Oh, and I forgot to mention one more thing under the “hints” category. Hal says in the beginning of the film that if he was Metro Man, Megamind wouldn’t kidnap Roxanne ever again. And he ends up being right, because once he becomes Metro Man Hal ends up being the one doing the kidnapping instead
Iirc he also said he'd lock Roxanne up in his basement to "protect her from all harm" which is probably what clued me in to how scared I should be of this loser.
@@aaronlewis4369 I think it was right after he said that he wouldn’t let Megamind kidnap her. Roxanne said something like “that’s really sweet, Hal”. Then Hal went on to say how he would keep her locked up in the basement to keep her “safe” from Megamind. Then Roxanne gave him this creeped out, “you went waaaay too far” look, which he even acknowledged at the time. (“Too far?” “....Yeah”)
Megamind is an alien who understands roxanne because she's a human being, but hall was a human but now a superman Rip off who doesn't understand roxanne, because he only took the gig.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 I think he said that he would watch her like a dingo watches a human baby, WHICH HE LITERALLY DOES AS SOON AS HE SAID 'there's this good looking one I have on my mind currently. " and it zooms in to Roxanne in her apartment..... 😬
Tighten is a good villain, because he highlights how an underdog with superpowers could realistically go wrong with them. It would be tempting to use superpowers for one’s own gain, which is a flaw that someone with powers can overcome or give in to. Hal cared about having powers for the sake of getting what he wanted, rather than helping others.
It should also be pointed out that the thought never occurred to Megamimd that someone blessed with super powers might not use them for selfless purposes. He just assumes anyone with powers will naturally be good. This is foreshadowing that for all of Megamind’s attempts to be evil, he’s really a good guy at heart. He can’t even comprehend what true evil is like because to him, “villain” is just a role that was given to him by society, one he occupies because the role of hero was already taken. Nobody, in his mind, would ever *choose* to be a villain if they had a choice, if they had the power to do good in the world. On the other hand, Hal was given all the tools he needed to be a hero, but chose to be a villain in spite of that, because unlike Megamind, he didn’t have the heart and soul of a true hero.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 This is shown perfectly when Tighten reveals all the things he stole and Megamind tells him he can’t steal stuff, cause he’s the hero. This segues into Tighten establishing that he doesn’t want to be the hero, because it doesn’t give him what he wants. He’d rather be the bad guy, because he gets to do whatever he wants. Megamind is shocked, because he never imagined Tighten would do that. Not only that, but Tighten is taking his philosophy of villainy to a level that Megamind couldn’t imagine. At the end, Megamind wanted to be a villain to have fun. Tighten wanted to be a villain to get what he wanted, even if it meant hurting or killing people.
You know looking back now, Hal/Tighten receiving superpowers due to a scientific chemical, feeling a big sense of entitlement for love and attention he believes he deserves, just because he's powerful enough to get away with anything, only to become evil out of petty reasons, even being so lazy by using only his laser eyes to cause destruction and harm, plus add in the quote: "All you're gifts, your powers, and you squander them for your own personal gain?!".... Yeah, the he's basically Homelander from The Boys.
What I love about Hal is when he becomes a villain he doesn’t stop being Hal. Its not like a green goblin situation where his evil side took over. He’s the same guy he always was, but with more opportunity to be evil.
@@rory8182I mean, not really? He was selfish and rude the entire time but didn’t have the means to act on anything, but once he did, he used it for his selfish goals. Being evil isn’t doing something bad, but the attitude and reason behind it. The reasons and attitude were there the entire time.
My favorite hint that Tighten was evil was the first time Megamind broke into his house and he immediately says "Are you robbing me? Because if so the old lady next door has way better stuff than me." (Might've got a few words wrong, that was from memory). His complete willingness to throw someone under the bus should have been a big hint to Megamind that Hal was not the right person to give powers.
Yeah he did say that, I feel that was a hint the movie was giving that he was evil before he even learned he had powers, like the powers didn't turn him evil or corrupt him, he was already evil the powers just allowed him to fully be who is actually was.
