John’s Movie Musings

Last year, Jeffrey Katzenberg declared that all Dreamworks animated movies would be made in 3D.  Monsters vs. Aliens was their first attempt, but I missed it.  I saw the trailer a bazillion times but never actually made it to the theater.  It’s finally out on DVD, though only bi-dimensional.

MvA was the first 3D movie I’ve seen in 2D.  I wasn’t expecting the experience to be any different than normal, but I noticed some directing decisions that don’t work without the added depth.  There were the obvious “gimmick” shots where things would be poking out of the screen.  Obviously, 2D directors never do that, and 3D directors should stop.  But there were also camera angles that just looked “off.”  It’s like the camera was focused on the depth of the scene rather than the characters in it.  I’ll have to see if I notice it in future films.

Now on to the story.  Short answer: it’s horrid.  With Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks drifted from the pop-culture infused jokes that filled the Shreks to create a hilarious, original tale.  Monsters vs. Aliens has a few jokes, but all of them can be seen in the trailer.  What’s worse (and this really boggles my mind), the comedic timing of the trailer is better than the movie.  That means that in the months between the trailer and the movie, the editor made things worse.  How does that happen?  Better yet, why?

In another low point, Stephen Colbert plays the President.  You’d think that’s a recipe for hilarity, but the man is completely wasted on sleep inducing dialog.   Skip this and go rent Kung Fu Panda instead.

Grade: D