Film Review with Robert Mann – Megamind

28th November 2010

Megamind 3D ****
Megamind 2D ***½

Following up Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me, DreamWorks Animation’s Megamind is this year’s second supervillain themed animated movie, the manner in which the two films have come very close together seemingly duplicating DreamWorks’ past rivalry with fellow animation studio Pixar which saw both Antz and A Bug’s Life released in close proximity to one another as well as Shark Tale and Finding Nemo.
Somewhat unlike those films, however, there is a much more notable difference between Despicable Me and Megamind – whereas Despicable Me was seemingly cut from the James Bond mould of supervillainy, Megamind is instead cut from the superhero mould for the supervillain instead. Despite coming many years after it, it also seems quite apparent that Megamind is DreamWorks’ attempt at copying Pixar’s The Incredibles, the film being sold on the notion that it that will provide a fresh spin on the superhero movie, as exemplified by the posters’ bold notion that “the superhero movie will never be the same”. With the emphasis not on the superhero of the piece for once but rather the supervillain, the premise for Megamind is certainly one with the potential for a significant level of originality, even if the idea that the supervillain ends up switching sides also offers potential to move back into more familiar territory. With the potential to go either way in terms of both originality and perhaps even quality – trailers have hardly the funniest for a DreamWorks movie – does Megamind prove to be incredible as it is so clearly trying to be or does it perhaps even end up as a mega failure?

Born on a distant planet and sent to Earth as a baby, Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) has grown up to be the most brilliant super-villain the world has ever known. Unfortunately, he’s also the least successful. Over the years, Megamind, along with his Minion (voiced by David Cross), has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. But each attempt has ended in failure thanks to the caped superhero known as Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt). Megamind has also failed to frighten – or in any way impress – vivacious reporter Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey). That is, until the day Megamind actually defeats Metro Man with one of his botched evil plans. But with his once nemesis gone and his purpose in life seemingly lost he grows tired of existence – after all, what is the point in being evil if there is no hero to foil your plans? So, Megamind comes up with the idea of creating a new superhero to help restore purpose to his life. Unfortunately, he doesn’t count on two things – firstly that his newly created hero, Roxanne’s lovesick cameraman Hal (voiced by Jonah Hill) who comes to be known as Titan, decides being a hero is for losers and that being a bad guy is where it’s at and secondly that, as he finds himself falling in love with Roxanne, he may not want to be evil after all. With Titan being a supervillain who’s for real and no hero in sight, who’s going to save the city this time? Could it be time for Megamind to become one of the good guys?

It is clear that Megamind is trying very hard to be DreamWorks’ answer to The Incredibles but if you go into the film expecting it to actually achieve this lofty goal you will be very disappointed. Whereas The Incredibles was a smart and hilarious film that provides a witty deconstruction of the superhero genre, Megamind fails to break any new ground and, despite what it professes to do in its marketing, in no way redefines the superhero movie. This is not to say that the film doesn’t have its strengths, however. In visual terms, the film boasts the usual high standard of animation that we have come to expect from DreamWorks features and together with the 3D it really amazes. The added dimension really brings to life the spectacularly realized metropolis of Metro City while superhero flight scenes and super-powered fight sequences are made all the more exciting when viewed in 3D. We get some almost gimmicky use of the extra dimension on occasions, with popcorn flying towards us and a robotic arm extending outwards, but the gimmick isn’t taken to the extreme of overkill and it is in fact the more subtle examples of 3D that really impress. The 3D world we see on the screen is dazzling but it is not because stuff is being thrown at us, rather because it truly is a three dimensional world. Pay close attention and you will notice that every little detail of what we see on the screen is presented in three dimensions, from Megamind’s array of cool (and some silly) supervillain gadgets, weapons and vehicles to the most tiny of details such as individual blades of grass. This is a highly textured and detailed world where the 3D really adds something of value to the movie – it was made for 3D and really should be viewed in the format for maximum impact. There is also some attempt made to incorporate 3D into more dialogue heavy sequences and while it is considerably less effective here, kudos must be give to the filmmakers to trying it. There is no denying that this film has plenty to offer in terms of spectacle but in other areas it proves considerably less successful. The depth that the 3D adds to the visuals is sadly absent in the story, the plot not being especially original even as it sort of does something that hasn’t really been done before and the only character who is close to being sufficiently developed is Megamind himself – and he is quite well developed, given a childhood back-story and made into a character who is sympathetic despite being a ‘bad guy’. The writing is what prevents the film from being truly incredible with the dialogue being far from super and consequently the voice cast being robbed of much to say that is actually memorable. This is not to diminish the contributions of the cast, though, as pretty much everyone does a decent job but the only ones who come close to standing out are the appropriately silly Will Ferrell and Brad Pitt, who injects pure charisma into the character of Metro Man. Sadly, the film is also a bit underwhelming in the humour department. In stark contrast to the smart, postmodern style humour of The Incredibles, the humour here is much more basic, almost of the slapstick variety and surprisingly even forgoing the pop culture references that often feature in DreamWorks movies. Consequently, there aren’t really any belly laughs to be had from watching this film, although there are certainly enough laughs to make it an enjoyable moviegoing experience nonetheless. Suffice to say, this is a film that kids will love and adults will get some enjoyment out of but, unlike the works of Pixar, is unlikely to really appeal to a multi-generational audience. The Incredibles this film most definitely isn’t then but Megamind nonetheless proves to be a very enjoyable family film that is certainly worth checking out.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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