What i love about Hal as a villain is that he doesn't play games. Most Disney twist villains and villains in general like to beat around the bush and give monologues and whatnot, but Hal gets straight to the point and it makes him scarier.
It makes sense, considering that Hal isn’t one for thinking, but action. He just wants to beat you to a pulp. No games, no tricks. If he wants you dead, he’ll make sure of it.
One of my favorite hints about Hals true nature is when Megamind comes to give Him his powers. He breaks down his door and Hal, assuming that he is getting robbed, asks Megamind to steal from his neighbor instead of him, as she had better stuff than he did. It was a pretty funny scene at first glance, but looking back, it shows that Hal was always a selfish and cowardly person that lacked the true qualities of a hero.
A lot of Hal’s “villainous turn” hints are played for laughs so that the viewer will just see him as a dorky kid and not suspect what’s coming, it’s the movie’s way of playing with our expectations. Like in his very first scene; where he talks about locking Roxanne away to keep her safe from Megamind. It’s played off as a joke, but we can already see some of that possessiveness that will become prominent later. Or when they escape Megamind’s lair, instead of being happy that Roxanne is safe, Hal is upset with her for leaving him behind and for hugging “Bernard” (“you accidentally hugged him instead of me”, again, hilarious, but also hints at his selfish and possessive nature)
Agreed! And also, he seems to have vaguely passive-aggressive shirts and buttons in every scene. Obviously, on their own, not a sign of villainy, but they again hint at his true nature when coupled with all the other clues. Once he had powers, he no longer had to be passive about his hostility towards the world.
Well look how megamind duped Hal into thinking he was metroman desperate already seeing that disguise watch before in the movie and he ran away after begging for his life but of screen he went wait a minute only megamind calls metro city metrocity even though metro man did it once himself at the beginning of his speech on the museum opening the day he faked his death.
Unlike the Disney twist villains, Hal/Tighten's pre- and post-villainy reveal doesn't alter his personality or give the audience whiplash from the sudden change. When Hal becomes Tighten, he doesn't become a different person; the super powers just make what traits we saw from him previously even worse. Both are childish, petulant, cowardly (to a certain extent as Tighten), entitled, dimwitted, selfish and creepy. The "Disney Twist" takes a pre-established character who was in two or three scenes and seems nice and reveals them as the antagonist, usually accompanied with them becoming either spiteful or cartoonishly malicious. The twist in Megamind comes from the fact that the audience doesn't expect Hal to let the power go to his head and thus become the big bad, yet at the same time, it makes perfect sense considering who he's been set up to be. Disney's twists are always treated as a whodunit, while in Megamind, it's more of a WHENdunit. One is a cheap twist made for a momentary shock, the other a surprising and well-done plot development based on natural character progression and storytelling. Both Megamind and Tighten are underdogs, an alien that was bullied for being different and a pathetic, morally-weak dork respectfully. However, one learns from his mistakes and goes on to use his gifts for the betterment of others while the other lets the power corrupt him, creating a great foil pairing.
I've thought about this as well, and made an ice cream analogy to explain my thoughts. I'll use Vanilla as a stand-in for "good" and chocolate as a stand-in for "evil". The right kind of twist villain is like a vanilla chocolate twist. The evil is always there, you just don't always see it. At the start you might see more of the vanilla, but as you get different perspectives on the character, you get hints at the chocolate, before the ice cream turns, at which point their negative traits overshadow their positive traits. The problem with the Disney twist villains, is that the characters aren't actually twists. They introduce a 100% vanilla character, with absolutely no chocolate in sight. They remain pure vanilla until it's their time to be a twist villain, at which point they just steal the vanilla and replace it with chocolate. That isn't making a twist villain, that's just stealing my ice cream! There's no mystery, no suspense, because there was never a hint of chocolate to make a viewer realize that there's more to this ice cream than meets the eye, it's just crude shock value.
I love the details in this movie. Like when Roxie is captured by Megamind she is completely calm and nonchalant. But when she first encounters Titan/Hal she terrified and barely capable of keeping it together. That lets the audience know the real threat without words. Show, don't say.
