Monsters vs. Aliens

Reese Witherspoon’s computer-generated equivalent runs from an alien robot in Monsters vs Aliens.

As Printed in The Lumberjack on April 2, 2009

by Gary Sundt

I had appendicitis in the sixth grade. After the surgery, I was bed-ridden for two weeks (we didn’t have today’s fancy outpatient procedure back then). It was late October, and I reveled in the sheer number of horror films at my disposal, courtesy of my cable television.

One night while I was unable to sleep, I stumbled upon a marathon of movies: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Blob (1958), Them! and a slew of others. This random late-night marathon of cheesy ‘50s horror is where I can ascribe the joy I felt while watching Monsters vs. Aliens.

This new film (offered in 3-D in cities more technologically advanced than Flagstaff) features a regular cast of rogues from that movie marathon all those years ago: a 50-foot woman, a blob, a human-insect hybrid, a creature from the (insert color here) lagoon, a giant radioactive grub and aliens. They have all been given a kid-friendly makeover and wacky archetypal personalities to ensure the flick will turn a profit. Monsters vs. Aliens is the sort of high-concept Hollywood release tailor-made to make money, and the overall simplicity of the storytelling reflects that. However, I don’t think that prevents the movie from being solid popcorn fun.

The film begins with Susan (Reese Witherspoon) about to marry her beloved weatherman fiancé. Suddenly, a giant asteroid lands on her, filling her with an alien substance that causes her to grow to approximately 50 feet tall (the film never specifies, but I think it’s safe to assume here). The government is quick to capture the giant woman, hiding her with the aforementioned crop of monsters in a secret government facility to keep society from flipping their proverbial lids. Locked away from the rest of humanity is B.O.B. the blob (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach Ph. D. (Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (Will Arnet), and Insectosaurus, a giant grub that dwarfs Susan by comparison. The head of the facility, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), provides Susan with her monster-themed moniker, Ginormica, and informs her she will be imprisoned with these other freaks of nature for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile, a mysterious alien craft has come to Earth and is wreaking havoc throughout San Francisco. The President of the United States (Stephen Colbert) is in a pickle as to how to stop this alien menace when General Monger arrives to suggest an epic battle of monsters vs. aliens. And from that point on, monsters fighting aliens ensues.

Monsters vs. Aliens has no less than five credited screenwriters. The usual result of this many hands in the pot is a generic Hollywood escapade, which is what Monsters vs. Aliens decidedly becomes after the premise is set up. However, the gags can be quite good, and the voice actors do a fine job of making their individual characters work for them, even if they are extensions of their live-action onscreen personas.

Technically speaking, Monsters vs. Aliens is pretty outstanding. There are a number of action sequences that are especially interesting, in particular the destruction of San Francisco and the giant Susan using cars as roller skates down the Golden Gate Bridge. I think the excellence of the computer-generated images may be the highest quality that can be achieved without entering the pseudo-realism of WALL-E or the motion capture-territory of films like Beowulf and the upcoming A Christmas Carol.

Solid visuals, easy laughs and simple storytelling are what make movies like this enjoyable, and I imagine that many people will have a lot of fun with the film. Monsters vs. Aliens isn’t the pinnacle of animated cinema, but it’s good enough for a Saturday afternoon at the movies.

Note: I have complained about the local theater’s sound before, and I will do so again. Movies are drastically affected when the sound of a film doesn’t pop the way it should. Monsters vs. Aliens cost an estimated $165 million to produce, and so I find it highly unlikely that the problem is with the film print. It’s the theater. If somebody at Harkins Flagstaff 11 could fix this recurring disaster, it would be greatly appreciated.