Megamind

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Megamind.Directed by Tom McGrath. Written by Alan J. Schoolcraft & Brent Simons.

100th review countdown....#90

MPAA Rating: PG for action and some language.

Runtime: 96 min

Cast

Will Ferrell - Megamind

Brad Pitt - Metro Man

Tina Fey - Roxanne Ritchi

Jonah Hill - Tighten

David Cross - Minion

Ben Stiller - Bernard

J.K. Simmons - Warden 

Before I give you my take on this movie I need to give you non comic book geeks a quick lesson. Back in the late 80's, Marvel comics came out with a storyline called "What If." It was a pretty creative series of stories that dealt with the exact meaning of it's title. The premise was a character called The Watcher would present stories of the Marvel universe through the eyes of an alternate reality. So you would get  scenarios like this....

What if Spiderman was a woman?
What if The Hulk joined the X-Men?
What if Captain America ran for president?

Megamind takes that concept here and tells a pretty cool story while doing it.

The premise of the film is taken directly from Superman. Megamind's planet is about to be destroyed so his parents send him off to earth. In his travels he runs into his mortal enemy Metroman. Metroman lives a life of luxury and acceptance while Megamind is raised in a prison and is taught that being good sucks. This begins the rivalry between hero and villain. Megamind who's a cross between Lex Luthor and The Leader (one of The Incredible Hulk's major enemies) never beats Metroman. Until one fateful day when he actually does defeat Metroman. Having finally succeeded in his quest to take out his foe and control Metro City what happens to Megamind? He gets bored. So he comes up with a plan to get things back on track but they go horribly wrong.

This was a very clever concept for a superhero film. Though clearly made for kids, as a kid myself it brought back those "What If" moments for me. It made me think what would happen if Lex Luthor ever killed Superman. How would the world survive? This move gives you one possible scenario. The voice acting is pretty good. Will Ferrell just basically plays himself as Megamind. Brad Pitt brings out Metroman's strength. But the highlight for me was David Cross as Minion. Maybe it was because the character was basically a goldfish with a robot monkey suit body but he was hysterical to watch.

The animation is top notch and when you add the spectacle of 3D (I couldn't avoid it) it brings out the action to a nice exciting level. There are only two things I would say against this movie is that somewhere between acts 2 and 3 the story goes a little off track. I won't say where but you will catch it when you see it. I think this had to do with the fact that Megamind's character though evil wasn't truly ruthless. The identity crisis of this villain hurts the flow of the story after he defeats Metroman.

Secondly I have a huge issue with some of the commercial music choices. In an attempt to drive home the point that Megamind was bad they played the songs "Bad to The Bone," "A/C DC's "Back in Black" and Guns N Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" These were bad choices in my opinion for the simple fact that playing those tracks dates the film tremendously. It's 2010 and you're playing songs that go back several decades. Not years, decades. The powers that be were trying to be too cute with the music and the lyrics not realizing that the kids seeing this movie won't know and won't care what songs these are. I was twice, sometimes three times the age of the kids in the theater (good grief am I old) and I didn't care about the songs.

It just didn't fit.

On the 5 star scale. Megamind gets 3.5 stars. With a "Go See It" recommendation.

This one was a very entertaining and different look with a very overdone genre. A couple of speedbumps along the way kept this one from being a classic.

That's a wrap for today. Up next is Skyline. I have some serious fears about this one. Mostly because of the cast or lack there of. Thankfully I have a free movie ticket to burn on this one so if it sucks I didn't throw my $$$ at it.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"