Falls flat if not for the 3D presentation

Rating: 6/10 (27 March 2009)

Short on a compelling narrative and real characters, "Monsters vs. Aliens" is nonetheless an adequately entertaining endeavor for Dreamworks Animation greatly enhanced by its three-dimensional presentation in selected theaters. Which is to say seeing its resplendent visuals in 3D (particularly in IMAX) will at least partially offset the flatness of the hyper-zippy story littered with pop-culture jokes and action sequences that, though fun while they last, comes across like a bucket of popcorn that doesn't leave an impression after it's over.
Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is about to marry Derek (Paul Rudd), a self-absorbed weatherman whose dreams of getting an anchor job comes at the cost of having to shatter her dreams of having a honeymoon in Paris. On the day of their wedding, an alien substance-filled meteorite slams on her that renders her the size of a small building, prompting a secret government agency to rename her as "Ginormica" and imprison her in a clandestine location along with other cryptozoological beings such as the Missing Link (Will Arnett), an anthrophomorphic cockroach (Hugh Laurie) and a dunderheaded yet well-meaninged gelatinous blob (Seth Rogen). But shortly, a nefarious tentacled alien (Rainn Wilson) arrives on Earth and the US government decides that the fate of the earth now lies in the hands of the monsters they have tried to hide from the general populace for the last 50 years.
Obviously a throwback to the sci-fi horror movies from the '50s, directors Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman affectionately lend a frolicsome cheekiness to the whole proceedings with arresting visuals and some humorous one-liners pumped up by the occasional rock-and-roll (and even an 80s funk) soundtrack. But inasmuch as the film is a visual stunner, it's unfortunately diluted by an overly familiar story and a moral that sounds less a genuine didactic than a target demography-pandering afterthought, compressing it into an altogether unmemorable affair that dissipates as soon as the novelty of 3D wears off.