Three out of four stars (Rated PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language) Running time: 94 minutes. Reviewed at The Woodlands Tinseltown 17 on March 27.
“Can 3-D Save Hollywood?” asked the Wall Street Journal in an entertainment story last weekend. Movie ticket sales have dropped over the past decade, particularly last year when the economy turned south. So studios and theater chains are looking for a new hook to pump up their profits. The same thing happened in the 1950s when the advent of television sent the motion picture industry reeling (bad pun), but with limited effect.
According to the WSJ story as many as 45 3-D films will be released in the next two and one-half to three years, so keep those funky 3-D glasses handy, folks.
The newest 3-D entry is the DreamWorks Animation “Monsters vs. Aliens,” a funny though sometimes violent spoof of 1950s science-fiction fare. First I sat through the 2-D version, which was playing on three screens at our local multiplex. I was underwhelmed by what I saw comparing the movie to animated titans as Disney-Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” and “Cars.”
Then I watched the 3-D version and was blown away by the production quality. There is something magical about watching a well-made 3-D feature film—even one with a less than stellar script—to listen to the ooh’s and ahs and giggles generated by kids in a sold-out theater, all wearing their 3-D glasses. With “Monsters vs. Aliens” there were plenty of them, at least enough to justify the extra bucks to see the 3-D version.
The story opens in Modesto, California, where spunky Susan (voice of Reese Witherspoon) is about to marry local TV weatherman Derek (Paul Rudd). On her wedding day, a giant meteor strikes Susan. Lo and behold, during the ceremony Susan grows uncontrollably to 49 feet—thus bringing to mind the schlocky “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” of yesteryear.
In comes the government to the rescue—we’ve been hearing that a lot lately—and Susan is detained in a secret military installation commandeered by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland). It seems for the past 50 years or so the government has been sequestering away a variety of monsters. Susan—now named Ginormica—meets each of these lovable critters.
There is a one-eyed, dimwitted light blue blob of Jell-o named B.O.B. (Seth Rogen); a diminutive half-man, half cockroach known as Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie); the Missing Link (Will Arnett), sort of a Creature From the Black Lagoon clone; and finally the giant Mothra-prototype Insectosaurus that emits a strange noise like the guitar riff from the Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now.”
The General promises the long-detained quintet their freedom if they will do battle with an invader from outer space, the four-eyed (literally), six-legged Galaxhar (Rainn Wilson). The military cannot stop Galaxhar with its arsenal, so the President (a funny Stephen Colbert) gives his approval to the plan.
San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge do not fare well in the resultant battle, which is truly spectacular to watch in 3-D. This is a mild version of “Mars Attacks,” toned down but violent enough to earn the film a PG-rating.
Coming soon on the 3-D horizon: coming attractions featured the next “Ice Age,” Disney-Pixar’s “Up,” “Battle for Terra,” and “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” The latter’s plop of spaghetti falling from the sky earned the biggest “ewww!” from the young audience.
