Megamind

For a film whose stock in trade are tongue-in-cheek reversals of comic-book cliché, it too often settles for trite audience-pleasing.

The fast-paced wisecracks and ironic asides that are the studio's hallmark help to push the film past the lumpy, generic storytelling.

No doubt some of it is charming enough to induce giggles in its preteen target audience... What's needed is a narrative invention to match the technical invention.

You'll enjoy it. And then you'll forget it.

The story's the thing. And this one is as subtly deep as it is ridiculously fun.

I do love Ferrell, whose absurdist man-child routine has always been a matter of taste.

Though consistently funny and enjoyable, Megamind is essentially average.

[Megamind] has splendid visuals, a good story, and enough witty dialogue to turn it into an enjoyable experience that's worth checking out.

It may not raise the bar of this rapidly developing genre, but it manages to pack a lot of fun and spectacle into its running time.

It does have the odd cheeky nod for the grown-ups -- and it is presented in inglorious 3D -- but it's also got a screenplay overflowing with charm, intelligence, wit and a real spark.

Would be lost in the crowd, perhaps deservedly so, if it didn't pull aces on its execution.

If you have to choose between this and the superficially similar Despicable Me, choose Megamind. It's less predictable, funnier, cleverer and generally more enjoyable.