Monsters vs Aliens (2009)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Rob Letterman
Conrad Vernon

Writers:

Maya Forbes (screenplay) &
Wallace Wolodarsky (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Oooze gonna save us?

Plot:

When a meteorite from outer space hits a young woman and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Giant | California | Save The World | Destruction

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Reese Witherspoon	...	Susan Murphy / Ginormica (voice)
Seth Rogen	...	B.O.B. (voice)
Hugh Laurie	...	Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (voice)
Will Arnett	...	The Missing Link (voice)
Kiefer Sutherland	...	General W.R. Monger (voice)
Rainn Wilson	...	Gallaxhar (voice)
Stephen Colbert	...	President Hathaway (voice)
Paul Rudd	...	Derek Dietl (voice)
Julie White	...	Wendy Murphy (voice)
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Carl Murphy (voice)
Amy Poehler	...	Computer (voice)
Ed Helms	...	News Reporter (voice)
Renée Zellweger	...	Katie (voice)
John Krasinski	...	Cuthbert (voice)
Sean Bishop	...	Private Bullhorn / Helicopter Pilot / Advisor Ortega (voice)

Also Known As:

Monsters vs Aliens: A Monstrous IMAX 3D Experience (USA) (IMAX version)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Czech Republic:U | USA:PG (certificate #45124) | Ireland:PG | Australia:PG | UK:PG | South Korea:All | Finland:K-7 | Norway:7 | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/6 (original version) | Portugal:M/6 (dubbed version) | Argentina:Atp | Sweden:7 | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Belgium:KT | Mexico:AA | Peru:PT | Brazil:Livre | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG | Iceland:L

Company:

DreamWorks Animation

Trivia:

In the scene where Gallxhar is spreading his message around the world, a clip from Madagascar (2005) can be seen playing in the background on a screen in Times Square.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The scene depicting the evacuation of San Francisco shows tolls being collected on the Golden Gate Bridge for cars driving north. Although this is amusing, tolls are only collected southbound (on the way into San Francisco).

Quotes:

The President of the United States: Listen up! I'm not going to go down as the President who was in office when the world came to an end, so somebody think of something, and think of it fast!
[Sips coffee]
The President of the United States: That is a good cup of joe.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Wooly Bully

Good, but not quite as good as expected.

Monsters Vs. Aliens has some really funny moments, but by the time you get to see them on the big screen you've already seen them plenty of times on the small one. So there's not too much left to offer by buying a ticket. I thought the 3D was OK. They have a couple of moments specifically designed around flexing the 3d capabilities, but again nothing mind-blowing.

The story revolves around the gigantic Susan (Reese Witherspoon) while pushing all the more interesting characters out of the spotlight. Susan is someone we've all seen in movies before. The victim of an unfortunate mishap leading her down a path she would rather not go down. So the plot follows the same course from there, feels pretty routine. Focusing more on the three other monsters would have made this a better movie. They're much more interesting and only get a small handful of moments to shine throughout the picture.

That was probably the biggest letdown. Having some great comedic potential in the characters voiced by Hugh Laurie, and Will Arnett take a back seat ride. No complaints about Seth Rogen's B.O.B. though, he was great. Kiefer Sutherland was surprisingly good as the General. I underestimated his vocal range.

Finally they made a big deal about Stephen Colbert playing the President, and there wasn't enough of him. All of his funny moments, except for the scene after some of the credits, saturated the coming attractions and commercials. I would have liked to see more of his character.

Overall, its enjoyable. I like to see elements of classic old genres (like the classic monster movies of the 50's and 60's) brought to life in modern day CGI. I just thought this movie had more up its sleeve than it was showing me.