Alison Reviews Megamind [SPOILERS BEWARE]
SO. I saw Megamind on Friday, and I have quite a LOT to say about it. I'm gonna break this up into segments, otherwise I'll get ranty and dumb.
-Technical
-MUSIC
-Characters/Plot
-Overall
SPOILERSPOILERSSPOILERS
First off, lemme just say that this has to be Dreamworks best work yet. Visually it is beautiful, and it was nice to watch in 3D, though I'd love to see it in not 3D, because I feel like it loses something in 3D. (Also, watching a movie with two pairs of glasses on is kind of irritating.) But yeah, I love Dreamworks, they always give us fun, sympathetic characters that make me joyful, but you can definitely tell with this one that they've found their animation niche, per se. This has got to be one of the best animated movies I've seen in a while, they are up there with Pixar after this one. The scene progression was nice, and though I wish it had been longer, it totes had a good pacing. It kind of left you hanging on the end, like I wish we'd seen more of Megamind and Roxanne's interaction, even though we got a great chunk of it, the movie's like 90-something minutes long, so I figure it could have done to be a little longer.
The acting was great! Everybody really brought life into the characters, and there was a lot of emotion just in the voices. Combined with the facial movements and the music and just- ah, it was delicious.
THE NODS TO SUPERMAN, WERE FANTASTIC. From Metroman's TOTAL Clark Kent hairswoop, to the both of them being sent from doomed planets as babies, all the way to Megamind disguising himself as a Marlon Brando/Jor'el figure to teach Hal the ways of the Superhero, it was hysterical. I don't even LIKE Superman, and this was just so funny.
(unrelated, but Tighten looks like my acting teacher, omg, legit.)
The Music was gorgeous, 'nuff said. Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer, he always manages to either crush your heart or make your heart soar with elation. They've got traditional score mixed in with fucking George Thorogood and the Destroyer's doing 'Bad to the Bone' and it is one of the sexiest mixes of music I have ever come across. I need this soundtrack, I need it like I need air to breath.
And it was set up so beautifully- there's a bit where Roxanne finds out that she hasn't been dating Bernard, but in fact a disguised Megamind, and she dumps him in the rain, and seriously, it is so heartbreaking to watch Megamind's face (so beautifully animated and so real) as his heart breaks and the music is really the icing on the cake. Applauding Dreamworks' animation again, because it was a little unnerving to be so emotionally involved with a bigheaded primary colored guy in a spiked cape.
I could go on and on and on about the music, it was delicious, especially when Megamind saves Roxanne at the end, they play Welcome to the Jungle while Tighten THROWS A SKYSCRAPER AT THEM and it was just brilliant. If you're like me and you're passionate about Rock and Roll then you should at least take a listen to the soundtrack.
Plot was good! There were few, if any, plot holes, and while the story was easy to predict, there were little twists in the way they moved the story along that made it very original and very cool. And like I said, I wish it had been longer, but the plot was good! The script was solid, and it was clear that they had a crack team going over this. It was nice.
The characters were great. Like I said earlier, Dreamworks has a tendency to make really sympathetic characters that you can relate to. The fact that Megamind became Evil through no real fault of his own, and the fact that he's in love and doing things the only way he really knows how makes you just want to hug him the whole way through. He's expressive and surprisingly charismatic, with a weird sort of naivetee, even though he's a villain for the majority of the movie. He makes a compelling villain, but an even more compelling hero in the end because he has something to fight for.
Roxanne is badass, she reminds me a lot of my friend Janet, so I loved her from the get-go. She's spunky and intelligent, and she isn't fooled by the male bravado she's unfortunately surrounded by for much of the film. She knows what she wants and she doesn't judge people on their appearances. Her relationship with Megamind is sweet and somewhat endearing right from the start. And it's not like they suddenly fall in love while he's pretending to be Bernard, there's a natural progression of them being allies, then friends, then that awkward 'we both like each other but aren't sure what to do' stage, and finally the being together. There's no song and dance, no sudden revelation, it just kind of happens for both of them over time, just like real love. Minion even says it, incredulous 'You've... you've fallen in LOVE with her!' She's a strong, bright character, and even though she has two guys vying for her affections, she doesn't come off as a mary sue. She can hold her own, but she isn't perfect.
I really though I would dislike Metroman going into the movie, but it turns out he's just kind of a goof. Him and Megamind have a sort of big-brother, little-brother kind of relationship. Metroman gets the good grades and the affection and the fancy cape, he wins all the sports games and Megamind is awkward and has the social skills of a teaspoon, but it's obvious that neither of them would be anything without the other. Sure Metroman's a superhero, but Megamind's the ONLY VILLAIN in Metro City. And you think Metroman is gonna be a smarmy, 'holier than thou' jerk, but he's really a nice guy, he's just a goofy jock in tights, and I loved him!
Oh Minion, you adorable little fish thing. I have nothing to say on Minion other than 'brave C3-P0 with a dash of witty sarcasm'. He's fucking adorable, and I want one.
OOOOH HAL. OOOOH. You are... oh God, he's every girl's nightmare. He has no idea how to approach women, and his image suffers for it. I ended up not hating him, but definitely shaking my head with disappointment at him. Like I was just displeased, it was weird. I dunno. No comment on Hal/Tighten for now.
It was heartbreaking, it was funny, it was real, and it was surprisingly adult for a kid's film. It was understandable for children but it didn't pander to the adults with little obscure adult jokes. It deals with adult themes like love, the blurred line of good vs evil, and it does it in a way that is easy for kids to understand. Megamind grows up in prison, but we come to find out that prison didn't turn him evil, his SCHOOL did. Holy SHIT. I can totally relate to that! School is the place that really defines who we turn out to be. Megamind doesn't start out bad, he starts out as a precocious, curious kid who just wants to be accepted, but because he was the outcast, the weirdo, he became a badguy. Who can't relate to that, huh? Who can't relate to your school years defining how you see the world? How you see yourself? It was surprisingly deep for a kid's movie, and I adored every second of it.
Overall? SEE THIS FUCKING MOVIE. Holy shit, it was so good, start to finish, everything just. Just go see it. Or at least get the soundtrack.
Actually, here, I made it a playlist- http://www.youtube.com/user/IamAlisonWonderland#grid/user/92652D729F2FD659