@@anti-usernamesaltaccount3623 Yeah they know. Just compare their reaction to when Megamind kidnapped Roxanne at the beginning vs when Titan took over the city. With Megamind, they’re booing him like he’s the “bad guy” in a WWE match. It’s all just entertainment, no one’s actually gonna get hurt, and they’ll do the same thing next week or something. Roxanne acts the same way, she trusts Megamind to keep her safe (More then she even realizes at the time) With Tighten, they all instantly descend into pure terror.
To be fair Megamind has kidnapped her before, it’s probably old hat by now for her. Though it’s a nice detail and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the directorial intent.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820, she even casually comments on knowing the kidnap bag by smell, but that only serves to emphasize just how old hat and familiar it is
I'd also like to mention that Hal sees fighting in a completely different way. Megamind and Metroman's fighting wasn't bloodthirsty or overly destructive because Megamind and Metroman saw it as a competitive rivalry, in the same way two kids would view a game of Tag. But Hal doesn't, he sees it as a goal, a mission almost, he wants Megamind *dead* and he shows that in his wreckless, he destroys the city and even when he does have Roxanne in his clutches, he treats her like a toy, adding onto his selfish nature.
@@natek4488Hal was always evil. He’s seen in the few scenes with Roxanne at the start being a bumbling creep who feels entitled to her because he’s a “nice guy”. He never was a good person. How much he is evil is the twist. How entitled he is is the twist. How much of a creep he is is the twist. It’s not the fact that he is an entitled evil creep.
@@carlireland5049 i wouldn’t say that he’s especially competent, just that he’s got untold powers at his fingertips. There’s no need to be competent when everything is easy for you. Though he’s been trained by Megamind to use them, so there’s that.
Tighten was a terrifying villain, it’s not only that he went crazy and tried to kill Roxanne, it’s that he seemingly has no motive other than “destroy / conquer everything”. He didn’t really *need* to destroy Metro City to accomplish his goal, he just did it because he could, and because it was probably fun for him. This guy is an absolute sociopath, and we should all be very thankful that he no longer has his powers.
So basically, the dude's Homelander. Both don't get what they want, so they become evil, since they have powers and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
@@osmanyousif7849 not exactly, they’re both using the “evil Superman” trope, but if one is a school shooter the other is a child actor who overcompensates for his low self worth
Power corrupts but when you actually give power to someone that isn't exactly ready to handle it things will go out of control really bad and really soon
@@victormagoco9752 , well both of them got power from a super genetic chemical, and were trained to become stronger (Also, note how they're both so lazy with their powers by just simply using their laser eyes...) don't get what they want, they slowly become more evil, since they realize that they have all these powers, and think they can do whatever they want. Heck, when Homelander slowly becomes more and more evil, yet the citizens are unaware, you cannot tell me that this dialogue wouldn't happen: Citizens: Hooray!!!! Homelander has freed us! Homelander: Oh, I wouldn't say freed, more like "under new management".
The funny thing about Hal is that, even as a regular dude, you notice that he never actually demonstrates any truly positive qualities. He’s pushy towards Roxanne and her boundaries, rude to other people and snarks behind their backs, and generally holds an unpleasant attitude. There’s rarely a moment where Hal acts kindly with no strings attached. What ultimately makes him below the audience’s suspicion is his appearance and his weakness. He’s too much of a coward and a weakling to actually get away with hurting others, and he looks so geeky and unassuming that you naturally assume he won’t be super dangerous. He’s every harmless Hollywood nerd stereotype, and the movie uses the audiences preconceived notions about the archetype to trick them.
hell even in the scene where he tries to invite Roxanne to a party it clearly shows how selfish he is and hw little thought he gives to Roxanne's autonomy as a person and her feelings. She's just a PRIZE to him.
the funny thing is, hal's name is a mix of 2 green lanterns (hal jordan, john stewart). 2 of the most brave, selfless superheroes who have tons of willpower, directly contrasting against his cowardly, pathetic nature.
