Most superhero movies today follow the same general plot formula. From the point of view of the hero, the audience is treated to a battle against the villain, who will inevitably lose. The hero may be at a disadvantage, go through self-doubt, and even temporarily “retire” for a while, but in the end they always win, leaving the question of what would actually happen if the villain won.
Last week, SCOPE aired the animated superhero comedy Megamind on Tuesday and Friday at 9:00 p.m. in Bartels. The titular character, voiced by Will Ferrell, is a supervillain genius determined to take over Metro City. For years, Megamind has been locked in combat against Metro City’s superhero defender, Metro Man (Brad Pitt) while aided by his best friend and minion aptly named Minion (David Cross), an army of “brainbots” he designed, as well as whatever schemes, giant robots, and unnecessarily flashy presentations he may decide to use in his next plan. Despite losing every time, Megamind remains determined that evil will eventually win. He kidnaps newspaper reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey), a close friend of Metro Man to lure him into another trap. In a strange twist, this plan appears to succeed, killing Metro Man and leaving no obstacle in Megamind’s plan to conquer Metro City. Shortly after, Megamind proceeds to do just that, and establishes himself as the ruler of Metro City.
Following a short “honeymoon period” however, Megamind begins to feel bored and empty, a rather realistic case of what would actually happen if left without someone who had kept him busy for years. He attempts to remedy this by creating a new “hero” in Titan (Jonah Hill), but ends up falling in love with Roxanne as well and settling off a chain of events that make the audience question who the actual heros and villains of the story are.
Megamind attempts to deconstruct a few aspects of the superhero film genre, while still remaining a very funny satire with a memorable soundtrack. While it does admittedly suffer from many of the same clichés of other superhero movies, it also manages to tell its story with perspectives and plot developments not normally found in its genre. Whether or not you are a fan of superhero movies, it may be worthwhile to see Megamind just to see the genre from a different perspective.
