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Planet 51 (Film)

by Colin Fraser | December 09, 2009 13:08 | Edited December 09, 2009 13:14

Funny and well designed, but doesn't live up to potential due to uninspired dialogue and heavy hand of marketing.

When astronaut Chuck Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) lands on a far-flung planet in the name of adventure and photo opportunities, he doesn't expect to find it full of little aliens. Naturally, the planet's green inhabitants, living lives of picket fence harmony, are none too excited about the gruesome invader. So begins a cheery yarn about identity, perception and anal probes.

 

Teenager Lem (Justin Long) is a youngster whose life is falling into place the same day that Chuck's rocket ship inconveniently lands in his backyard. Circumstance forces him to protect NASA's media-savvy pin-up boy, which puts Lem on a course of conflict with the press, the military, his girlfriend and a robot dog called Rover.

 

From the writer of Shrek 2, Planet 51 is an ethical reminder bolted to a big idea. It's such a pity that it doesn't live up to its promise. Good ideas abound as Planet 51 seeks to subvert fifties sci-fi and McCarthy-era paranoia. The design is truly striking, and fills every frame with a joyous creation of circles and saucers - a synthetic confection that recalls The Jetsons and Dr. Seuss in equal measure.

 

Peppered with circumstantial comedy, often funny, the film is almost always let down by uninspired dialogue that draws on cartoon cliche. There's not much happening that you haven't heard before. The voice cast is adequate, though John Cleese, as a faintly nutty professor, underlines the obviousness with which these matters were settled. Similarly, the choice of a Shrek-green colour palate suggests the dominant hand of marketing.

 

It's all a little disappointing, as Planet 51 has more to offer a wider audience than the tweens that it has set its sights on. It eventually boils down to an unimaginative run that denies the considerably more provocative idea on which it was born.