@@sarafontanini7051 Yeah, he keeps mentioning shit like bouncy houses and clowns, neither of which Roxanne has shown any interest in, to try to get her to come over, and becomes incredibly pushy even when she outright tells him no. Also, Hal’s apartment is way too small for the party he was claiming to have. Which means he was obviously just trying to set himself up on a date with her but was lying to convince her (and thankfully it didn’t work).
@@kathleenchafe2770 Nice guy is different from "nice guy" (in quotes). If it's in quotes, it refers to a guy (usually a guy, though not always) who _performs_ niceness. It's not actually who they are. They're not good to other people simply because that's the kind of person they want to _be,_ they're "nice" to somebody specific because they think it'll get them that person. And if, heaven forbid, the object of their niceness happens to be uninterested for whatever reason, the "nice guy" will feel betrayed and become bitter (and potentially scary), simply because they feel that the act of performing niceness entitles them to the other person's affections.
Another thing I learned from other reviewers is how Roxanne’s dress showed how she changed throughout the movie Her dress is red at first, the polar opposite of blue, which is obviously Megamind’s color. In the middle, she’s wearing purple, a blend of red and blue. In the end, she’s wearing blue, showing how she now knows and understands Megamind and loves him for who he is, not who he’s made out to be
You watched that BS channel that makes up stuff based on confirmation bias didn't you? Red isn't the "opposite" of blue. What does red have to do with anything in the movie? Why wasn't she wearing white for Metro Man?
@@フランクランドン The shining purposely used Red as a trigger for anxiety and dread (blood, evil, etc). What the OP said here makes no sense, colors don't have opposites other than black and white (lack of color being black and all colors together of the spectrum forming white). Even if the OP wanted to use the two ends of the color spectrum as "opposites" the opposite of Red would be Purple not blue. And again, what does red mean in the movie? There's no link to it. Unlike the shining the color red has no meaning in Mega mind
@@fallen4life080well we know Roxanne and metroman weren’t actually a couple so that doesn’t make sense. Also it’s a common thing in society for red and blue to be pinned against each other even if they aren’t opposites. Also also even if it isn’t intentional it’s still a cool detail. Even if this is false let people believe what they want and enjoy the movie.
Fun fact: in the scene where Roxanne rejects going to Hal's party after Metro Man's death, he returns to the truck and says "What's wrong with me!" But in an alternate scene he says "What's wrong with HER!" I think the dialogue change was a good option on the filmmakers part, for one that would have outed him as being a potential villain way too fast in the movie, and the line "What's wrong with me!"ads a layer of insecurity to Hal, sure he always felt that he was entitled to Roxanne's love regardless of if he had super powers or not, but he doesn't completely blame her for not liking him romantically either, the only thing keeping them apart in his mind is his lack of special powers which is obviously why he's so ecstatic when he's injected with Metro man's DNA. I think this is especially nice because in most movies with underdog characters, theyre perfectly fine people but society just doesn't treat them well, and this causes them to question if they're as good as they truly are, but in Hal's case he was never good. And I also think the truck scene is a subtle clue to what kind of partner he is, when he's rejected as his regular self he beats himself up over because he thinks it's just his lack of powers that's keeping Roxanne from liking him, but when she rejects him after he gets Powers he starts attacking her, because he thinks that there's no reason she should not like him now that he's a superhero. Had he somehow trapped her into a relationship with him then he probably would be abusive, if not physically, then definitely verbally, that's especially true when he gets mad after she hangs out with Bernard, showing that he doesn't think she should like any other men but him. People like this have existed for a long time now but it isn't until just recently in history where we finally realized that not all underdogs deserve to be on top, some are at the bottom for a reason.
There's also him lying about a party he was having. If she hadn't said she wasn't in the mood for a lot of people, he probably wouldn't have admitted it would actually only be the two of them, getting her to go with him under false pretenses. I wouldn't want to be alone in an apartment with this guy.
