After seeing the trailers for this computer-animated film, I attended a screening with eager anticipation. But what a letdown -- I’d already seen all the best scenes in the trailers.

On her wedding day, Susan (Reese Witherspoon) is standing at the altar with her fiancé, Derek (Paul Rudd), a wannabe-famous TV weatherman, when a meteor explodes and somehow transforms her into a 50-foot-tall woman. After causing a great deal of damage with the sheer awkwardness of her new size, Susan is sequestered by the Army in a top-secret camp for extremely odd beings that the military calls Monsters. Reluctantly, Susan joins them: B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), a gelatinous blob with a single eye; Insectosaurus, a giant caterpillar with a seemingly small mind; Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), a mutated mad scientist; and Missing Link (Will Arnett). Tributes to old sci-fi flicks abound: Missing Link is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, B.O.B. is The Blob, Insectosaurus is Mothra -- and Susan, of course, is the 50 Foot Woman.

When Earth is invaded by an alien robot, the feds call on the Monsters for protection, and the ensuing free-for-all seems to last forever. Through it all, Susan -- whom the Army has renamed Ginormica -- just wants to go home and be her right size again, and wonders at all the crazy things that keep happening to her. In fact, the perky Susan is the only character with any personality at all -- the others come across as escapees from Saturday-morning television, totally lacking in subtlety or three-dimensional personality. They say all the right things in the same tone of voice, with little feeling and no growth. As everyone goes through the standard set-pieces of danger, escape, and triumph, I felt absolutely nothing. Perhaps a two-year-old would better relate to Monsters vs. Aliens -- there’s a lot of banging and action -- but halfway through, an adult is likely to feel already worn out. But there’s no point in enduring this film to the end -- any search for a greater reward will come up fruitless.

Monsters vs. Aliens was "shot" in 3D and released that way in some theaters. Though I saw it in 2D, it was obvious where things would jump out from the screen to startle. This film looks so gimmicky and cheap in 2D that it’s hard to imagine that it could be improved by adding a dimension.

Last year, we were spoiled with a glut of memorably good animated features. Let’s hope Monsters vs. Aliens is not a harbinger of what to expect for 2009.

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