Monsters vs. Aliens is a clever mishmash of ’50s-style
alien-invasion/monster movies and modern-day CGI animation. It
possesses a terrifically offbeat sense of humor, creating endearing
characters out of stuff like the Blob and gigantic caterpillars.
It is also sharp, crisp 3-D entertainment for those of you near the
theaters that are offering the 3-D option (including the AMC Loews
Foothills 15, the Century Theatres at El Con and Park Place, the
Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18 and the Tower Theatres at Arizona
Pavilions).
Susan (the voice of Reese Witherspoon) is getting set for her
marriage to Derek (Paul Rudd), an egocentric weatherman, when she winds
up underneath a meteor from outer space. After dusting herself off, she
arrives at the wedding literally glowing, and experiences a growth
spurt that does serious damage to the church. Measuring in at nearly 50
feet tall, she winds up at a government compound, where she is dubbed
Ginormica and must room with a series of freaks who have been collected
over the years.
There’s Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie), an obvious tribute to
The Fly. The Missing Link (Will Arnett) has physical
similarities to the thing from Creature From the Black Lagoon,
but rather than dragging people down to their aquatic deaths, he just
wants people to like him. Then there’s my personal favorite, B.O.B.
(hilariously voiced by Seth Rogen), a blue, harmless version of the
Blob, the former movie nemesis of Steve McQueen.
As it turns out, the element that has turned Susan into Ginormica is
coveted by an alien race. Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) seeks to extract the
precious energy source from Susan and then take over the world.
Therefore, Gen. W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland, having some obvious
fun), under orders from the president (a perfectly cast Stephen
Colbert), pits their monsters versus the aliens.
The first confrontation takes place in San Francisco, where
Ginormica wages an impressive battle against a giant alien robotic
probe. At one point, she’s wearing cars as roller skates, taking on San
Francisco’s many hills at perilous speeds. The sequence ends on the
Golden Gate Bridge in a scene of mass destruction that reminds of the
Godzilla movies of old. This section represents the 3-D effects at
their best; the bridge collapsing into the water below is very
well-done (and sort of scary).
The movie, from the DreamWorks animation factory, looks impressive.
It’s not as good as some of Pixar’s greater works, but it’s a cut above
the last couple of Shrek films and much better than garbage like
Space Chimps. The writers have a blast referencing everything
from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to E.T. with
their jokes, and I often found myself laughing hard. There’s a weather
scroll during a televised newscast that got something akin to a guffaw
out of me.
Rogen gets special notice for what is becoming a nice side career.
He has voiced four great animated characters in the last two years,
including Hogsqueal in the unjustly overlooked The Spiderwick
Chronicles and Morton in Horton Hears a Who! Rogen calls
upon his stoner chuckle for many moments with B.O.B., a gloriously
unaware character. The actor is a tremendous improviser, and I have to
think some of the crazy stuff B.O.B. says must’ve sprung from Rogen’s
mind.
This one is ripe for sequels, and I’d be happy to see the monster
squad going to work against new alien forces in future installments. I
especially recommend the 3-D version; it might cost a little more, but
you’ll get a lot of bang for that extra buck.
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2009.