While he does ask what's wrong with himself and not her, it's still not self reflective: rather than realising that he made her very uncomfortable, he just assumes that girls don't like clowns and if he had just remembered that then she'd be all for it.
Also there's the phrase "power corrupts" becoming a question once you analyze it Does power corrupts? Or just gives corrupt people the ability to show it? Did you wanted to help people and lost your way with temptation or you wanted all of that since day 1 and simply didn't made a move due to a lack of power?
Yeah, when you realize it Hal is an underdog but also an incredibly accurate showing of the "nice guy" trope. He might seem normal and just mild mannered but as shown his obsession with Roxanne and wanting her to go with him out of a sense of entitlement or "I can treat her better then him" when really he's as bad if not the worst person she could hook up with.
Reminds me of something I read once, I'm paraphrasing but: "You are not "peaceful" unless you are capable of violence but choose not to be. If you are not violent because you are not capable of violence, you are HARMLESS." Hal was never "good" or "peaceful", he was harmless. Key word being WAS; once he was capable of evil, he showed his true nature.
That was a Jordan Peterson speech. One of his best, too. In the same talk, he uses Batman as an example of a man who is monstrous, yet has caged the monster within himself through self control and a strong moral foundation.
I was reading something by a self defense instructor once which pointed out that a lot of pacifists weren't actually pacifistic, they were just terrified of physical violence - they were perfectly happy to visit emotional harm on people and harass them and otherwise act terribly towards them, and used their "pacifism" as a means of justifying their behavior and how they weren't actually bad people because they weren't physically hurting people.
@@TitaniumDragon There's a saying in some fighting circles. The gist of it is that you should always choose your best friends from the people who can knock you out cold.
Not only is he a great twist villian, he’s also a person who slowly becomes a monster but he had it in him the whole time. I remember gradually becoming more disturbed by him as a kid. Seeing him descend into his own entitlement and pettiness, and only when he threw a tantrum at Roxane after putting her in danger, did the twist hit me, he’s the big bad. And it kept going to the point he decided “if I can’t have her, no one can”
Yep, Hal always had the capacity for evil within him. The only difference? Before, he didn’t have the power to act on it. He had a lot of pent up resentment and frustration, and once he had the power to do something about it, that’s when he finally revealed his true darker side.
Whats funny is that i see this as a perfect metaphor for incels. The majority of them believe the only thing stopping them from getting a girl is their looks, so if they got magically turned into a buff superhero and still got rejected, they'd have to realise their personality was the problem all along
@@skyrat1896 Is it really a metaphor? Hal pretty much just is an incel. I could definitely picture him going to online forums to rant about his inability to get Roxanne and how that makes all women evil.
What makes Tighten really work is not just the whole "he's a goofy side character with a crush on the main heroine so you don't realise he's the villain" but also the fact that he doesn't sem like main villain material. He's stupid, he's silly, he has no plans or goals beyond his crush. He just doesn't seem like main villain material. But that's why he IS. He's so stupid and selfish that he cannot better himself, he has no goals so he just uses his powers for his own simple enjoyment. He's NOT a supervillain, he's JUST a villain.
Goddamn the character writing of Hal gets better and better the more it’s analysed. Hats off to the writers of Megamind, I genuinely don’t know how they managed to write such a layered and intricate character who ended up being the perfect twist villain.
That’s the thing. Tighten isn’t smart or manipulative, like many typical supervillains, but the fact that he’s a short-tempered idiot, who doesn’t think past his own desires, makes him scary, as it means he’s willing to use his powers to get what he wants, no matter who he hurts to achieve it.
8:00 Oh my, a detail I never noticed before : while Hal is ranting about how confused he's that she still doesn't want him despite his powers, Roxanne almost falls backwards and has to hold unto him BY HERSELF to avoid dropping ! He didn't even seems to notice she's literaly clinging for dear life, showing even more how selfish he truly is !
@@Kaito57 I do too but they're too harsh on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and kiss up to Catcher in the Rye and really seem to dislike the 21st century. So I say it's not that reliable a source.
