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61 out of 84 people found the following review useful: A pleasant surprise, 27 March 2009 Author: Rare Addict from United States
Let's get this out of the way first: I'm not a huge fan of DreamWorks Animation. Usually consisting of nothing more than unfunny pop culture gags, I think the majority of their films are mediocre at best, with the only ones that I really enjoyed being the first Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. The trailers for Monsters vs. Aliens did get me interested, though, and the voice cast seemed pretty impressive. Even so, I was still fairly skeptical about how it would finally turn out. Now, having seen the film, I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised.There isn't a whole lot in the way of story and character development, but suffice it to say, it serves its purpose. What makes Monsters vs. Aliens such an enjoyable film is how it works as a comedy. The pop culture references are still present, but I found them to be more clever and funny this time around, and in much smaller amounts. I was smiling through virtually the entire film, and had about 5 or 6 hard laugh-out-loud moments throughout. As expected, I was also very impressed by the voice cast in this movie. Hugh Laurie does a fantastic job as the voice of the sophisticated (though mildly insane) Dr. Cockroach, and most of the laughs are generated by Seth Rogen's performance as B.O.B.. Even Reese Witherspoon helps you feel some sympathy for her character near the beginning of the film, and Stephen Colbert does a surprisingly solid job as President Hathaway.The 3D, while not used as effectively as it was in Coraline, is still one of the more impressive showcasings that I've seen, and that's largely due to the film's incredible action sequences. Seriously, this is some of the best action that I've seen in an animated film; as far as I'm concerned, it's right up there with that of The Incredibles.Overall, I found Monsters vs. Aliens to be a surprisingly entertaining film, with clever and witty dialogue, as well as terrific action. I'm not usually in favor of sequels, but if they're able to keep it as balanced and charming, I would honestly like to see this become a successful, long-running franchise. Nice job, folks at DreamWorks Animation.
84 out of 139 people found the following review useful: Doesn't live up to the promise., 14 March 2009 Author: white_rider26 from Australia
When I first heard of Monsters vs. Aliens I literally went giddy. A 50's B-movie revival! Stephen Colbert as the President! Hugh Laurie as a cockroach! I mean, it's called Monsters vs. Aliens!!!What I got was a mildly good movie. I mean, there were some nice gags in the Strangelove- lite War Room, and some great lines from BOB, but it really left me wanting more. As a whole, the film never got to the comical heights of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, or even Shrek 2. There are times in the movie where you know that they are going completely random to try and get some laughs, but fail pretty badly. Besides comedy, the story itself is pretty predictable. From the moment you meet the monsters you know what the moral of the story, and you know pretty much how the whole film will play out. But it is not a bad film. Not at all. It's good, but not great. What IS great is the 3D. Me, I've never really warmed to 3D, but they use it here in a completely different sense. Monster's vs Alien's 3D is not about shouting "OMG I CAN TOUCH HIS BEARD!!", but more about perspective. And hair. I'm sorry but it's worth seeing just for Ginormica's (Susan's) hair alone. So basically, it's fun - but not as fun as it should have been. And take it from me: even if you're cynical about 3D; see it in 3D. It's worth the ticket price alone.
52 out of 87 people found the following review useful: DreamWorks can be proud., 22 March 2009 Author: John DeSando (jdesando@columbus.rr.com) from Columbus, Ohio
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."
80 out of 145 people found the following review useful: Good, not great (unless you see it in 3D), 5 March 2009 Author: kentro21 from United States
Monster versus Aliens is a sometimes funny and sometimes interesting, but mostly the story is dull and the plot is nearly a non-entity.However, this movie does take 3D to a new level at times. There's really only one obvious 3D "gag" very early in the movie, but other than that, you are just in awe of seeing these animated characters truly come to life like never before.The character that steals the show is of course BOB (voiced by Seth Rogen) He is incredibly dumb but also fantastically funny and the most interesting of all the monsters. The main character Susan (Reese Witherspoon) has this whole back story, but really we never care about it. Much of her story is just recycled from 100 movies that have come before and very predictable.Still, the action and the 3D are top notch and this is a movie definitely worth seeing if you can see it in the 3D form. In 2D, I only give it a very lukewarm recommendation.
12 out of 14 people found the following review useful: A little underwhelming, but still good fun., 6 April 2009 Author: johnnymacbest from United States
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".
18 out of 29 people found the following review useful: Å Nutshell Review: Monsters vs Aliens, 17 May 2009 Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore
I'm beginning to wonder whether the 3D novelty is wearing out already, especially if slapped on films that think the beauty of visual effects and animation take precedence over a solid story. Everything here worked to a perfect T, from the very key component of animation, to voice casting, and sound, but what the film ultimately lacked, was a compelling narrative, and soul.The premise for success is all there, and as seen in the trailer, there's a pretty good balance of comedy, action, and homage to the 50s and 60s horror and sci-fi genres. But as the adage goes, too many cooks, in this case, screenplay writers (5 of them no less) will spoil the broth, and as a result, the trailer contains the best bits from within the movie, and everything else just plain boring, which to me too is a surprise.Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon who brought us Shark Tale and Shrek 2 respectively, you would have thought that the combination of their strengths would result in one heck of an entertaining ride, not. It's about time animated films pull a stop to lampooning all that's pop culture. Sure it's funny for a while, but it gets on your nerves pretty much faster than you can roll your eyes at the next joke from the same joke book. While the film has plenty of monsters and well, just one alien and a giant robot which form the adversarial core, it's not about teamwork but the celebration of the strength of individuality. It's the story of a wistful bride Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) whose only goal in life is to go to Paris with her husband-to-be Derek (Paul Rudd), a news weatherman whom you know is actually the jerk that he is. Cue huge falling debris onto Susan on her wedding day, and she becomes Ginormica, captured by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) who puts her in a top-secret pet "zoo" of sorts with his other trophies Insectosaurous, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie), a merman creature known as The Missing Link (Will Arnet) and the crowd favourite, the nonsensical B.O.B (Seth Rogen), a blob of jello goo with no brain who serves as the punching bag and the source of all things funny here.Speaking of funny, the laughs unfortunately don't come hard and fast. Attempts are made to be funny from the get go, but more often than not the effort fell flat on its face. It tried to emulate the Zucker brothers style of slapstick wit, and to a certain degree, when it worked it worked wonders, but you can sense an audience disconnect here when everyone fell silent most of the time. Even kids aren't tickled by the usual juvenile antics of the characters anymore, which now calls for a shift in sophistication.A whole host of stars join the lineup, such as Rainn Wilson as the villainous alien Gallaxhar, Stephen Colbert as the dim-witted President Hathaway, Amy Poehler as a computer voice and even Renee Zellweger, but despite the star power going all round in flesh out the carefully designed and crafted animated characters, ultimately everyone was one-dimensional and playing to their stereotypical tendencies. 3D-wise, there are only a handful (pardon the pun) of scenes that are specifically designed with that kind of interaction in mind, otherwise the visuals only provide that depth of view, and nothing much that will make you reach out or duck.Technically, you cannot fault Monsters vs Aliens. But essentially there's no heart in this film at all, and that proved to be its ultimate downfall that no novelty factor can redeem on its behalf.
26 out of 46 people found the following review useful: Wonderful summertime treat (even though it's still spring) ..., 30 March 2009 Author: vram22 from United States
If you're going to see this movie, make sure it's the 3D version - not all showings are in 3D. If you have the opportunity to see it in IMAX - it's definitely a 'bigger' treat ... but FWIW, know this: it was "converted" to IMAX from normal print - not created in the IMAX format.OK - that said, the movie IS worth seeing. I'd say it was somewhere between "really good" and great. It's a fun story with fast pacing, entertaining characters and nice 3D effects.It's basically about a group of 5 likable "monsters" that are pitted up against an alien attack. The main character is a new "monster" - Ginormica. She's a young lady that was recently hit by a meteorite with a special composition ... one that made her grow to gigantic size.It's a fun story told in an imaginative way. The visuals are very nicely done - the backgrounds, characters and scope of detail are great. The movie also moves along at brisk pace - something that grabs your attention is always happening (this makes it work well for kids in the audience). Add to that the fun and oddball personalities of the monster characters and you have a winning combination.The 3D effects were good, although like most other mainstream animated movies - they start out strong and then get recessed into background. Still - make sure you see it in 3D! You'll be missing part of the key experience offered by the movie if you don't.All in all, this is a fun movie for adults as well as kids. It's kind of a summer movie that you get to watch in the spring. Grab some popcorn and check out this flick!
