Megamind

The thing you notice most about Megamind is, despite a decent set up, how quickly the film descends into scene after scene of complete unoriginality. I won’t say what films it borrows from but many of the ideas and character arcs have been seen in animated films over the last few years. Now, the good news. The film’s still a blast. Starting off with Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) defeating his long time enemy Metro Man (Brad Pitt), but soon realising this isn’t all it’s meant to be, he invents a new foe Tighten (Jonah Hill) to fight instead. This doesn’t work for Megamind either and when he starts falling for news reporter Roxanne (Tina Fey) he decides to become a “good guy”. Not all that easy though when you are feared by all and had previously kidnapped Roxanne. So, not many fresh ideas here, but as this is a Dreamworks production, it’s still a cut above your average animated film. Though not being a laugh riot there are some decent gags dotted throughout the film. The animation is also great, particularly the facial expressions of Minion (voiced by David Cross) which leads to a number of surprisingly emotional scenes involving Megamind’s sidekick. In fact, this actually hits home well in the dramatic department. There is plenty of heart on show and it doesn’t turn into a cheese fest either. Interestingly I also happened to see the 2D version of this over the 3D version. Of course, it makes no difference as to the quality of the film, but you do notice some superfluous moments (doughnuts flying upwards for example) that stick out as being included for a 3D audience. This does lead to a further discussion as to how many scenes are put in 3D films to take advantage of the 3D, as opposed to actually being an integral part of the story. You don’t need a mega mind yourself to work out it’s probably most of them.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Seen it all before? You probably have. This is still entertaining though, even if it won’t go down as an animated classic like a lot of recent vintage has. Rating: 7/10.