Megamind (2010)

Photo source: Slashfilm

Directed by	Tom McGrath
Starring	Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Brad Pitt
Music by	Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe

Short Story:
Super-intelligent super-villain Megamind and Elvis-lookalike superhero Metro Man have been rivals ever since they were a few days old. They both come to Metrocity from another planet, but while Metro Man was raised in a wealthy family and has always been popular, Megamind lands in a prison with his best friend/sidekick, Minion, is raised by convicts and becomes an outcast from the first day he sets foot in school.

In and out of prison all his life, Megamind kidnaps Metro Man's alleged love interest, TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi and when the hero comes to the rescue, Megamind finally defeats Metro Man and takes over control of the city. The problem is, that every villain needs a superhero and Megamind is no exception to this rule. Feeling at a loss without someone to fight, Megamind decides to create another hero by injecting Hal Stewart, Roxanne's creepy cameraman with Metro Man's DNA. He calls the new "hero" Titan (all the other cool names have already been trademarked), but it turns out that enhanced physical powers don't necessarily make a hero. Hal's low intellect and mean personality are also accentuated by the serum and in fact, he becomes a true villain. Eager to maintain the good guy-bad guy equilibrium and to save the city from Titan's destruction, Megamind teams up with Roxanne - first disguised as Bernard, a curator at the Metro Man Museum, and later on as himself - and ends up falling in love with her.

There's a lot of action, witty dialogs and great visuals during which we find out that Metro Man hasn't really died, but faked his death in order to pursue an artistic career as a singer and Megamind realises that he's won his first battle because his efforts were put into doing good. I'm not going to give away more from the story. Suffice it to say that this is truly a movie for the whole family: children will love the action and bright colours, adults roar with laughter at the various social, political, cultural and other references. Personal favourites are the mixture of Elvis/Metro Man's celebrity / seasoned politician moments: flies over the crowds, walks on water, kisses and juggles babies (note the politically correct caucasian, black and asian baby) and when someone cries out: "I love you, Metro Man!", he replies "And I love YOU, random citizen!"

Will Ferrell is having an absolute blast as Megamind and the way he pronounces Metrocity to sound like "atrocity" was a touch of genius. The rest of the cast and the music are equally brilliant.

Verdict:
If you want a movie to brighten your day, this is it. If you watch it with children, it might be worth talking about it a little bit afterwards, pointing out how a hostile environment can cause someone to become antisocial, but love and positive reinforcement will bring out the best in all of us.

Favourite quotes:

Megamind "I was eight days old, and still living with my parents. How sad is that? Clearly, it was time to move on."

Megamind: “Funny. I guess destiny isn't the path chosen for us, but the path we chose for ourselves.”

Megamind: “All men must choose between two paths. Good is the path of honour, heroism, and nobility. Evil... well, it's just cooler. “

Roxanne Ritchi: "If only life had a reset button...”

Megamind [disguised as Bernard] "I've looked into the reset button... The science is impossible!
[sniffles]

Megamind [disguised as Space Dad] "You've been blessed, with unfathomable powers!"
Hal "What kind of power?"
Megamind "Unfathomable. It's like, uh, without fathom..."