12 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Petty Innocent, And Fun To Watch, 5 October 2009 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
This was a pleasant surprise: a nice, feel-good film that is pretty innocent and sports the usual beautiful Dreamworks art. The artwork and colors are magnificent. I say "surprise" because it did not get great reviews. Thus, I wasn't expecting the quality film I got.The good guys - the "monsters" are typically-likable as you see in other animated films of today. They are pretty funny, too, diverse "monsters" like "Dr. Cockroach, B.O.B and The Missing Link. They, along with "Ginormica," who does her impression of the 1950s sci-fi character, "The F-Foot Woman," are appealing and fun to watch. I'm tempted to describe this movie as "innocent," because it's such a nice story that doesn't have all the innuendos some other animated films have, yet still will make most adults laugh in many spots because there is some good humor that kids wouldn't get. "Monsters Versus Aliens" shows one doesn't need "edginess" in every movie to have adults enjoy the kids' film, too.Chances are you'll find this movie a lot better than you thought. Give it a shot.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Dreamworks needs some new originality, 21 April 2009 Author: singwaileung-1 from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Monsters and Aliens was a poor clichéd animated outing from Dreamworks. I found some of the pop culture and repetition in an attempt to get cheap laughs were embarrassingly bad. In particular the part where the President tries to make peace with the alien invaders by playing the Beverley Hills Cop theme on an electric piano made me cringe. Another scene where the general was showing images of the monsters to the cabinet with the secretary hysterically screaming on a number of occasions, leading to the president screaming also left me cold.The characters were charming, yet I did not feel that the bond between the female lead and the alien characters were all that strong for her to want to stay as the heroine Ginormica - and yes, what an original nickname, eh? Whilst Pixar and Disney are still coming out with great original flicks such as Wall-E and Bolt, Dreamworks are really hitting a downer with unoriginal narratives, and they need to find a new formula to get their franchise going again. Shrek 3 was also unimpressive. Maybe they should get out of their monsters theme and find some new kind of characters to play on.
10 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Spotty, uneven story leaves Monsters vs Aliens wanting, 28 March 2009 Author: intrepid-6 from Oklahoma City, OK
Okay, admit it; at some point, you've bought something based solely on how cool it looked on a commercial or ad, only to find out your diamond-in-the-rough purchase turned out to be a papier-mache disappointment.That's the disappointing truth that is Dreamworks' "Monsters vs Aliens," Paramount's heavily hyped 3-D big screen adventuretoon that bears only a fractious resemblance to its title. And one would be well-advised to save your popcorn money and don't make the special effort to seek out a 3-D theater. In this offering, the net "dimension" is ultimately forgettable.If you go into the theater expecting the movie advertised on countless TV spots and trailers, you'll be sorely disappointed, and the disappointment highlights Dreamworks' lost opportunity. Where the title suggests the possibility of a delightfully inventive story between legion carton monsters and otherworldly counterparts, it delivers a decidedly uneven montage of a story that bounces between outer space, suburbia, San Francisco, and a bizarre-but-explained-away military encampment. "M vs A" suffers the same identity problem as so many other similarly fractious films; poor execution from a poorly conceived story. The saddest part of all is that the clear potential of the film lay squarely in what its title promised, contrasted against what its creators ultimately delivered.Although there are some cute bug-eyed monsters, with Seth Rogen's cycloptic Bob clearly the comedy star among them, they are relegated to background characters in the ultimate conflict around which the movie is drawn. Even the ultimate bad-guy alien isn't ultimately much of a character; he's merely a strawman bad guy for the hero (make that heroine) to battle. In the end, "Monsters vs Aliens" isn't about either; it reduces to a tired girl-power story that's been told better in Disney TV outings like "Kim Possible." "Monster vs Aliens" is not without its comic moments, but only in one-shot jokes, not from an underlying comedic theme that a strong film should aspire to provide. At our screening, the audience was quiet for conspicuously long spells between laughs. Moreover, the Dreamworks animation team still plays second-fiddle to the Disney-Pixar gold-standard, with lapses in continuity including sequences where it seemed some characters failed to maintain consistent size and proportion within the confines of their animated environment.Unfortunately, the story suffers from the same problem - loss of continuity. There's at least one stretch early in the movie where one begins to ask if the projectionist accidentally switched to a different feature due to the sudden, lengthy, and tedious departure from the basic story. Sadly, the departure became the basis for the bulk of the rest of the film, while providing almost none of the laughs.To be sure, there are sufficient moments for the kids to get their due share of giggles, but the 3-D moments are ultimately a why-bother. Sadly, much can be said of the rest of the movie. Ultimately, animation and 3-D tricks can't conceal the fundamental sin of a poorly conceived story.If only "Monsters vs Aliens" had delivered a story representing even a pale shadow of its title.....if only...
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