What if Lex Luthor did actually defeat his arch nemesis Superman? It’s a ques-
tion none of us have even conceived of asking because we assume the idea is inconceiv-
able. Those of us who know the man of steel realize that this is impossible – right?
Dreamworks’ MegaMind seizes the unlikely scenario and tries to play it up for
all it’s worth. Using the incredible voice talents of Will Ferrell, 30 Rock’s Tina Fey, Su-
perbad’s Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt (remember him in Dreamworks’ Sinbad, Legend of
the Seventh Seas?), the story is an entertaining spoof of the super hero genre, laced with
caricaturing dialogue and even a shout out to President Obama.
We see the title character falling in slow motion toward Metro City ( in lieu of
“Metropolis” of course) from the start. Actually, you have no idea which part this is until
Ferrell’s voice over comes up and begins the story in flashback. Movies, even animated
ones, seem to be more interesting with an opening cliffhanger. It’s a fine attention grab-
ber, making you wonder what will happen next.
The original foundation is a frantic re-enactment of little Kal-El’s escape from
Krypton, the only difference being that there are two infant escapees (the other from a
different planet )whose destinies are not as set in stone as you may think. Their destina-
tion is, you guessed it, our own planet earth where both babies, through environment
(sorry all you heredity fans) will become who and what they are. The heroic, overly
celebrated Metro Man and the incredibly handsome master of all villainy, Megamind.
Their epic battles always end the same way. I’m sure you can guess which way.
It’s a monotonous merry-go-round with the blue headed trouble maker behind bars and
the muscular white knight the victor. Then, the vile villain escapes, and the cycle repeats
itself. That is, until something radically incredible happens. And if you have watched all
of the spoilerish trailers, you already know what that is.
Maybe other voices could’ve captured the drollness of Roxanne, Metro Man or
Tighten, but Megamind was tailor made for Ferrell. From the point of his being placed in-
side an escape pod as a baby, it’s like watching Ferrell himself going through the physi-
cal motions as well as the vocal. Even in a humorous scene taken straight from Superman
4 where Megamind conducts an operation with DNA, much to the chagrin of his minion
(voiced by David Cross), you may feel like Ferrell is performing it.
Has Jonah Hill become everyone’s favorite nerd since Superbad? He certainly
plays the part well enough. Like Disney’s Hercules, he goes from zero cameraman Hal
to hero Tighten. His hapless efforts to win the affections of Tina Fey’s tv journalist
Roxanne Richie are right on typical to his other roles.
But of course a “superhero” movie would be lost without some romance, right?
Writers Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons provide this in a hilariously ironic way with-
out it being forced or squeezed in haphazardly. In other words, it keeps the story moving
without slowing it down- thankfully.
Tom McGrath who co-directed both Madagascar films, makes a decent solo debut
here. At this writing, the movie has made close to 90 million dollars. He has certainly
proved that he can handle a big budget (Megamind cost 130 million to make) animated
feature by his lonesome.
Some spoofs are just plain funny and worth checking out, even in 3D. Some
are just plain stupid, not worthy of anything (Vampires Suck comes to mind here).
thank God Megamind falls into the funny and worth checking out category. It’s a
comical delight that all can enjoy.