Gotta admit: I'm a superhero movie junkie, and I really enjoy a good animated film. But I wasn't really looking forward to "Megamind."
It looked like one of those superhero parody movies made by people who maybe say a superhero movie or two and figure if they make their own they'll make a lot of money, especially if they attach a few name actors.
Go ahead and mark me down in the "pleasantly surprised" category. Will Ferrell finds his zen balance as the title character, with enough of his splattered-against-the-wall comedy sticking to actually elicit a few laughs. That Megamind is actually a well-written character and not just a Ferrell improv creation, helps as well.
This film is a close cousin to the animated film Ferrell's buddy Steve Carell had earlier this year called "Despicable Me." Each was made FOR 3D rather than simply turned into 3D to its credit, giving it something of a leg up in quality even on Toy Story 3, which is a much better film but, like many other films this year, suffered from post-production conversitis, making viewers wear uncomfortable glasses for no real reason.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. You want to know your story, right? Here goes: Many years ago twin planets in far-off galaxies were being sucked into a black hole. Each civilization had one set of parents smart enough to cram their newborn son into a homemade spaceship and whisk them off to Earth. One of those ships contained the baby that would become Metroman (voice of Brad Pitt), the human-looking hero of Metro City (which Megamind pronounces to rhyme with "atrocity"); the other, Megamind (Ferrell), the blue-skinned, melon-headed outcast who would become his rival.
Told through the eyes of the villain, Megamind is driven to evil because he's different, rather than simply being self-serving; it's all of society, and Metroman himself, whose arrogance and lack of acceptance drove him to villainy.
So anyway, Megamind launches yet another diabolical plan designed to kill Metroman...and succeeds. With his nemesis out of the way, Megamind takes over Metro City, and promptly develops a bad case of post-homicidal depression. After all, what's a villain to do when the hero is out of the picture?
Soon Megamind starts hatching a plan to create a new hero to fight, while reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) continues to rail against his tyranny.
Of course, you can probably tell this will lead to a story of redemption, and a surprising bit of romance as well, as Megamind begins to develop feelings for Roxanne. There's also a bit of a fun twist toward the end that doesn't offer easy answers, but helps explain things and blur the line further between hero and heavy.
The buddy sidekick character is Minion, voiced by David Cross, and he's basically an alien fish in a bowl, with a robotic body. Of course, you'll remember Carell's underlings were called simply "Minions," leading one to think either Carell and Ferrell are messing with Hollywood and the world, were sharing jokes, or maybe didn't talk to each other at all about what they were doing.
An aside on the 3D; it was very good again in this film, but I noticed a strange difference between the IMAX 3D our screening was shown in, and the "Real 3D" commonly used for 3D presentations: the IMAX quality was noticably better and sharper, but when you tilted your head one way or the other, the 3D blurred or even dropped. Still, I recommend the IMAX 3D both for its superior picture and 3D quality. If you're paying an extra $2, you might as well pay another extra buck to get the full bang, right?
Overall "Megamind" is not quite wildly imaginative or breaking new ground by any means. Its comedy is somewhat spotty, but mostly solid, it features good performances, and a couple of interesting variations on common superhero themes. It's a solid, fun time at the movies, worth your while to check out in 3D, and if your budget allows, IMAX 3D.