Megamind (2010)

Warnings: there's some violence, but it's OK, more along the lines of PG-13

Premise
For years, two extraterrestrials have entertained a rivalry that started with their arrival on Earth. Ultimately, one chose to follow the path of good and took on the name of Metro Man, the superhero who defends Metro City, while the other opted to become a supervillain instead. Aided by his faithful sidekick Minion, Megamind does what any evil mastermind would do: destroys stuff, kidnaps the reporter Roxanne Ritchie, fights Metro Man and, at the end of the day, goes to jail. However, all of this changes one day, when Megamind's plan finally succeeds and he manages to destroy Metro Man, at which point he discovers the carefree life isn't as rosy as he thought it would be.

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Who wouldn't trust a face like that?

The Good
I won't beat around the bush. This movie is very funny. While there are some scenes that are fairly obvious (slapstick), most of the humor is implied and quite clever - a better term would be "irony" since this is, after all, a parody of superhero/villain movies. Of course, there are a few jokes that aren't very effective, mostly the ones who rely too much on pop culture references, but they're not too glaring and don't detract from the overall experience.

The animation is above average, as this is Dreamworks we're talking about. The battle sequences are very well animated and I feel sorry for not seeing this in 3D, I imagine they looked even more impressive that way. I couldn't help but love the character design of Megamind and Metro Man, they did a great job of balancing out the realism with the comic book likeness. Megamind's expressions are hilarious and you can tell a lot of work has been put into making him look good. However, out of the entire movie, the rain sequence is my favorite one, animation-wise: it is very detailed and I actually caught myself staring in awe at the lighting and realism of it all.

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Can you say "tacky"?

Character-wise, I can't find a lot to complain about: the characters have personalities and, most importantly, flaws. Megamind isn't a despicable creature, but a funny and childish alien you can't help but love; Metro Man, albeit strong and quite Elvis-like, has a big ego and loves to show off; Hal the cameraman, your typical socially awkward nerd, is selfish and immature; finally, Roxanne the reporter can successfully stand up for herself, even though the creators of the movie tried so hard to steer clear of the damsel-in-distress stereotype that they reached the other end of the spectrum (a girl that is too boyish and too quirky, with lines that sometimes feel more like one-liners than what an actual person would say). As with every good movie, the characters evolve and I was very pleased to see that it's all done subtlely and no changes occur without reason.

One more thing I appreciate is the way they blended in the pop culture references with the action; the songs, the gestures - they all look natural. As for the songs themselves, they're recognizable and you'll end up smiling at the sequences they appear in even if you don't like them.

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Roxanne, a reporter you do not want to piss off.

The Bad
There aren't truly bad moments to mention, but a few of the jokes are overused, predictable and not that funny to begin with. However, the rest of the movie more than makes up for them and they can easily be brushed off.
While the voice acting is solid, Brad Pitt (Metro Man) sometimes sounds artificial and not that convincing. As for Roxanne's character, I already detailed it in the section above: she sometimes comes across as difficult to take seriously because of that "nosy reporter who always gets in trouble yet emerges without a scratch" vibe that used to be so popular in the comics of last century.

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Sometimes not everything goes according to plan.

The Plain WTF
There aren't many WTF moments to speak of, but both Metro Man and Megamind's plans, which are revealed near the end, are clever and can successfully take you by surprise.

The Quotes
Hal: If I were Metro Man, Megamind wouldn't be kidnapping you all the time.
Roxanne Ritchi: Hmmm...?
Hal: And I'd be watching you, like a dingo watches a human baby!... Okay, that sounded a little creepy...
Roxanne Ritchi: JUST a little.

Megamind: All men must choose between two paths. Good is the path of honour, heroism, and nobility. Evil... well, it's just cooler.

Megamind: Our battles quickly got more elaborate. He would win some, I would ALMOST win others! He took the name: Metro Man, defender of Metro City. I decided to pick something a little more humble: Megamind, incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy!

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This is boring, I'm going home.

Verdict and recommendations
In the end, I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh and have a good time while also paying attention to what's going on. What I like most about this is its pace and the fact that it keeps your mind awake; if anything, both kids and adults can watch this without being bored, since there's enough for everyone.

Originality + creativity: 1.5 points
Voice actors: 2 points
Soundtrack: 1 point
Animation quality: 1 point
How much I enjoyed it: 2 points

My rating: External Image (7.5, rounded to 8 out of 10)
Megamind (2010) on IMDb.com

End