Megamind

Anti-heroes are damn popular but not this underdog. There haven't been any animated movie which tells you a story about an under-dog villain. This is one.

Every so often I watch a film with limited enthusiasm, simply because I have time me to kill. On these occasions I sometimes stumble across a true delight and am pleasantly surprised...a film that maybe had "mixed" reviews or that received little attention upon its release. Megamind is such a film; a great work of animation and character development.

The film should delight adults and children with enough in it to satisfy all tastes. There is also plenty of amusing and hilarious satire with regard to superhero movies and super villains.

Many superheros and villains are often depicted as wholly good or wholly bad, having at best some traumatic event setting them on their inevitable and unchangeable course. This film actually highlights certain sources of inner turmoil and insecurities of the characters in a very entertaining way and develops the characters as they work these out.

There's also plenty of rip roaring action on the way.

Great stuff! Highly recommended!

I think that the timing of the release of "Megamind" hurt it quite a bit. If you look at the revenue for this film, it really is not that impressive, as it cost nearly as much as it made. However, "Despicable Me", which came out shortly before "Megamind" made a ton of money--many times what it cost to make. Now this does not mean one film is necessarily better that the other. I really think that "Despicable Me" stole "Megamind"'s thunder and people were just not interested in seeing two films about an evil genius.

So what's my verdict? Well, frankly I think both films are about equally good but have a slightly different audience. "Despicable Me" is clearly marketed more to kids and has cuteness as its advantage. The minions from "Despicable Me" are magnificent and adorable. It's also a tad formulaic--but not bad at all despite the predictability. "Megamind", however, is more a film for teens and adults--as cuteness is not really something I'd associate with the movie. It also has a few more surprises and a more adult sense of humor. My wife and oldest daughter preferred "Megamind" while I preferred "Despicable Me"--but we all agreed that both were really nice films.

I could say a lot more about the film, but since it's now out on DVD and already has a ton of reviews, I'll pass. Suffice to say it's well worth seeing and is excellent entertainment.

I have read some reviews here and see it being unfairly compared to some Pixar's... I would rather rate it on its own merit. When I am sitting in a theater I would rather watch the current movie than try and compare it with others I have seen before. I guess that is just me! So here goes.

It is worth a watch (or two if your kids want you to). The story is built up on a traditional superhero concept inspired heavily from the first "Superman" movie to the "Return of Superman". However, the jokes are often original and some can get an LOL out of you. All in all, there is enough good humor sprinkled throughout the movie to keep everyone smiling.

If you can, do watch the 3D version. It has some good action scenes which look great in 3D but if not, you aren't missing a lot. This is not one created specifically for 3D pleasure - unlike Dreamwork's "How to train your dragon". Do watch out for some great dialogs by Megamind, and even some cutesy ones that seem right out of a Dilbert strip (office humor, if it wasn't clear enough). My favorite is "He is still not used to positive feedback" :) (probably funnier in context.

All in all an entertaining package.

I'm constantly thinking about a better timeline in which Megamind did better than Despicable Me