Megamind: Supervillain or Superhero?

Summary:
The supervillain Megamind finally defeats his nemesis, the superhero Metro Man. But without a hero, he becomes melancholic, and loses all purpose: Thus he must find new meaning to his life by creating a new superhero - Titan/Tighten. Tighten appears to be worse than Megamind, and terrorizes Metrocity. In the end, the bad guy has no choice but to become the good guy and beat the monster he has created.

Director: Tom McGrath
Writers: Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons
Stars: Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt


I've just watched the animation movie, Megamind, and though some critics say it is mediocre, that still didn't stop me from laughing so hard throughout the movie that my stomach hurt so bad.

I am a far cry from being a great movie critic but I disagree to those who say that this is a mediocre movie. In fact, I have never immensely enjoyed watching animation films until I watched Megamind.

It's a good break from all the somberness and shallowness, for it is neither somber nor shallow. It is deep, yet funny. This is not your typical "for kids" animated movie, for it's too wordy and its scripts are too biting, spontaneous, dumb-smart, and downright hilarious.

This is not your usual fairy tales and morality tales which were recounted across generations and exaggerated over time,  and with the same iconic elements: virginal damsels in distress, handsome superheroes, ugly supervillains, etc, etc.

Quite to the contrary, the main protagonist in this film is a hideous, blue-complexioned, big-headed supervillain whose evil doings are just a product of his conviction, "to do what he does best - being bad."

The thing with most animated films is that they portray the overrated, overused, cliche, tattered concept of "good vs. evil." They portray the ultimately good characters incapable of doing bad and ultimately bad characters incapable of doing good. This is what we call "flat" characters. This film is quite the opposite.

Although intended primarily to entertain viewers, this film does have moral lessons.

Below are the main pointers of the film:

First is the concept of good and bad.

Unlike most fairy tales with "flat" characters, Megamind has "rounded" characters - good capable of doing bad, and bad capable of doing good.

Second, there is no damsel-in-distress.

 Roxanne Ritchi is a far cry from the typical helpless, weak-minded, easily-duped princesses. 

In fact, she is soooo witty, fiery, and strong-willed that she appears to be the one with the strongest personality in this film. Her wit is so amusing, and her intellect so extraordinary that she is a match to these two super beings.

Third, just because one appears to be good it doesn't mean that he is really good. I've been always convinced that we can only know one's true color when he is at his "highest" position. One's good actions at his "lowest" position do not necessarily imply his goodness, for one would not know what he would become once he ascends to power (by the term "good," I mean to say "normal and harmless" - not necessarily great and altruistic, just plain harmless). I truly believe that some people are just "good" because they have no choice but to be good: their social standings and dire situations necessitate them to behave in good manners. They neither have the strength nor the capacity to do otherwise - thus, they are not really good. Perhaps, once given the opportunity and chance, they would probably act otherwise.

This is where the character of Hal/Titan/Tighten comes in.

In his weak state, he appears to be good and ordinary - nothing spectacular.

It is unthinkable that Hal would be capable of such atrocities - being a simpleton that is he.

But when the circumstances changed, Hal being transformed into the superhero Titan/Tighten with "unfathomable" powers, he shows his true colors.

It only confirms my conviction that one could only be judged for what he truly is when he reaches his highest position - when one has the power and capability to do either good or evil.


This movie is full of ironies.


Megamind lacks extraordinary strength, but he has superior intellect to match Metro Man's super-human abilities. Though he is intellectually superior, yet he is always blundering.

All throughout the movie, he consistently appears dim-witted, and his plans always seem to backfire and fail. He creates superb scientific inventions - super-robots, sun death-beam, Metro Man's DNA transfusion- yet, his evil schemes are "predictable" and flimsy - reminiscent to those of ordinary criminals'. Despite his superb brains, he always fails to concoct an ultimate devious plan to totally eradicate his archenemy - the defender of Metrocity: Metro Man.

Metro Man is the ultimate superhero, and claims to love everybody, yet he shouts "And I love you, too, random citizen!" This shows that though he defends them, still he thinks that he is above them.

In other words, he is "full of himself." Though he is a courageous and super-strong do-gooder, he is also an arrogant and vain fool.

He also proves himself selfish when he "abandons" his city by faking his own death, thus, putting the entire city into the "hands" of Megamind, and later to Tighten.

He neither looks back nor cares. Now, that's not the ideal superhero.

What really makes this film different is its hilariousness - its scripts are just too catchy and biting and just plain funny. When Megamind and Metro Man both dim-wittedly argue about "justice" and "revenge," citing famous quotes, blah, blah, blah - Roxanne said, "Girls, girls, you are both pretty. Can I go home now?" :D To some, their lines might be cheesy but for me, they're utterly funny!

I totally recommend this movie - two-thumb up! :)
Prepare yourself for a great laugh! :D

It will surely put "bad" in a "good" light!

"All men must choose between two paths. Good is the path of honour, heroism, and nobility. Evil... well, it's just cooler." - Megamind