I love how the line when things get bad is when Tighten goes "Jail? Oh, no no no, I was more thinking like *the morgue.* You're dead!" As we know while Megamind is a supervillain, he isn't actually looking to HURT anyone. He just really enjoys the back and forth between him and a charismatic superhero. He was even shocked when he thought he actually killed Metro Man. So when Tighten comes in and after the first battle, he announces his intent to flat out MURDER Megamind, the tone of the movie shifts significantly. What we once knew as the supervillain becomes a hero, and what was once intended by Megamind to be a superhero becomes the villain. Not the supervillain, as Megamind puts it, there's one difference between a villain like Tighten and a SUPERvillain like Megamind: PRESENTATION!
Honestly I think that line works a lot better In Polish dub. I mean "pressentation"? Really it was extremely... lame. Almost as lame as a Tighten was. But in Polish dub he says "Trzeba mieć klasę!" which means "You must have class! /be classy!"(I'm not 100% sure what would be best way to tranlsate it), which is actually pretty cool and not so blatantly superficial.
When I was younger, I thought it was funny that Megamind was basically one of the Saturday morning cartoon villains. For all his big talk, he never actually tried to hurt people. The fact that Roxanne was able to laugh at him with absolutely no fear at the beginning of the movie showed that she was actually comfortable around him and knew that he would never actually harm her. Contrast that to when Tighten tried to impress her with his powers and she was terrified the entire time. She trusted Megamind more than Hal / Tighten because he had earned her trust (even if she didn’t realize it at the time). But then I realized that Megamind never chose to be the villain, it was the role society gave to him. Even landing in a literal prison didn’t make him evil. The prisoners actually treated him better than the people on the outside, to the point where he was released for good behavior to attend school (I missed this detail as a kid). It wasn’t until he was rejected over and over again by his peers and teachers that he decided if he was going to be forced to be a bad guy, he might as well be, to paraphrase, “the baddest of them all”. But Megamind’s idea of evil was based on stereotypes, not things that were actually part of his character. His goals were generic “defeat the hero and take over the city”, he cared more about the show and the banter than whether he actually won or not. He never had the ruthlessness of a villain, which why he was so shocked by Tighten’s turn to evil.
@@Lyokoheros-KLPXTV not lame to me but if there is a translation of the whole line then i think it would be great since he said "there is one difference between a villain and a supervillain PRESENTATION" which makes sense whiles "there is one difference between a villain and a supervillain You must have class/Be classy!" doesnt fit right
@@figshw How it doesn't fit? (Also You know that I just translated that translation into English? Actual Polish text was "Złoczyńcą to ty może jesteś, ale na pewno nie super wiesz? [Co za różnica?] Trzeba mieć klasę!", in sqaure bracket is the Titan part) And no, "there is one difference between a villain and a supervillain PRESENTATION", doesn't make sense and is nothing beyond most JARING superficial things Megamind could have tell...
And England itself as a country is an illusion. There is only the United Kingdom, of which England is merely a region / province. That would be like saying California is an independent country.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 Tbh California might as well be its own separate country. 🤷 Edit: Holy heck! 100 likes just because I called out California's bs?!
I feel like Metroman felt like it was fine to fake his own death because he knew that Megamind wasn't really evil and everyone would be fine without him.
I saw him faking his own death as more of him just... getting bored. He wasn't really much of a superhero, he was a people pleaser with superpowers. He did it mostly because it got him positive attention from an early age and he liked that. Once he finally got tired of it, he just faked his death with no care for what would happen in his absence. Sure Megamind wasn't actually going to hurt people, but he did start things off pretty bad in his ill fated attempt at playing the evil overlord. If Metroman had a shred of actual heroism in him, he would've stopped it, but he just simply didn't care.
@@VeraTheTabbynxyou’re almost right. But in Metroman’s own words “there’s a yin to every yang. When there’s evil, good will rise up”. So while Metroman was selfish he knew that good will always be there to combat evil and vice versa. He’s selfish but he’s by no means a bad person and I’ve honestly grown to like him
@@rickyronny4019 I honestly can't say I believe for a moment it's that deep. Even if it were, he just abandoned the city to its fate hoping some good would prevent catastrophic damage. It would be like the Good Samaritan simply passing by, reasoning the next person or the one after that would help. No matter the framing, he is not justified nor truly much of a good person.
