DreamWorks has proved to the movie going public that they’re actually able to rise above the mediocrity that they’re so associated with (Shrek 3 and 4, Sharktale, Madagascar) by creating films like Kung-Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon, but unfortunately, they’ve fallen back into the uninspired yet again with Megamind. Following way too close behind the very similar Despicable Me, Megamind retraces Despicable’s footsteps, therefore creating a quick cinematic diversion that’s all too familiar. While Megamind is by no means awful, it’s by no means great, either, and in a time of superior animated fare (Toy Story 3 and almost every single Pixar film out there) I wonder why people would really bother to see this, unless accompanied by a miniature, young companion.
At the very least, Megamind is nicely animated. Everything is pleasantly done (the textures and inanimate objects more so than the characters themselves, but I’m not really complaining) and realistic. Seeing the movie in 3D wasn’t anything spectacular, but for the most part, the movie wasn’t terribly in-your-face about the gimmick, which was a nice change of pace, although the flying scenes looked completely awesome. I really enjoyed the voice work in here, too. Sadly, when I hear the name Will Ferrell now, my gag reflex kicks into gear, but his voice work here works with the character and the overall tone of the picture. Sure, if you’re as tired of Ferrell’s shtick as I am, there will probably be some instances of groan induced eye rolling, but it mostly works here. The A-List voice cast is great, too and the fact that we weren’t subjected to the whole “Hey! I’m famous and this is my voice!” was relieving (although having Jonah Hill’s unmistakable delivery is up for debate).
The movie itself was entertaining enough to hold my attention, but the movie defines the word “forgettable.” Sure, it was silly and enjoyable, but in the end, it just really wasn’t that funny. There were definitely a few laugh-out-loud moments in the film, but in between the hearty laughs, light chuckles were the only audible thing coming out of my mouth. Now, I know this is a comedy (hence my disappointment in lack of laughs), but I would’ve loved to have seen this be a little darker. Movies like Coraline and Monster House find a nice medium between dark subject matter and family friendly entertainment and I think if the filmmakers just pushed the envelope A LITTLE, I’d have liked it a lot more (a character break dances egotistically in jail where he’s incarcerated for life. Really? Really?). You’d think that a film following an evil super villain would be just a tad bleaker. Speaking of dancing, I hate the ending. So much. I don’t like feeling embarrassed while walking out of a movie theatre, but that was the case for said film. Like Shrek 2 and Toy Story 2 before it, the film ends (spoiler) happily (no shit) with everyone dancing to a popular pop song (in this case, it’s Michael Jackson’s Bad. Get it? Cause Megamind is…bad?). The overall plot of it was respectable, but it was the Roxanne subplot that bothered me. I get that the movie has to have some motivation to move the characters forward, but should a blue alien with a bulbous lightbulb shaped head give into the most overused motivation in film (a cute girl)? Come on.
Overall, Megamind was an easy way to kill a few hours, but not much more. Like I said, it’s entertaining enough, but at the end of the day, it pales in comparison to better animated movies that are readily available for people to see. It’s not horrible and if you give into curiosity, I don’t blame you, but given DreamWork’s previous efforts, they could’ve done a hell of a lot better.
My Final Rating: 6 out of 10
Your review flows nicely. You give detailed good points and bad points. I agree with your hate for animations that end with all the character's dancing. I wish you would've given specific examples about why the comedy was weak. For instance, I liked the comedy in the film, especially Megamind's mispronunciation of words. Perhaps you didn't like that part of the film. You could expand on it to give the reader some insight into the comedy they should be expecting when they go see this film. It could also influence the reader on whether they would even consider seeing this film.
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