Megamind features Will Ferrell as the supervillain Megamind, waged in a lifelong battle against his nemesis Metro Man, voiced by Brad Pitt. When Megamind does away with Metro Man, aided by his minion... Minion (David Cross), Megamind is left in an existential crisis: what does he do now with no hero to battle against? As he decides to create a new superhero, Titan (Jonah Hill), he also attempts to woo love interest Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey). His attempts to do both at the same time create many crises that lead the plot towards a dramatic climax.
There may be some mistake made from watching the trailers or looking at a plot synopsis that this film is brimming with action. This is not so, as the film is actually a lot deeper. Where Despicable Me looked at the life of a supervillain who only wants to please his mother and be the best, Megamind looks into that circumstance where the villain does win. It rarely happens in comic books or films, but it is a likelihood, especially with how superheroes work. Superheroes cannot, generally, maim or kill, so their opponents always end up in prison or an asylum, where they may escape.
A supervillain, however, often wishes to kill the superhero. And once this superhero is defeated the supervillain has their way with the city. Yet, with the euphoria of the ruling finished, the supervillain would have nothing to do. Everyone fears them, so what purpose do they have. This is where Megamind is so diabolical. He only creates a new hero in order to fight them. It turns into a interesting plot where we see him attempting to train the thing that he plans to fight him, and possibly destroy him.
This coincides with his relationship with Roxanne, which he goes through under disguise, knowing full well that she would leave him for his actions. This means a story where the love is not built through any form of physicality, but through the qualities a person bestows and how, no matter how evil someone can be or seem there is some good there.
In fact, early in Megamind’s life he was shoved aside by Metro Man, landing in a prison where he is brought up around criminality, whilst Metro Man is given a life of luxury, having everything handed to him rather than working from it. Through this he builds up a massive ego. In school Megamind tries to do good and show his intelligence, however, when things go awry he is shoved aside whilst Metro Man is praised. This makes us wonder if we can truly say a person is born bad or if it is all due to his upbringing. Indeed, he shows potential to be a good person throughout the film, no matter how evil he feels he should be.
Well, enough of the plot analysis and looking into what the film is trying to ask us. DreamWorks shows in this film why it is good enough to contest with Pixar in animation. It pays homage to so many different superheroes as well as calling upon the clichés we all have grown to know and love. These parts of the script, as well as
many of the jokes, had me laughing in the cinema, so much so, at times, that I cried with laughter.
The action is extremely fast-paced, moving so fast that I’m quite shocked no one got motion sickness it was so quick. The way in which these scenes looked may have been due to the 3D, which added a lot of depth to the film and helped show off the size of the city. Indeed, the Metro City has been animated beautifully and looks like an animated version of New York, Washington D.C. and Metropolis all rolled into one.
Finally, the characterisations were spot on. None of them were too goofy and were very well-rounded. They all felt like they could be real and went through life with troubles we may all go through. Of course, these are hyperbolised, yet it feels like a real drama. The voice acting of this cast was spectacular and all voices matched the characters to a key.
Megamind has had me talking and thinking about it ever since I watched it. It’s a film with a lot deeper a meaning than some children might get. At times I feel it wasn’t made for children, but for adults. It’s a kid-friendly film, but contains so much to think about and take in and many jokes aren’t ones the children will get, possibly due to their subtlety. I definitely enjoyed it and, if you do ever see it, I hope you will too.
Final Verdict: 9/10
