Review: 'Megamind' is confusing anime

Film: Megamind 3D (U)
Cast: (Voices) Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross
Director: Tom McGrath
Rating: **½

Similar to Despicable Me yet not the same, Megamind is an animated film about a confused master villain who may not be as nasty as he projects himself to be. Directed by Tom McGrath, this film is definitely a step above his better known work (Madagascar) in terms of depth and content, but it’s also not as lucid and clear cut as it should have been.

The film has a psychological depth that its target audience would most  likely find difficult to decipher. Alan J Schoolcraft and Brent Simmons have scripted the psycho-heavy plot that references classic comic book fare like Superman, The Karate Kid and many other superhero adventures in a wordy, self-conscious and superior fashion.

In a manner of speaking, this film attempts to spoof the ultimate superhero ego trip — his fight over evil, however big and vile, and his eventual vanquishing of it. It is certainly not a fresh idea, but this toon act of a misunderstood uber-villain has its charming moments. The wit, though derivative, livens up the  heavy-duty plot quite a bit.

Imagine a villain who can almost never pull off his hare-brained schemes. Megamind (Ferrell) is one such, and he has Metro Man (Pitt), the goody superhero, to feed off. Both were conceived on a dying planet. While Megamind gets fostered in a Metro City prison, Metro Man is coddled in upper middle-class comfort.

Neither is wholly evil or wholly good. So the conflict is never clear cut and the obvious ambiguity of their essential selves confuses rather than enthuses. Roxanne Ritchie (Fey) is the Lois Lane of this illusionary face-off. Megamind appears to kill off Metro Man and is forced to realise that his very evil power stems from Metro Man’s existence and, therefore, he now has to create another worthy opponent for himself.

This meaninglessness of the good without evil in continuous opposition is far too sophisticated a central conceit for a film that merely seeks to entertain its uninformed, fledgling target audience. McGrath’s plotting is also not sharp enough to assist the script’s thought-provoking theme. Megamind is a shape-shifter who can  take on another’s face, yet he allows himself to be incarcerated. There is no clue as to why that is so.

The 3D lends wholesomeness to the enterprise, but the effects, as expected from a 3D film, are desultory at best. The voice support is also not delineated. The characters, as a result, don’t have the roundedness required to assist in establishing a proper foundation for what therefore appears preposterous and unconvincing. The ensuing drama lacks bite.