Monsters vs. Aliens Review
For a kid's movie, it's pretty damn awesome. It's humorous, and sweet. Plus? It says "fuck you!" to gender roles.
At the beginning of the movie Susan Murphy is going to her wedding, all prepared for it to be perfect and ready to be swept off her feet by Derek, a weatherman. She's ready to fulfill her role as his wife.
Until.
While she is outside, she is hit by a large, glowing meteor. Her mother finds her and helps clean her off, hurrying her into the church. As she stands at the altar, she begins to glow. And grow. Within seconds she bursts through the roof, and the government swoops in to capture her.
Soon she wakes up in a room with nothing but a "hang in there kitty!" poster. She is let into a larger room where she is approached by The Missing Link, a fishman, Dr. Cockroach, a scientist who was turned into part-cockroach, B.O.B., a literally brainless blob of goo with one eye, and insectosaurus, a giant caterpillar. She freaks out at first, terrified of them. She later finds out they have been living there in isolation for 50 years.
She is briefed by General Monger who explains that she is to spend the rest of her life in isolation with the other monsters since the government doesn't want the people to have to deal with monsters. Susan just wants to get out and be held by Derek - and corrects herself, saying she would be holding him because of her size. She is also informed that her new name is now Ginormica.
Meanwhile an alien spaceship lands. The president attempts to make contact with various methods, including the Vulcan greeting (the \\// thing). The alien ship attacks, and the army's weapons are useless.
General Monger convinces the president that the monsters should be used to fight the alien ship. He agrees and the monsters are released.
Ginormica and the monsters defeat the crew without killing or harming any civilians. She decided to head back and find Derek.
Her monster friends are introduced to Ginormica's family, who don't take it well. Meanwhile Ginormica finds out Derek doesn't want to date her because she is no longer a person who can advance his career.
Later she is sitting with the monsters and decides she doesn't need to be Derek's wife - she is her own person, with her own story, and her own powers and she isn't going to be some man's trophy wife.
There is more to the movie, but I'm here to review, not summarize. The movie allows some of the male characters to be portrayed as less than manly, and the main female to no longer be there as an add-on to a male character. It also doesn't hide the fact that some people are treated differently, hence the monsters being hated by Ginormica's family and friends.
At the end of the movie Susan has a choice - be Susan, an average woman, or Ginormica, a great woman. She chooses the hard way - to be Ginormica. Even though she will forever be huge, and different, she chooses to be this person who does what she wants and is in no way a helpless princess. I see this as a sort of metaphor, that she is ready to be her own person instead of what society expects her to be.
So the movie is awesome - it ignores gender roles, has a strong female lead, shows how discriminatio is wrong, and sends a great message to kids.
Rating time!
Graphics: 4/5
Drama: 4/5
Romance: 5/5
Comedy: 5/5
Message: 5/5
Gender Equality: 5/5
Entertainment Value: 5/5
Total: 4.7/5
Worth the 3 bucks I paid to see it? Yes. Worth seeing again? I'd have to say yes. Buying it on DVD? Yes. It may be a kid's movie but damn.