Review: Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009) [Reviewed By C.S. Kiyabu]

Reviewed By: C.S. Kiyabu -- aka The Keyboard Junkie

Directors: Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon

Writers: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger & Conrad Vernon

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, Julie White, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Poehler, Ed Helms, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski & Stephen Colbert

Plot: On the eve of her wedding, a young California girl named Susan Murphy (Witherspoon) is suddenly hit by a mysterious falling object from space and is transformed into a giant (monster, if you will). She is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a group of monsters also rounded up over the years. As a last resort, under the guidance of an Army General (Sutherland), the ragtag crew of Monsters is called into action to combat the aliens and save the world from total destruction!

Critique: I wasn’t really taken by the trailers and details when I first heard about this film, a few months back. Nothing about it really caught my attention. So when I saw this yesterday, I did so with no real interest what-so-ever. I’m glad I decided to take a chance on it, as it was far better than I ever expected it to be. The story was of course, out there, but that was it’s goal, if anything else. To entertain and satisfy you. And I was definitely satisfied. The characters were just hilarious, the comedic value in this film was really, really high. I found myself laughing at countless moments throughout the film which was a good thing in my book, since I’ve had little to smile or even laugh about lately. I enjoyed the whole “Battle Through San Francisco” scene and thought that the visual effects were amazing.

I had a slight problem with Witherspoon’s role at first because I felt that she really didn’t fit well with voicing the character, Susan. But after I got into it, her part didn’t really bother me. I may have trouble sometimes with Seth Rogen’s acting, but I have to say that his role as B.O.B. was very, very hilarious. I pretty much laughed through all of his scenes. It was pretty fun seeing Hugh Laurie of House fame in a role where you didn’t just hate the hell out of him, but maybe that’s only because I didn’t see him? Still, he had some decent moments. It was fun seeing Rainn Wilson as the cliché villain, Gallaxhar, a lighter tone than the usual in-you-face Dwight, on The Office, I thought it was a nice touch. So yeah, all in all, I had a fun time watching this and highly recommend it to anyone looking to get away from the horrors of reality and just sit back and relax.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Copyrighted © 2009 - CsK Review.