Tighten is an amazing villain because he is so realistic. He is super creepy from the start and is given all the power he could ever want to do with as he please. From megamind that just wanted to play around and be accepted to this god damn nightmare.
This movies stands on the pedestal of masterpieces in my mind. It’s sad that it’s reception was as it was. From the character development to the risk of being genuine to how social stigmas can be misleading. This movie captures the essence of real life (up to a certain extent of course, it’s about superpowers) and portrays it appropriately without cutting uncomfortable corners like Hal’s perversion of reality, as it should be done. I love this movie so much!
@@williamfinch9858 no. The reason hal is condemned is because everything bad that happened to him was his own fault. He was the reason for his failures, yet he blames society. And people like that do exist, and the way hal is presented and treated throughout the movie is perfect acceptable. Hal was a "underdog" but only because of his horrible worldview and personality. He wasn't a victim of society, megamind was, he just didn't get what he wanted and threw a tantrum. Also, villainy can be extremely funny.
@@williamfinch9858 way to miss the whole fucking point, while society definetly helped shaping Hal's personality every bad choice he made was out of pure egoism. Turbo Man and Megamind were both assigned to their roles without giving them a choice, Hal was a loser and social outcast but only because of his own faliure to see his shortcomings as a person, and his inability to actually feel real empathy towards others, especially his crush. he had a chance to improve his life and find purpose becoming a force for good but he only saw his powers as means to access his goals, as in his mind he believes not being a nerd is what causes his romantic failings when it's really his lack of emotional maturity, he didn't let go of his obsession and when he finds out that his physical prowess isn't enough to get it he snaps and becomes violent, becoming a more dangerous villain than Meganind ever was, Hal doesn't need a tragic backstory, he works as a deepshit "nice guy".
@@williamfinch9858 I don't know who this Hans from education for death, but Hal doesn't have a tragic backstory, he's just random dude with no self awareness, assuming this Hans guy has a significant backstory then him and Hal are already completely different cause Hal doesn't have a backstory at all, he's just an asshole who does the wrong thing, just because a character is suffering doesn't mean they're tragic or deserve sympathy, I don't get why you insist so much on Hal being like Hans from education for death, they don't seem like the same kind of character at all from my knowledge of the Megamind movie and the description you provided me so far of Hans.
Spoiler warning: The idea of Megamind playing a childish game can be expanded into a larger analysis of the story of the movie. The big analogy being that the whole thing is basically a make believe scenario being played out on the schoolyard. Megamind is the kid who wants to play the villain because it's more fun and he wants to be the center of attention, Metro Man is his best friend who plays along as the hero, but who grows bored of the game and finds a way to write himself out so he can pursue his true passion, Roxanne is the girl the two of them were trying to impress with their game, and Hal is the awkward childhood friend of Roxanne who feels entitled to her and turns into a bully to get his way, even though she doesn't feel that way about him. Ultimately, the introduction of someone not playing by the rules of the game forces Megamind outside his chosen role, leaving him with no choice but to take the now vacant role of the hero and stand up to the bully. The story being written like this makes it quickly identifiable and relatable with children while still being interesting for adults. It manages to explore themes such as entitlement/abusive relationships and self rediscovery in a way that comes off as natural and realistic, despite the childish cartoon super hero stylization on display. Ultimately, Megamind is a shining testament to the fact that animation is a storytelling medium, and not inherently "meant" for any one age group.
As C.S. Lewis said “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” That which makes a story a good one applies to all stories, whatever the intended audience is, and Megamind is a good story.
I think Megamind himself is also about how many supervillains are in general. Many act like children just having fun and a lot of their villany comes more due to lack of foresight than actual malevolance.
