Presentation!

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2012)

Megamind's basic concept of telling a superhero story from the villain's POV is an appealing one - and it's one that has been done many times before. It would have been shocking and original back in the 70's, but unfortunately for Dreamworks, the movie's biggest potential target market - fans of comic books and superhero comics in particular - have seen this already, including, notably, Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog" and Kurt Busiek "Astro City" comics, both of which had more spark than Megamind. As a result the movie has to rely on the most basic of genre-based jokes, and the parody it attempts of superheroes and their psychology is one that has been explored to death.
That basic premise is milked for all its worth though, and while it doesn't serve for any real insight about the genre, about good and bad or about destiny, it does make for a lot of good jokes. And while the premise itself runs out of fuel about thirty minutes into, and at that point the genre savvy viewer will be able to figure out just how the rest of the story goes, there's enough hilarious dialog and visual gags to make it enjoyable throughout; just like the animation is slightly behind the times, but still solid enough to get the gags across. Megmind is very well edited and paced, with some very memorable scenes and a great soundtrack. It's not one of Dreamworks' best but it's terrific entertainment.