Review of Megamind (2010) by Austin R — 03 Jan 2012

Hollywood has made more than its fair share of superhero movies since Superman (1978) was released, but the genre remains one of the most popular. Viewers, especially in North America, enjoy recapturing childhood memories and seeing their heroes on the big screen. Most of the plots are predictable, but that doesn't detract from the fun.

Megamind deviates from the traditional plot in the same way that Despicable Me did. We are asked to sympathize with the villain.

The movie begins with Megamind (Ferrell) leaving his parents in a ship when his planet is on the verge of destruction. Does that sound familiar? References are made to Superman throughout the film. While this is happening, a child is sent to safety from another world close to destruction. The two children fall to Earth and experience very different childhoods. Megamind lands in a prison yard, while the other child falls to wealthy parents and grows up to be Metro Man (Pitt).

Metro Man is squeaky clean and spends his time doing good deeds. He can fly and he's invulnerable. The city worships him. Megamind leaves jail and decides that he can't compete on those terms, so he decides to be bad. Metro Man is loved by the media and Roxanne Ritchi (Fey) is the reporter who plays the equivalent of Lois Lane in the story. Megamind decides to capture her to lure Metro Man into a trap. It works and Megamind discovers an apparent vulnerability in his rival, resulting in Metro man's death just 20 minutes into the movie.

The city mourns the loss of its hero and Megamind begins his reign as an evil overlord with the help of his sidekick, Minion. It's hard to hear the name Minion without thinking of Despicable Me. This Minion looks like a happy piranha balanced on the body of a robot. Some of the humor is left to our imagination. For instance, what kind of reaction would Minion get when he buys coffee and donuts to take home to Megamind?

Both movies ask us to focus on the villain and see that they are not all bad. Megamind regrets the death of Metro Man and finds that he can't adjust to life without him. He functioned better when he had a natural enemy. To remedy the situation, he develops a gun designed to infuse its victim with special powers. He inadvertently shoots Roxanne's cameraman, Hal (Hill), and decides to groom him to replace Metro Man.

Megamind has the ability to change shape for limited periods of time and that's the source of much of the humor. Hal is renamed Titan. Megamind gives him a costume and begins to school him while appearing as Jor-El and sounding like Marlon Brando. Titan isn't cut out to be a hero and struggles to learn. He eventually finds that he prefers using his powers for criminal purposes rather than for good. Megamind has created a monster.

This is where the movie deviates from the expected path somewhat. Megamind is the only one who can stand up to Titan and so he starts to become the good guy. We root for him when he's battling Titan in scenes similar to those in The Incredible Hulk when Bruce Banner fights Emil Blonsky.

There are a few more plot twists and I won't reveal them here, but the movie works. It's funny, fast-paced, and the action scenes are frequent. Megamind is a character with many frailties and we're allowed to see them. That's why we are drawn in and made to care about the outcome. Ferrell is particularly good as the voice of Megamind, but none of the actors disappoint.