomes quick friends with the other monsters in captivity who are just guys who like to play cards and hang out. They remain locked away until an alien sends a robot to Earth to regain whatever it was in the meteor that changed Susan into Ginormica. The general who has been watching over them for all these years convinces the president of the United States to allow the monsters to battle the alien robot in exchange for their freedom if they can defeat it.

The movie is, at heart, a simple tale of a girl discovering who she really is and overcoming all odds to become the woman she is meant to be. There are a lot of things for the kids to like, from the giant cute monsters to the over-the-top villain who is thwarted at every turn. There is also much for the parents to like as the violence is not overdone and, with the exception of the death of one of the monsters, there is nothing to scare the little ones too much. For those without kids, there are still things to like. There are many pop culture references from movies such as E.T. (along with the theme music), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek and a misguided send up to Beverly Hills Cop. The old horror references are really fun to catch and the humor is funny, if not overly creative. This is a DreamWorks picture and that means most the humor is pop culture references, but if you understand that going in you should be entertained.

The voice talent is really good in this film. Reese Witherspoon voices Susan and is arguably the worst of the bunch. She sounds like she should be voicing a classic Disney movie and, while she does nothing wrong here, is overshadowed by her cast mates. Hugh Laurie is fabulous as Dr. Cockroach. His character has a devious tone of voice, offset by occasional British mannerisms, and topped off by a maniacal laugh. It is a delight to listen as he hams it up at every turn of the story. Will Arnett and Seth Rogan are also great in their respective roles as The Missing Link and B.O.B.

One of the most outstanding performances of the film is by Kiefer Sutherland as General W.R. Monger. He is hilariously over-the-top as the gung-ho army general who is ready for all action. The scenes with the president in the war room are lifted straight out of the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Love the Bomb. At one point, when Monger was flying away after dropping off the monsters to do battle and was facing down the threat of certain death, it felt like the finale from Strangelove when Major T.J. “King” Kong was flying the mission to drop the bomb. It is obvious the people who designed this film have such a great love for these classic films because everything seems like a loving homage, not a blatant rip off.

Over the last few years here have been a lot of spoof movies, including but not limited to Epic Movie and Disaster Movie. These films take various movies from the specific genres and tries, unsuccessfully, to create something funny at the expense of the genre. It was not always this bad. I remember Airplane! and Blazing Saddles and how they took a stab at their specific genres, but did it with respect and love for what came before. Monsters vs. Aliens can be added to that list. It is a movie that is not the best animated movie you will see, and is not as clever or entertaining as last year’s DreamWorks feature Kung Fu Panda.

Taken on its own, it is a fun, entertaining movie that will have the kids screaming in delight. It is also a movie that is reverent to all that came before and is never an embarrassment to the classics is riffs. It is also another step in the arena of 3-D animation, a beautiful picture with a well crafted story that never strides to be more than it actually is. It is the best spoof movie you will see this year.

The 411: With the exception of a paddle ball trick early in the film, Monsters vs. Aliens uses the 3-D animation to bring the world of the story to life, not as a gimmick. The story is of a girl named Susan who finds her life turned upside down and the journey she must undertake to find her new place in this strange new world. This is a great well crafted story for the kids and is backed up with pop culture references that only rarely miss the mark (I’m talking to you Beverly Hills Cop). It is a beautiful looking picture with some amazing voice performance by its stars. It will likely be forgotten once Pixar’s next offering comes, but as with Kung Fu Panda last year, is good enough to remain on your radar. I’ll say this many times this year - see it in 3-D. Once you see how beautiful these 3-D films are, you won’t ever want to see another 2-D animated film again.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]