Megamind ***
Directed by: Tom McGrath.
Written By: Alan J. Schoolcraft & Brent Simons.
Starring: Will Ferrell (Megamind), Brad Pitt (Metro Man), Tina Fey (Roxanne Ritchi), Jonah Hill (Tighten), David Cross (Minion), J.K. Simmons (Warden), Ben Stiller (Bernard).
A super villain cannot really exist unless he has a superhero to duel with. Life would become too boring if he was simply able to roll over everyone in their path with their superior intellect, strength or weaponry. This is the problem that poor Megamind faces early in his movie. He may not have been born to be a supervillian, but given his childhood it’s not really a surprise that he became one. As his galaxy was being eaten by a black hole, his parents sent him to earth in one of those pods – unfortunately another child from another planet was also sent at the same time. While Megamind is blue and has a huge head, and ends up being raised in a prison, the other child looks human, although incredibly attractive, and is raise by rich people. Megamind cannot seem to do anything right, while the other kid does everything perfectly – and can fly to boot. They hate each other from the beginning, and when they grow up, they start a war in Metro City, where poor Megamind always loses to his foe – now known as Metro Man. Megamind’s only friend is Minion, his fish. But then a strange thing happens – Megamind wins. Metro Man is killed, and no one can stand in Megamind’s way anymore. He can everything he always wanted – and he is miserable.
Megamind, the movie, feels right at home in the superhero genre. It is a bright and colorful animated film, that knows the rules of the genre and has a lot of fun with them. It doesn’t reach the heights of The Incredibles a few years ago, or even Despicable Me from earlier this year which also centered on a supervillian, but it’s fun in its own right.
I particularly loved the voice work in the film. Will Ferrell is certainly having fun as Megamind – I love the way he slightly mispronounced words (like Metrcity instead of Metro City). He is wonderful as the supervillian suffering delusions of grandeur, and relishing in his own evil, and he also does a nice transition when Megamind finds his conscience. Brad Pitt, w
ho I think may be doing an impression of his friend George Clooney, is great as Metro Man as well – all perfect and shiny, it can’t be easy to be a hero like him. I love the overly dramatic David Cross as Megamind’s Minion, appropriately named Minion (which, I presume coincidently, is what Gru’s minions were called in Despicable Me). Jonah Hill is quite good as a loser cameraman who becomes a hero – and then a villain – pretty quickly. And Tina Fey is perhaps best of all as a spunky female reporter – aren’t they all.
Directed by: Tom McGrath.
Written By: Alan J. Schoolcraft & Brent Simons.
Starring: Will Ferrell (Megamind), Brad Pitt (Metro Man), Tina Fey (Roxanne Ritchi), Jonah Hill (Tighten), David Cross (Minion), J.K. Simmons (Warden), Ben Stiller (Bernard).
A super villain cannot really exist unless he has a superhero to duel with. Life would become too boring if he was simply able to roll over everyone in their path with their superior intellect, strength or weaponry. This is the problem that poor Megamind faces early in his movie. He may not have been born to be a supervillian, but given his childhood it’s not really a surprise that he became one. As his galaxy was being eaten by a black hole, his parents sent him to earth in one of those pods – unfortunately another child from another planet was also sent at the same time. While Megamind is blue and has a huge head, and ends up being raised in a prison, the other child looks human, although incredibly attractive, and is raise by rich people. Megamind cannot seem to do anything right, while the other kid does everything perfectly – and can fly to boot. They hate each other from the beginning, and when they grow up, they start a war in Metro City, where poor Megamind always loses to his foe – now known as Metro Man. Megamind’s only friend is Minion, his fish. But then a strange thing happens – Megamind wins. Metro Man is killed, and no one can stand in Megamind’s way anymore. He can everything he always wanted – and he is miserable.Megamind, the movie, feels right at home in the superhero genre. It is a bright and colorful animated film, that knows the rules of the genre and has a lot of fun with them. It doesn’t reach the heights of The Incredibles a few years ago, or even Despicable Me from earlier this year which also centered on a supervillian, but it’s fun in its own right.
I particularly loved the voice work in the film. Will Ferrell is certainly having fun as Megamind – I love the way he slightly mispronounced words (like Metrcity instead of Metro City). He is wonderful as the supervillian suffering delusions of grandeur, and relishing in his own evil, and he also does a nice transition when Megamind finds his conscience. Brad Pitt, w
ho I think may be doing an impression of his friend George Clooney, is great as Metro Man as well – all perfect and shiny, it can’t be easy to be a hero like him. I love the overly dramatic David Cross as Megamind’s Minion, appropriately named Minion (which, I presume coincidently, is what Gru’s minions were called in Despicable Me). Jonah Hill is quite good as a loser cameraman who becomes a hero – and then a villain – pretty quickly. And Tina Fey is perhaps best of all as a spunky female reporter – aren’t they all.
Megamind is not a great animated film. It is a little too by the numbers for that, and as I mentioned, the film doesn’t reach the thrilling heights of The Incredibles, and doesn’t quite melt your heart like Despicable Me. And yet, it is a film that I think is a must see for super hero fans. So many of the superhero movies now take themselves so seriously – even great ones like The Dark Knight. It’s nice to see a movie in this genre with a sense of humor about itself. And Megamind fits the bill.
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