For now let's not compare 'Megamind' to 'Despicable Me'. And let's leave the whole Dreamworks vs. Pixar discussion out of this as well, for now. Instead let's just look at 'Megamind.' To sum it up in one sentence, it's basically a somewhat loose retelling of the Superman story from the villain's perspective, which is not necessarily a bad thing like some would assume. It doesn't rip of any popular storylines in the way that 'Avatar' did, although it does have enough clichés to make it pretty predictable. Once again, that's not a bad thing.
The story itself is all about the characters and how their lives are affected by the typical balance between good and evil in a "superhero" world, and by that I mean the balance between the hero, the villain, and the predictable "damsel in distress." 'Megamind' shares this theme with 'Unbreakable' and 'The Dark Knight,' but it never really gets as close to accomplishing more than those films did since it is just a children's movie. It does come come close, though, but more attention is given to the art and special effects than the story so we get a musing of interesting ideas with a conventional conclusion that leaves 'Megamind' with a spicy aftertaste of mediocrity.
Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) is evacuated from his dying home planet (very much like Superman) and sent to Earth as an infant, missing out on his parents' last words, which gives him a lifelong confusion over what his ultimate purpose is. Metroman (voiced by Brad Pitt) is also sent to Earth as an infant from a neighboring planet, and Megamind acknowledges this as the start of the two characters' intense rivalry. While Metroman gets all of the attention on Earth as the "hero," Megamind assumes that it is his purpose in life to be the "villain," although he lacks the supernatural powers to match Metroman. It's his "mad scientist"-like mind that puts him ahead of Metroman though, as he finally takes the crowd favorite out of the picture after many failed, clichéd attempts. It is then that he realizes just how much he had let his jealousy of Metroman's fame get to his head, and he tries to make a better name for himself. However, he still thinks he has to be a "villain" and creates a superhero to rival himself, which proves to be more than he could handle.
There is a trick up Megamind's sleeve that makes it an above-average Dreamworks film, and that is the many twists that keep the audiences from feeling that the story is predictable, although after the twists are revealed our predictions are mostly accurate. The humor in 'Megamind' is mostly the awkward humor that's present in Will Ferrell's adult comedies (Megamind is literally as arrogantly gaudy as Ron Burgundy), as well as some pop-culture references that aren't as annoying as they were in 'Monsters vs. Aliens' (which also shares the "confused identity" theme but fails to fall through), but there are sometimes long drags where the humor is just childish and not as appealing as it could've been. And let me make one thing clear: I hate when movies end with all of the characters dancing and singing along to a song as if it's not awkward and possibly the most cliché way to end a children's movie. Pixar hasn't done it yet, and I think that's a good enough sign that they avoid it for a reason. I won't rant, though, because I didn't hate 'Megamind.'
The chemistry between the characters is excellent, mostly because they are rehashed versions of previously existing characters in this genre, but the voice actors make it work. Tina Fey is great as Roxanne, the "damsel," while Jonah Hill is pretty good as Titan, the "hero" that Megamind creates halfway into the movie. I like superhero films, as I figure most people do, and although 'Megamind' never really takes itself as seriously as 'Despicable Me' does, it still succeeds by giving these stereotypical characters actual motives and emotions that influence their actions. And although many people are going to compare it to 'Despicable Me,' as they are both from the perspective of supervillains, 'Megamind' covers a completely different area, although I wouldn't go as far to say that it was better than 'Despicable Me.' While 'Megamind' isn't as stellar as 'Shrek' or 'Dragon' or even 'Kung Fu Panda,' it's still a good effort from Dreamworks, and that's usually a good thing. At least they didn't go through with calling it 'Oober-Mind.'
VERDICT:
