Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

Monsters vs. Aliens led in box-office receipts ($56 million) by a factor of 2.5 when it opened last week and, judging from the packed-with-families theater my son and I sat in yesterday, it will continue to do well. (Our 3D theater was near-capacity, even at $9/seat, with twice as many 2D screenings available.) True, seeing this movie in 3D was cool, but to be honest, after a few token "gotcha" scenes in the previews and first ten minutes, it didn't seem to have been used much to best effect (grr). The movie evoked regular bursts of laughter from kids and adults so it seems to be a hit with all age groups. As an adult, I personally loved the hidden references to old monster and sci-fi movies and Stephen Colbert as the President was a hoot. I also cackled at the woman in the conference room who screamed (straight out of the vintage movies) at the presentation of every one of the monsters. I greatly enjoyed the back-story of how each of the monsters came to be (esp. Hugh Laurie's Dr. Cockroach) and sure, their actual characters and roles in the story were OK, but I felt they could have been more effective. (Except Seth Rogan's BOB the Blob: He was about as funny and effective as he could be.) Reese Witherspoon as the (I presume) 50-foot-tall Susan (aka Ginormica) was the star of the show as she discovered and embraced her destiny and saved the day (with the others' help, of course). Rainn Wilson as Gallaxhar was a stitch as the evil overlord wannabe (esp. when tag-team rolling his five-eyed visage) and Kiefer Sutherland played the monsters' military nanny as Gen. W.R. Monger. The voice talent was all flawless and the script was full of plenty of funny bits (esp. for those who could catch the often-just-implied movie references). The chase scenes got wacky (with auto cars and jet cars used as Susan's skates) and, sure, some scenes were cheesy -- but that's all in the spirit of monster movies. Be sure to stay till the President presses the wrong big red button in the middle of the closing credits but there's nothing more after that. You may go home now, citizens, and live your lives in safety and freedom thanks to your government and its leaders. 4.5 stars.