The Movie
There was a really good animated family comedy in theaters last year--2D and 3D--one that explored what it means to be a villain in a cartoon world, and which asked if a bad guy can possibly become good, with the right support and the help of a good minion. I'm referring of course to Despicable Me. There was also an okay movie that fits the same description, namely Megamind.
Two aliens, rocketed to Earth as infants from dying planets, meet up on the journey and become lifelong rivals. One grows into the über-hero Metro Man, the other becomes the evil super-genius Megamind. Megamind finally defeats Metro Man once and for all, leaving Metro City his for the pillaging, but he soon discovers that "Victory!" is not all it's cracked up to be.
Bored and unfulfilled, he creates a new nemesis for himself, a would-be protector for the Metro Citizens, but his plan backfires, just as he begins to discover that life as a regular, even good person has its rewards. The story has a lot of these plot twists and character revelations, which aren't quite as compelling as they could be. And despite the wanton comic book trappings, there's not as much action as we might expect in the first hour. Megamind chooses to emphasize comedy instead, but it's seldom as subtle, as funny as it ought to be.
Check out the deliciously evil Chris Boylan's review of Megamind.
The Picture
The teeming crowd at the dedication of the Metro Man Museum is one of the most outstanding things I've seen on Blu-ray in a while, varied and detailed and crisp despite the many tiny, individual characters. The fine nuances, the spot-on lighting effects push the quality of the 2.4:1 image to photo-realistic levels. Leaves on virtual trees and aerial shots of the city are eye-poppers as well, and when we move past a potentially difficult element like a streetlight in the rain, the animation is remarkably stable.
I noted the tiniest hint of moiré on a head of hair in close-up once or twice, but this is more a testament to the presence of many, many rendered lines rather than a failing of the Blu-ray authoring. Despite the theatrical release of Megamind in 3D, and some moments obviously designed to exploit the format, and precedent for Paramount Blu-ray 3D (The Last Airbender), this disc is strictly 2D.
The Sound
The Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack here is simply amazing. It boasts extremely aggressive, dynamic surrounds for everything from dueling spaceships to whooshing newspaper clippings to popping corn to flying brain-bots to huge spinning machines shooting electricity... trust me, I could go on and on and on.
Also worth noting is that Megamind is the first Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack that was originally released in Dolby 7.1-channel surround in theaters. So it was not augmented or otherwise "faked" from the 5.1 theatrical stems, but actually mastered directly from the 7.1 channel theatrical mix. Toy Story 3 was the first movie released in theatrical Dolby Surround 7.1, but was in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 on Blu-ray. Megamind is the first ever to maintain Dolby 7.1 from theaters to home.
There are discrete voices, discrete pieces of debris, in addition to smart directionality for helicopters and such. Trebles are clean and clear, while the underlying bass is mighty and precise. There's a general effortlessness to this track, all the more impressive for its big, bold content. First-rate from start to finish.
The Extras
As is the fashion these days, we are given a brand-new, exclusive short, "Megamind: The Button of Doom," 16 minutes completed to the same high A/V standards as the movie. The Spot the Difference Game is playable easy, medium or hard, and an interactive video comic book further expands upon this universe. The "Mega Rap" is just a commercial posing as a music video, and the single deleted scene, also in HD, goes by quickly. From here it's a lot of "this is how we did it" and "here's how you kids can do it at home," which should keep the young ones occupied.
Exclusive to Blu-ray are a picture-in-picture commentary with producers Denise Cascino and Lara Breay, writers Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, and director Tom McGrath, combined with storyboard art, early animations and more. (This is available as an audio-only commentary too.) There's also an on-screen track with trivia and observations, a still gallery in four sections, and a feature that lets us add comic-style sound effects blurbs to selected scenes, and save the results. Disc Two is a DVD of the movie and some of these same extras.
Final Thoughts
The bonuses are solid enough, but man, the picture and sound here are off the hook. I wish they were in service of a better movie frankly, but if you think you or the family might watch Megamind more than once, I say find a deal (like the one over at Amazon, link below) and buy it.
Product Details
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