Also not a secret is my tendency to root for the likable villain...and key in on the likable. Syndrome (Jason Lee) in The Incredibles, absolutely. Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Batman and Robin (1997)...not so much.
Of course, with the advent of the Shrek franchise, the "twist" of starring the villain has really taken off with mixed results. The first, second and fourth Shreks were pretty good...Shrek the Third closely resembles its name if you simply drop the "h" sound from the title.
Happily N'evr After (2007) was so abominably bad I should ban it ever being mentioned on this website again on pain of being forced to watch it three weeks straight.
Of more recent vintage, Despicable Me (2010) was very good.
But with that background, I anxiously awaited the release of Megamind wherein Megamind (Will Ferrell) tires of his villainous battles with the heroic Superman clone Metro Man (Brad Pitt) and tries to become a hero.
Brief outline; Megamind and Metro Man have battled so often their battles have become predictable cliches, the outcome known to both of them.
When Megamind inadvertently discovers Metro man's secret weakness and defeats him, he is able to run amok in the city with the help of his faithful Minion (David Cross) and his Brainbots.
Success is not all it is cracked up to be, however, so he sets out to create a new enemy to face. But the new enemy foils his plans by turning into a villain. Can Megamind mend his ways, defeat the new villain, and get the girl?
So synopsis out of the way, lets get to the good and bad of this movie.
First, the good. There are some great moments of humor, the action is entertaining, the dialogue pretty good too. They take some well-aimed potshots at trite, predictable Super hero conventions but do it in such a light-hearted, entertaining manner that it does not feel pretentious.
They also take a tired old story line, punch it up and let you enjoy the tale of redemption embarked on by the titular hero of the piece.
Now the bad. There is not much. I was entertained from beginning to end. The extended flashback felt like it fit, as each piece fell into place it made sense, and the resolution was creative, entertaining and satisfying. So the bad part would be...I wish this was out on DVD now so I could watch it again.
If you enjoy light-hearted animated romps with a delightful sense of humor, go see this movie.
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2 comments:
Coolio. I have been wanting to see a movie lately but nothing looked good...if this has your stamp of approval, I will check it out :)
Hey there, thanks for the review. I'm gonna go watch Megamind this weekend, and actually I'm just looking for a movie that is pure entertainment and I think that's what it's going to be. :)
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