Megamind
Time Out New York Project: Issue #788, November 4-10, 2010
★★☆☆☆
Dir. Tom McGrath. 2010. PG. 96mins. Voices of Brad Pitt, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill.
Who’da thunk that DreamWorks Animation already needed to pillage its back catalog? If you missed this year’s Despicable Me, in which a supervillain learned the value of being good and got down to the Bee Gees, then you can simply see Megamind, in which a supervillain learns the value of being good and gets down to Michael Jackson. (Are Hootie & the Blowfish next?) Said bad guy (Ferrell) is a swaggering, blue-headed alien who’s been engaged in a perpetual battle with Metro Man (Pitt), hero and protector of the gleaming megalopolis Metro City. After seemingly killing Mr. Man with a sun-fueled death ray, Megamind assumes control of the burg and realizes, gosh-durn-it, a supervillain ain’t nothing without a superhero to fight against.
So Mega-guy infuses a nerdy a TV cameraman (Hill) with Metro Man’s DNA and schools him in the ways of flying charity. Mega also assumes human disguise and romances a strong-willed reporter (Tina Fey), who assists him when the plan goes awry. Laughs are few: Ferrell gets to channel Brando-as–Jor El in a training montage, and Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” posters are rejiggered for a humorous sight gag. But this is the kind of movie where “Bad to the Bone” is considered a clever musical cue because, you know, Megamind is bad. To the bone. Fire your music supervisor, gents.—Keith Uhlich
