RATING: B+
What would happen if Lex Luthor won and beat Superman? That's the question that builds the basic opening premise for this movie. In all actuality, Megamind was a pretty clever animated film with a "bad guy" as the protagonist that had the misfortune of being released around the same general time as Despicable Me--a movie with a similar premise (not-so-nice guy turns good) that got all the attention instead.
The movie starts off as being pretty much an affectionate parody of Superman. We have Metro Man, the Superman rip-off who is all too perfect. We have Megamind, the villain who believes himself destined to fight Metro Man for all eternity (and is based off Luthor and Brainiac, apparently). We have Roxanne Ritchi, who is the Lois Lane spoof--constantly getting kidnapped and needing Metro Man to come and save her. Heck, Metro Man and Megamind were even both sent as babies from their planets before their respective Krypton parodies were swallowed up by a massive black hole.
But what happens when one of Megamind's plans actually *works?* He wins. Metro Man is dead. The city is his. The question then is... now what? Megamind finds his life has no meaning now that there is nothing in his way. So he tries to create a new superhero to fight against him. That plan goes just a little bit awry though. And... well, you can probably guess what happens from there. In a kids' movie with a premise like this, you can guess how it will end at least.
Megamind's a pretty good movie, for sure. The interesting thing about is that after all the affectionate parodying it does in the first 30 minutes, it throws all the typical superhero movie stereotypes on their head. Our heroes may not always be what they seem, the bad guy may not be as bad as we think, and the actual monsters can come from unexpected places. Megamind isn't even really that bad of a guy--in fact, his status as a "villain" stems more from his rivalry with Metro Man than being an actually horrible person. And the actual villain we get is quite unique--he's not the usual "take over the world/city" type, he's a jilted self-entitled type who just so unfortunately happens to be super-powered.
The biggest problem is that the middle is pretty slow at times. The movie takes an unexpected left turn in terms of subgenres that was not included in the marketing. It's unfortunate too, because a lot of the movie is actually pretty funny--much of the humor being courtesy of Megamind himself and his Minion. No, not *those* Minions--this is a fish in a mech suit and he's actually pretty awesome. And there's actually a little exciting action, particularly in the final act. Heck, the only other animated movie I can think of with this much destruction (and thus likely a high body count) in it is The Incredibles. So having the slow middle act which lightens up a bit on the action *and* humor (though not entirely with the latter) is a little unfortunate.
Megamind seems to be a slightly forgotten animated movie, which is unfortunate. It didn't get a franchise (which is probably a good thing, because the story really ends here) and it's not good enough to really make anyone's Top 10 list in the animated genre. But it's still a pretty good and fun film. The basic premise might be predictable, but the movie still has a few surprises up its sleeve. It may not be fantastic, but it's still worth a spin.
Postscript: This movie also has one of the best soundtracks in an animated movie you'll ever hear. "Bad to the Bone," "Crazy Train," "Back in Black," and "Welcome to the Jungle" are included among others.
The movie starts off as being pretty much an affectionate parody of Superman. We have Metro Man, the Superman rip-off who is all too perfect. We have Megamind, the villain who believes himself destined to fight Metro Man for all eternity (and is based off Luthor and Brainiac, apparently). We have Roxanne Ritchi, who is the Lois Lane spoof--constantly getting kidnapped and needing Metro Man to come and save her. Heck, Metro Man and Megamind were even both sent as babies from their planets before their respective Krypton parodies were swallowed up by a massive black hole.
But what happens when one of Megamind's plans actually *works?* He wins. Metro Man is dead. The city is his. The question then is... now what? Megamind finds his life has no meaning now that there is nothing in his way. So he tries to create a new superhero to fight against him. That plan goes just a little bit awry though. And... well, you can probably guess what happens from there. In a kids' movie with a premise like this, you can guess how it will end at least.
Megamind's a pretty good movie, for sure. The interesting thing about is that after all the affectionate parodying it does in the first 30 minutes, it throws all the typical superhero movie stereotypes on their head. Our heroes may not always be what they seem, the bad guy may not be as bad as we think, and the actual monsters can come from unexpected places. Megamind isn't even really that bad of a guy--in fact, his status as a "villain" stems more from his rivalry with Metro Man than being an actually horrible person. And the actual villain we get is quite unique--he's not the usual "take over the world/city" type, he's a jilted self-entitled type who just so unfortunately happens to be super-powered.
The biggest problem is that the middle is pretty slow at times. The movie takes an unexpected left turn in terms of subgenres that was not included in the marketing. It's unfortunate too, because a lot of the movie is actually pretty funny--much of the humor being courtesy of Megamind himself and his Minion. No, not *those* Minions--this is a fish in a mech suit and he's actually pretty awesome. And there's actually a little exciting action, particularly in the final act. Heck, the only other animated movie I can think of with this much destruction (and thus likely a high body count) in it is The Incredibles. So having the slow middle act which lightens up a bit on the action *and* humor (though not entirely with the latter) is a little unfortunate.
Megamind seems to be a slightly forgotten animated movie, which is unfortunate. It didn't get a franchise (which is probably a good thing, because the story really ends here) and it's not good enough to really make anyone's Top 10 list in the animated genre. But it's still a pretty good and fun film. The basic premise might be predictable, but the movie still has a few surprises up its sleeve. It may not be fantastic, but it's still worth a spin.
Postscript: This movie also has one of the best soundtracks in an animated movie you'll ever hear. "Bad to the Bone," "Crazy Train," "Back in Black," and "Welcome to the Jungle" are included among others.
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