Review - 'Megamind'

Megamind Starring Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt Directed by Tom McGrath Rated PG

If you are looking for a movie to take your kids to this weekend, Megamind is a smart choice. If, however, you were hoping to be entertained too, chances are you are going to be disappointed.

For the most part, Megamind is what you've come to expect from a Dreamworks animated film. It has all the typical bells and whistles, including pop culture references (including nods to President Obama's "Hope" poster, Donkey Kong and Marlon Brando's performance as Jor-El in the 1978 Superman film), well-known pop songs (including "Bad to the Bone," "A Little Less Conversation" and "Highway to Hell") and big name celebrities providing the voices. What the film lacks, however, is originality and humor.

The story borrows heavily from the Superman mythos. In this version of the story, both Megamind (Will Ferrell) and Metro Man (Brad Pitt) were alien babies put inside of space ships and sent to Earth as their planets were about to explode. Metro Man, who was blessed with superstrength, flight and heat vision, landed on the doorstep of a wealthy family. Megamind, who has blue skin and a giant head, but no superpowers, landed in a prison and was raised by the inmates. They both went to the same elementary school, where Metro Man was beloved and Megamind was an outcast, so Megamind finally decided to stop trying to be loved and instead embrace the role the world had already cast him in - the villain.

The two continue to wage war well into adulthood. As they grow older, Megamind's nefarious plans involve kidnapping roving reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey). Megamind hatches grand scheme after grand scheme, which Metro Man always manages to thwart. That is, until the opening battle of the film, where Megamind inadvertently defeats his nemesis.

Once the supervillain has control of the city, he finds it's just no fun without a hero to battle against, so he decides to create a new superhero named Tighten (Jonah Hill). However, things quickly spiral out of control when he discovers that he can't control his new creation. Making matters more complicated, Megamind discovers that he actually has feelings for Roxanne, who deeply hates him after all the years of kidnapping.

The story itself is an interesting twist on the superhero genre. Making the villain the protagonist is a fun angle to take (though one that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog does much better). It's also interesting to see them explore the yin and yang of the superhero/supervillain dynamic. Unfortunately, the promising set up never really develops into a compelling story; it just plods along without ever really hitting its stride. The fact that the characters are really just bland copies of Superman, Lex Luthor and Lois Lane also hurts the story. (Though, in fairness, they at least manage to do something more compelling with the characters than the makers of Superman Returns.)

Making matters worse, the film just isn't that funny. With a talented comedic cast that includes Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, David Cross and Jonah Hill, you would think there would be no shortage of comedic lines. However, the film simply doesn't have any big laughs. If director Tom McGrath had simply let his actors improvise, they would have certainly come up with better material than what was in the script, but these movies typically have the actors all record their lines separately, so chances are that wasn't a realistic option. Cross has the most comedic success with his character Minion (Megamind's sidekick, who is a talking fish with a giant robot body), but he just isn't given much to work with.

Watching the film in 3D does add a little bit of fun to many of the big action scenes, which typically involve the characters flying through the city or dodging explosions. However, I don't really think the 3D is spectacular enough to justify the increased ticket price. You won't lose too much watching the film in regular old 2D. That's probably because, sadly, there just isn't much to see.

Comments

[Brix]

I actually agree with you on pretty much everything in this review, except i actually laughed quite hard in many parts of this. The 3D was great! That is the one thing that Dreamworks has been able to do and has over Pixar for sure. Pixar has been horrible with their two 3D films and it seems like all of Dreamworks 3D films have actually been better with it. I thought this was a good movie in a cute sort of way. Obviously not as good as "How to Train Your Dragon", but still i think i would have given it 3 Dudes

[Torrent Download]

I can't wait to watch it. I thought they shouldn't have spoiled that Metro Man was still alive. It's a mock up of Superman:) Though, I want Incredibles 2 to happen since that was a classic and one of Disney's best. Dreamworks makes some good animated films as well like "How to Train your Dragon".

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