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For the last few years, my critic pals and I have noticed that movies tend to have an annual theme—some underlying topic that weaves its way through several of the year’s releases. For instance, 2008 was The Year of Rewind, and 2007 was dubbed The Year of Dead Kids. Now, it seems that 2009 is turning out to be The Year of 3D—starting with February’s creepy Coraline and running right through to James Cameron’s Avatar in December.
This month’s 3D release is Monsters vs. Aliens, an animated sci-fi flick that should definitely be seen in its 3D version—because, if you take away the schnazzy 3D effects, you’re left with little more than a handful of poop jokes and a brainless blob of goo.
Reese Witherspoon stars as the voice of Susan Murphy, a regular California girl whose wedding day takes a disastrous turn when she’s hit by a meteorite, causing her to grow to an enormous size. She’s then captured by the authorities and whisked away to a super-secret government facility, which houses the various monsters that have been captured throughout the years.
The monsters—including brainy Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie) and gelatinous B.O.B. (Seth Rogen)—are kept hidden, so as not to freak out the general public. But when a ruthless alien unleashes a giant robot on San Francisco, the monsters are finally given their chance to shine.
Meanwhile, all kinds of things drift out into the audience in an attempt to distract young viewers from the lame jokes and forgettable characters.
Don’t get me wrong; the animation is very cool—and not in the usual, gimmicky way. Instead of wowing the audience with a whole bunch of stuff that flies out into the theater (with the exception of one scene involving a paddle-ball), the 3D graphics are subtle. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that the glasses made my head hurt, it would have felt totally natural. So, as far as 3D animation goes, Monsters vs. Aliens is pretty impressive.
Unfortunately, though, the rest of the film is unremarkable. The jokes aren’t especially funny, the characters are flat (ironic, don’t you think?), and the story rambles along with no real destination in mind. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Seth Rogen’s hilarious performance as a dim-witted blob (who, at one point, attempts to hit on a plate of Jell-O), I probably would have lost interest after the first 45 minutes.
With its impressive voice cast (seriously…half of Hollywood is in this movie) and its striking 3D graphics, Monsters vs. Aliens should have been something spectacular. Instead, it’s little more than a bunch of pretty pictures: a one-dimensional story with three-dimensional graphics. It’s enough to keep the kids ooh-ing and aah-ing from beginning to end, but it’s far from unforgettable.
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