As a critic, you would prefer films to either be amazingly great or amazingly terrible. In either scenario, you're guaranteed to have plenty to write about. It's the films that are simply ordinary or average that are difficult to write for. Such is the case with the latest film I saw at the budget theater, Monsters vs. Aliens.
On the surface this seems to be anything but an ordinary film. This is a big budget, 3D animated feature from Dreamworks. The film features plenty of colorful characters/creatures and boasts an impressive voice cast. Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Keifer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert all lend their pipes to this film. Despite all that, this film failed to capture me in any way.
I could lay the blame on Pixar, who's animated films raise the bar so high that it would be unfair to compare them to any other cartoon. However, Dreamworks has shown at times, in films like Shrek and more recently, Kung Fu Panda, that it is capable of making films that are well done and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. So it is disappointing to see such a lack of effort here, when the potential was all there.
As I listed above, the film has a long list of talented actors providing the voices for these characters. Each of them have deliver some funny lines in the movie, but I never really believed any of them were their characters. I was aware at all times that it was actor talking, not the character I was watching. The best voice acting occurs when you buy into the character so much that you forget who's providing the voice. Part of the problem here is the distinct voices of the actors in this cast. The other problem is that we never spend enough time with any of the characters, except for maybe Witherspoon's Susan/Ginormica to really get to know them or appreciate them.
The movie also spends way too much time paying homage/satirizing other films and not enough time on their own story. There are a ton of film references here, which provide smiles, but not laughs. The film also tries to create a B-movie feel, but does not go through with it enough to truly do the genre justice. It's more of an acknowledgement of those films rather than representing those films.
The plot of this story revolves around the United States keep various monsters under wraps until an alien invasion forces them to unleash the monsters to help wage war. The odd thing however is that the aliens are only invading because they want the energy being harnessed by one of the monsters. The way this plot is constructed, it basically ignores the human race's perspective, which could have added something. And this battle between monsters vs. aliens does not have enough at stake because the monsters don't really have any reason to hate the aliens. I just wanted everything on a more epic scale and it wasn't there.
The last thing I'll mention is a growing concern I have for other animated features based on this film. Because it was offered in 3D, there are several scenes intended specifically for the technology that are not organic to the story, like a guy playing with a paddleball right in front of the camera. I did not see the film in 3D, so a scene like that looks really stupid. I hope future filmmakers find more subtle ways to incorporate the 3D technology or just abandon it altogether.
Monsters vs. Aliens does have quite a few laughs, thanks to its talented cast, but as a whole left a lot to be desired. They had good actors, creative characters, and an intriguing premise, yet the execution of it all left a lot to be desired. Kids who do not care as much about these nuances will no doubt love this. As for adults, the only enjoyment from this will come if you're passively watching it while also doing something else. If you go into it with high expectations like I did, you'll find them crashing back down to Earth very quickly. Grade: C+
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