Megamind uses his super villainous cranium to create an unoriginal scheme.

Rating: 5/10 (1 January 2019)

Dreamworks animations are hit and miss for me. Will Ferrell is usually boisterously unfunny. And superhero fatigue started to develop back in 2010. With all that being said, Megamind was fine. However, it trails behind similar animations 'Despicable Me' and 'The Incredibles' by recycling specific plot points that unfortunately makes this story mega uninspiring. A large headed villain of Metro City finally prevails and destroys his nemesis Metro Man, only to realise that his life now has no purpose. The beauty of this family-friendly animation is its reversal of typical clichés often found in renowned superhero comics. Megamind's origins mimic that of 'Superman' and a certain creepy crawly is a reference to 'Spider-Man'. It adds light hearted humour to what is a predominately overly familiar plot. The plan to make everyone superheroes and an army of disposable minions (although less annoying) are two clear plot details that were utilised more efficiently in superior films. Consequently, this leaves poor Megamind overshadowed. What also does not help is the abnormally slow pacing during the second act as it attempts to balance several subplots, including a romance. Fortunately though, newly created Titan goes power hungry and the third act saves the entire film from being a total disaster. Increased emotional stakes, exhilarating action and a good message regarding fate. The voice cast were decent, Ferrell was surprisingly charming (although occasionally shouts his lines) however Pitt was vastly underused. The animation felt unfinished, lacking polish on specific textures and character models that did take me out of the story. Its visual and literary humour tried too hard and unfortunately missed the mark on several occasions. Still, for a family-friendly animation, it's watchable and will keep the kids quiet. However nothing stands out, lacking in originality, humour and visual flair. Wasn't for me I'm afraid.