Megamind (2010)

The movie is titled Megamind. Judging by its advertising, one could easily assume the title is “Megamind 3D.” Seems like every other movie released these days is in 3D, since they can tack on another four or five bucks per ticket, and indulgent parents will pay it to keep their whiny, demanding kids satisfied. Personally, I’m getting tired of the gimmick–and it is a gimmick, not some revolutionary technology that will profoundly transform our future lives. I’ve seen many great movies over the years, and I didn’t need to wear uncomfortable plastic glasses to see them. Great movies can surround you with three-dimensional characters, settings, and stories, all without the shtick of poking things directly at the camera to make viewers recoil in their seats.

So I sought out a screening of Megamind in good old-fashioned 2D. I found a multiplex nearby showing both versions; the 3D shows were all sold out, as was the prime-time 2D screening, but the later 2D show still had seats available –quite a few, in fact, with less than half of the theater filled. Of course, it being a PG-rated animated flick, there would be fewer parents and children at a 10:30 p.m. show anyway, but it still seemed sparsely populated, especially for opening night. Bear that in mind when the media reports the weekend box-office receipts, always under the false assumption that movie receipts are newsworthy and ticket sales equal quality.

Anyway, I sat through Megamind without 3D glasses and found I didn’t miss the effect at all. It’s a mildly amusing comedy with a voice cast of mildly amusing actors. Beginning with a tired retread of the Superman movie mythos, Megamind (Will Ferrell) is sent into space as a baby from a doomed planet with Minion (David Cross), a fish in a bowl, as his only companion. However, he discovers that another baby has been sent to Earth from another doomed planet, starting a lengthy rivalry as Megamind is raised by prisoners to become a super-villain, while the other baby grows into superhero Metro Man (Brad Pitt), defender of Metro City (which Megamind rhymes with “atrocity” when he pronounces it).

Megamind and Metro Man fight each other repeatedly, always with intrepid reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) caught between the two. And, of course, the good always triumphs over the evil…until one day, when it doesn’t. Megamind finally vanquishes his foe, to the astonishment of everyone including himself. So he gets to swagger around the city with Minion, subjugating the masses and claiming everything for his own. But soon he feels a vacuum in his evil existence, as he has no significant “good” other anymore. So he sets out to create a new superhero he can fight, and his subject for this treatment is Roxanne’s socially awkward cameraman, Hal (Jonah Hill).

I’m not as enamored of Will Ferrell as most people are; in my view he tends to be a rubber-faced, silly-costumed comedian with a common undercurrent of desperation to do anything for laughter, a sort of “I’m trying so hard to be funny, therefore you must laugh at me” performer. (I lump Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, and many other movie and TV comics into this category.) I liked Ferrell more than usual in this movie precisely because you don’t see his horsey face mugging the camera. Megamind forces him to rely strictly on his vocal talents, and though he doesn’t stretch the vocally creative envelope too much (except for an initially funny but belabored Marlon Brando impression), he does have some good line deliveries.

Ditto for Jonah Hill and Tina Fey, who are pleasant enough with their voice performances, but, much like their in-the-flesh works, not overwhelmingly funny. Brad Pitt is a funny and talented voice actor–his guest-starring role as Boomhauer’s mumbling brother Patch on King of the Hill is a classic–but apart from one hilarious rapid-fire dialogue exchange with Megamind early in the film, he gets surprisingly little screen time. Most disappointing is David Cross, a sharp-tongued stand-up comedic and brilliantly funny cast member of Arrested Development, who both literally and figuratively is a fish out of water in this family-friendly animated romp.

There are some decent laughs throughout Megamind, including a timely Obama gag that the audience found uproarious. It’s amusing enough that most parents and kids will enjoy it, but to me it felt fatigued, like a bunch of tired gags and ideas all thrown together in an animated crock-pot with an optional 3D glaze on top of it. That’s one positive detail I can emphasize: 3D is not required to enjoy this movie. Watching the 2D version, there are certain shots and angles obviously meant for in-your-face 3D effects, but they were just as effective (and unnecessary) in conventional flat projection.

In the end, Megamind is just as popcorny and ultimately forgettable in two dimensions as it would be in three, so you can save your extra 3D bucks for an overpriced box of candy at the concession stand. Or stash the money away for the next creaky 3D flick coming soon. There were a trio of 3D movies advertised in the trailers before Megamind, including the godawful-looking Yogi Bear for the holidays and, next February, a 3D concert film/documentary about Justin Bieber. Heaven help us. Where’s a super-villain when we really need him?