Monsters vs. Aliens (Dreamworks-uary)

(The Dreamworks-uary logo is shown, before showing clips from Monsters vs. Aliens)

Doug (vo): Monsters vs. Aliens. How can you go wrong with a title like that? You don't...well, for the most part. The film definitely gives what it promises, monsters versus aliens, but sometimes, it gets some really lame, really not well thought-out jokes. But to make up for that, I think it gives us some very memorable characters, most of them, anyway, and a very creative premise.

Story

Doug (vo): The story starts off with a woman named Susan, who's about to get married. But through, of course, a tragic accident, she transforms herself into a giant, and is captured by the government to be used as, well, a weapon freak of nature. So they put her with the other weapon freaks of nature, including a big-eyed scientist, the Missing Link, and a one-eyed blob. For the most part, they just keep them there safe until some sort of threat ever comes by. And wouldn't you know it? A threat comes by. Aliens from another planet start to invade the Earth. The President, played by Stephen Colbert, tells them to send in their top men...or freaks. This is where our four heroes come in. Can they stop this invasion while also trying to find their place to fit in with humanity? The film suggests yes, but let's not jump to conclusions.

Review

Doug (vo): The strength in the movie does come from our main character, Susan. She was planning just to be an everyday housewife with a nice, normal life, when suddenly, this freak accident occurred. And she plays it in a way where you really do feel legitimately sorry for her. Her fiance turns out to be a jerk, everybody's horrified of her, even though she would never harm a mouse, and now, the army wants to use her as a weapon to destroy, even though she has no training whatsoever. Her problems are definitely the heart of the movie, but that's not the only thing to like.

[The film's side characters are shown]

Doug (vo): Seth Rogen is the blob with the one eye, and he gets a few good lines. Colbert as the President is pretty much as funny as it sounds.

President: Eat lead, alien robot! [Pulls out a gun and shoots at the giant alien robot, but something happens off-screen that the President sees] Evidently, they eat lead.

Guard: Get him on the chopper!

[The guards grab the President as he throws his gun away]

President: I'm brave! I'm a brave president!

Doug (vo): And even the evil aliens get a good giggle here or there.

Gallaxhar: I found out my parents were... [Goes inside a scanning box, which closes, muting his speech. He eventually comes out, still speaking] No child should ever have to endure that! So I went on the road with a giant... [The scanning box closes again, again muting his speech]

Doug (vo): Where the film falls flat is sort of the other characters. Like, the Missing Link, I don't really remember that much, and the scientist (Dr. Cockroach), I don't really remember that much. Some of the jokes range to kind of a good idea to just kind of stupid. Yeah, remember that scene?

[That scene is shown. The President, attempting to communicate with the alien robot, plays "Axel F" on a techno piano]

Doug (vo): And sometimes, the animation can be a little odd. I don't know. Sometimes, the people look a little too weird to me. But again, they sort of level that out with some really creative action sequences, and do a great job in giving everybody their size and scope, especially considering the fact that they make Susan the main character, so you can get a lot of fun angles with height and size that way.

Final thought

Doug (vo): So on the whole, Monsters vs. Aliens isn't a super-strong film, but I think it's enjoyable to watch at least once, maybe even twice. Any time a joke sort of kills over and dies, they always make up with it with either a lot of heart or a lot of action. It's a fun flick, and definitely worth your time to check out.

[The final scene, showing the main characters flying off into the sunset on their giant butterfly, is shown]