Alien invasion films have been around for years, seeing humans terrified by the Martian or elsewhere unknown beings and we don't know whether they are good or bad, and it was interesting to see a cartoon film taking the premise and reversing it, so humans are the invaders on an alien planet. Basically on Planet 51, a world populated by green aliens, in the town Glipforg set an era similar to the 1950's culture, average teenager Lem (Justin Long) has a job as the planetarium and has had a crush on Neera (Jessica Biel) for a long time, but he keeps getting interrupted by her hippie friend Glar (Alan Marriott) before he can speak his feelings, and he assumes Glar is her boyfriend. The world is about to change dramatically by the arrival of human astronaut Captain Charles 'Chuck' T. Baker (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) who has travelled a very long way from Earth to claim the planet he has found in the name of the United States, obviously spotted by the inhabitants he is the alien, not them. Thankfully Lem, eventually, is willing to let the human stay in his house and away from the media spotlight that will brand him a monster and a danger to the planet, all Chuck wants is to place his flag in the planet's soil, gather some evidence of his visit, and return to Earth as a hero with many screaming fans. Keeping out of sight from the rest of the alien race is not easy though, and when he is found out he is indeed made out to be a threat, especially General Grawl (Gary Oldman) who is happy to put him in the hands of mad Professor Kipple (John Cleese) and see him be exterminated. In the end, the human proves himself a good visitor to Planet 51 after saving the life of the General, he is allowed to go back to Earth and achieve his ambition, his faithful wheeled artificially intelligent probe Rover is allowed to stay on the planet as the best friend of Skiff (Seann William Scott), and Lem and Neera finally express their feelings for each other. Also starring Freddie Benedict as Eckle, Mathew Horne as Soldier Vesklin and James Corden as Soldier Vernkot. The voice casting is good as you can expect from a film like this, Johnson making a suitably daft astronaut and Long as the hopeless in love teen, the characters are all good fun, many of the laughs coming from the robot Rover, the story is simple to understand, and you can spit and giggle at the small spoofs of famous sci-fi films, like Alien, War of the Worlds, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Terminator, it may be a little predictable, but the kids will love, and there is just about enough enjoyment for the grownups, a fun family animated fantasy comedy. Worth watching!

On a planet far far away, a green Martian species exist quite quietly, content to keep their sights set on their own world and nothing more. The population of this world (I guess it's called Planet 51 but I'm not really sure) is going through their version of the 1950s, complete with poodle skirts. Everything is fine until human astronaut Captain Charles Barker (The Rock) lands on Planet 51, unaware of its inhabitants. Things take off from there as must of the Martians organize a manhunt to track down Barker while Lem (Justin Long) attempts to help the alien get back to his shuttle.The first 15 minutes or so of "51" aren't bad. It's kind of a fun "Back to the Future"/"Pleasantville" mix that comes off as a bit inventive if uninspired. And you could do worse in the voice talent category than Justin Long. Where this movie made a decisive turn for the worse was the minute, nay, the second, that The Rock's Captain Barker stepped onto the screen. Some actors have the ability to move from live action to animated feature seamlessly and some don't. It's a different talent, a different skill set that some great actors can't master. Of course, this transition is probably a little easier for an actor who can, in fact, act. Unfortunately The Rock is not an actor and he seems hell bent on proving his talent deficiency at every opportunity. I have yet to see The Rock do anything in his short career that hasn't made me want to set myself on fire. And I refuse to call him Dwayne Johnson until he does something to prove he's an actor, not a wrestler masquerading as an actor. In all seriousness, his arrival in "Planet 51" is the exact moment that the movie begins a steady decline. Very rarely have I seen a single actor or character suck the life out of a movie as quickly as The Rock did here. It's so sudden that you almost want to give the guy an award if only there was a sophisticated way to say, "You sucked so bad that the entire movie crashed around you the minute your character appeared." He's awful. In all fairness, the script, which is riddled with poor attempts at adult humor and outrageously bad dialogue, does him absolutely no favors. But it wouldn't have mattered if "Planet 51" had been penned by Tarantino, Nolan, Sorkin, or any of the others who stand out among the Hollywood elite. What would have been a decent enough kid's flick is instead left broken and mangled on the side of the road, another victim of what The Rock is cooking.My site, The Soap Box Office: www.thesoapboxoffice.blogspot.com

Hi fans,I've read many reviews here and while no doubt inspired by their personal viewing habits, etc., I can't help but wonder where our current cultures attitude towards enjoyment has gone.I am somewhere between crib and pulling one leg off banana peel and the other in the grave, and I thought this movie was way past amazing. It yes, had huge references to every movie you could imagine, but it was done so well with such class, that you wanted more. I do not understand the rejection to humor when its done so well, to the point your anticipation swells with every on screen pixel ;)When did America get so jaded that our expectations became so large ? Sometimes its better to just close ones mind to nothing but fun, because in this case thats precisely what you get.I totally get that some movies contain some bad acting; maybe the actors weren't into the part who knows, but in this case not so. It's a joy ride from beginning to end, although I think it barely holds onto its family rating in places. Those parts could have been left out, or remade with a bit more creativity towards the PG-13 side of things . I think we are continuing to push the boundaries of what is considered PG-13, and I'm not entirely happy about it. Where is it written that we need such visuals in a movie to keep peoples attention ? ;) Movies like 'The Forbidden Planet' come to mind. It even holds up well in this century.The animation was wonderful, the conversation witty, dynamic and well acted and the plot was simple yes and fairly predictable, but definitely not without spontaneity.I made a list of all the cute movie references I found, but I shall do it on my new movie website another time,so stay tuned.Minus the few questionable scenes I found, its definitely one for family night, if you enjoy amazing cartoon visuals set in a sci-fi theme , very nicely voiced and packed with humor.5,4,3,2,1....blastoff to laughter ;)

Planet 51 is a good enough idea, but apart from the occasional adult joke, this film will bore anyone over ten. It could never compete with it's Pixar/Dreamworks rivals, but it will probably delight younger kids.I would not see this at the cinema. Instead, buy it on DVD, and put it on for the kids one rainy day.You see, unlike Pixar films, this is not a family movie. The acting is nothing remarkable, the ending is nothing remarkable. In fact, that is how I would sum up the film: nothing remarkable.If you see this film for £3 on sale, then buy it. But it is nothing special, that is all I am saying.