The tagline of this movie should be "Eh..."

Rating: 4/10 (7 April 2009)

Because that's exactly what you get. Monsters vs. Aliens isn't a TERRIBLE movie, but it's not very good either. The plot is predictable. That's something that you should expect from movies of this type. But a certain other animation studio (I think you know the one) makes the journey itself so enjoyable, and the scope of adventure so vast that it doesn't matter. Monsters vs. Aliens feels at times like a bunch of action scenes strung together by completely unfunny jokes. There's also a message of female independence here, one that gives the film a chick-flick flair. If that sounds bad, stick around. It gets worse.
This movie is just not funny. It spouts pop culture references (a dirty habit of Dreamworks animation), one of which is embarrassing to watch even by oneself. The action scenes are... well, they're Incredibles-ish. At least they try to be. They attempt to be frantic and energetic, but it doesn't really turn out that way. The movie reaches its absolute lowpoint when we're supposed to mourn a character who's come off like one big joke the whole film. This eye-rolling moments leaves us wondering why we should care.
But it's not all bad. In one particular scene, the main character Susan gets imprisoned. What happens next is surprising and exciting. You just don't expect that to happen. The celebrity presence in a Dreamworks film is always a certainty. They always put flash-in-the-pan idiots in lead roles. But in their defense, at least Hugh Laurie is subdued. You don't know that it's him, and that's something these big personalities should learn to make a convincing role. Still, Monsters vs. Aliens is quite mediocre. We know where it's going within ten minutes of the film and the rest is fleshed out by action scenes and dumbed-down comedy.