Mega (Blows My) Mind

Rating: 9/10 (3 April 2013)

Okay, I've said it before, Will Ferrell is grossly over-hyped as a comedic genius when virtually every character he has ever played is actually a thinly-veiled clone of the last character he played; so when a role comes around with some actual character meat on it for him to play something other than the world's biggest idiot who lucks into likability by doing absolutely nothing, he actually starts to prove he just might be actually capable of doing some real comedy. That role is "Megamind," a blue-skinned large fore-headed alien sent to Earth and raised by prison inmates at the same time the last son of a rival planet is raised by wealthy parents. It's not much of a superhero movie in as much as it actually attacks and turns the whole "superhero" mythos (particularly the Superman archetype) on its ear, analyzing it and taking it to both some logical and absurd conclusions. Along the way, the laughs come from character personalities and the absurdity of trying to be a costumed crime-fighter. Will Ferrell actually does very well voicing Megamind as a under-appreciated genius looking for acceptance in attacking the one person holding him back, namely Metro-Man, voiced by the very excellent Brad Pitt, getting a chance to really over-act and pump out some bravado, but still maintaining his humility. Tina Fey is equally excellent as the hero's lady sidekick unsure where she fits in his life, and David Cross, yes, Tobias from "Arrested Development," provides the voice of the cynical fish in a bowl on the robotic gorilla body as well as a lot of the humor and the voice of reason in the movie as Megamind's opinionated conscience. It really is an excellent movie, even with Will Ferrell in it, and the animation is superb. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some stinking Special Features on the DVD.