Featuring the voices of: Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill and Tina Fey (English version); Jan Lamb Hoi-fung, Eric Kot Man-fai (Cantonese version) Director: Tom McGrath Category: IIA (English and Cantonese versions)
Megamind may lack novelty, but it is a witty, fast-paced 3-D animation that will please adults and children alike. This DreamWorks film revolves around the alien villain Megamind (right, voiced by Will Ferrell in the English version, Jan Lamb in the Cantonese version) - an egg-headed, angry but kind-hearted outcast - who finds life unbearably boring after the surprise defeat of his cocky nemesis Metro Man.
To spice things up, he creates another superhero, Tighten (Jonah Hill/Eric Kot), so he can have someone to fight. However, the latter turns evil after failing to win the love of Roxanne, a feisty television reporter who Megamind also likes. As Tighten wreaks havoc in the city and takes Roxanne hostage, Megamind - with the help of his loyal sidekick - faces a difficult decision: to be a villain or not.
Megamind is hardly original material. Its deconstruction of superhero movies as well as subversion of clear-cut definitions of good and evil reprise the major themes of The Incredibles and Despicable Me. Yet what it lacks in originality is made up for with slick 3-D visuals.
Director Tom McGrath, the co-helmsman of the Madagascar movies, has the knack of turning a generic story into roller-coaster rides that enlighten and entertain. Sprinkled with hilarious punchlines, irresistible slapstick humour, comical socio-cultural references as well as spectacular battles, Megamind has all the ingredients for success.
Ours is an age of moral bankruptcy when greedy money-grabbers, donning suits rather than capes and tights, are perceived as superheroes. Megamind at least does what it says on the tin, and it is a pleasure to root for him.
