Monsters Vs. Aliens
Rating:
Reviewed by: Eric Alt
Directed by: Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon
The Skinny: When the earth falls under siege from an alien race bent on destruction, the U.S. government unveils its dark secret: an underground facility that holds monsters, including a dim-witted blob (the voice of Seth Rogen), a mutated mad scientist (the voice of Hugh Laurie), a Fish-man (the voice of Will Arnett), and a recently giant-sized bride (the voice of Reese Witherspoon).
The Good: Not quite Pixar level, but MVA does do the trick of dazzling the kiddies while keeping the adults from zoning out too badly. That's done through some good voice casting (yes, the President is voiced by Stephen Colbert) and plenty of nods to classic sci-fi movies from the 50s and 60s. The animation quality is mostly flawless, and this absolutely must be seen in IMAX 3-D for a truly out of this world experience.
The Bad: If you don't get a chance to see it in IMAX 3-D, the movie won't be nearly as eye-popping and therefore a few degrees less captivating. The story alone isn't nearly strong enough to entertain on its own. At those screenings, you're liable to see more bored adults.
BLOL: As the proudly brainless Blob, Seth Rogen's throaty, stoned bear chuckle has never been put to better use.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in five years? This is a must see in IMAX 3-D only. If that's not an option, it's perfectly missable.