'Battle for Terra' review

"Battle for Terra" (Credit: Lionsgate)

A ridiculously bland-looking race of aliens lives a simple, peaceful life on their prosperous, laid-back planet. That is, until those selfish humans of the future, desperate to find a place to live, invade and try to take over. Featuring the voices of Evan Rachel Wood as lead alien Mala and Luke Wilson as friendly human soldier Stanton, with Justin Long, Dennis Quaid, David Cross, Brian Cox, Amanda Peet and Danny Glover.

The buzz: Like "WALL-E," "Terra" values plant life while acknowledging depleted resources and irresponsible human behavior. (Oddly enough, Stanton is also the last name of "WALL-E"'s director.) Yet the humorless, action-driven "Terra" has been in the can for awhile (it screened at the 2007 Toronto Film Fest), so maybe it's not a total ripoff—just a standard, blah 3-D flick with lots of celeb voices.

The verdict: The cast, who's as bored as you'll be, seems to have had several tutorials on toning down their normal energy and appeal. (Since he's usually dull, Wilson probably got to skip those classes.) The movie meanwhile shakes its finger at reckless violence while suggesting, "Check out this cool action sequence!" Kids won't like the characters or digest the pacifist preaching; parents will wish they were seeing "Wolverine."

Did you know? You pick which is the more painful exchange: Mala pleading with the military during an inquisition, "Ask him, don't torture him!" or Mala, after uploading the English language into her brain, groaning, "My head! It's full of words!" Don't you hate when that happens?

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