Titan actually has hints of gaslighting that are so sutile and common that I could not see through the first part of the film. The way he tries to manipulate Roxanne, when she hugs Bernard/Megamind in disguise by saying: "She does not know what she is doing, she had a traumatic experience". Credit to Cinema Therapy.
Tighten is by far the most committed villain in an animated movie: He was willing to kill Megamind and Roxanne with a snap of his fingers just because she turned him down And even when people still thought that he was a hero, he went ahead and said the meme we’ve all watched before… “under new management”
Hal is such a good villian to me because he's a very realistic threat.. He's harmless and weird until he gets power, then people see him as the threat he truly is because he's not "harmless" anymore.
Well said. If you want to know where the real problems come from, you have to be able to catch these kinds of people before you give them power. Few people totally lose themselves when they gain power; most of them just reveal who they always were. That's why it's important to find the hidden virtues, as well. The quiet kids who never lie, or who always treat others with respect, are the ones who can be trusted.
We should also give some credit to the actor. He did a fantastic job of showing both an awkward, weirdo who you assume is just here for jokes, then he easily transitions into someone believably evil and selfish. The character outwardly changes over time but we also believe he has always had this evil nature from the start. Megamind is just such a phenomenal film. One of my few 10/10 movies.
@@reaperraider999Not an interview, but you can look up the dm's his ex girlfriend released showing how toxic & manipulative he really is. Stuff like demanding she run anything she posts on instagram by him for his approval first, not wanting her posting any sort of swimsuit pics (when she's a professional surfer), misusing therapy terms like "boundaries" to try to gaslight her into thinking she's the one being unreasonable...
I watched Megamind so many times when I was younger and never grasped the reason for why I didn’t like Hal in his personality. Now thinking about it, it was because of his may red flags. For me Hal is a villain from the start because of his red flags and obsession with Roxanne; and the fact that, compared to movies like Despicable Me or The Adventures of Tin Tin, it’s his personality and way of viewing the world what makes him a villain truly amazes me. Dreamworks took this movie and made a masterpiece with it, specially with Hal and Megamind as characters. Still to this day I believe Dreamworks could’ve achieved more fame if they released more movies like this one. Amazing video by the way! Loved it as per usual!
@@nicholasfarrell5981 I'm not sure what you mean I got the exact opposite feeling, Hans comes across as a genuine nice guy multiple times without any real red flags till the twist, which made it real jarring to me. When a character acts manipulative they put on a show for others to give them the impression they want, and only engage with people when they have an ulterior motive, in his first appereance however Hans is friendly and helps out Anna, and with the twist in mind you'd think "oh he's just trying to gain her trust" but when you think about it there's 2 major issues. 1: he doesn't really know Anna at first, he learns of her soon after, but he doesn't have a motive to even approach her without having that information about her first, yeah she's a clutz about to fall from the water, but I mean, this guy plans to take over a fucking kingdom through murder if needed why does he give a fuck about some random bitch slipping, a manipulator acts cool only in front of people they want something from, or if there's a crowd to show off to, and there's no spectators to show off how nice of a guy he is so it's extremely convenient that his contrived good deed of the day leads him to the people he wants to get close to. And 2: he never attemps to get her to give away information he would be interested in, he just helps her out and compliments her, and immediately let's her go without trying to subtly assure his way to the royal family, and he also shows a genuine nice smile after their meeting is done, which you can only say is disingenuous in retrospect, but it makes 0 sense, there's no malice whatsoever in his face and he's not putting an act for anyone to see, when a manipulator is alone they should be showing their true colors, but here Hans is acting for no one but the audience, and for the rest of the film he keeps not really hinting at any ulterior motive, he has nice conversations with Anna, doesn't really protest much when Elsa denies him Anna's hand, and even saves Elsa when he could've just let her die by the arrow, there's no reason for him to not stop that guy and just lie to Anna about how he couldn't stop it to get her trust, and we learn that he wanted to kill Elsa to get her out of the way to the throne, and possibly end the storm looking like a hero, so saving her doesn't benefit his plan in any way, he's actively sabotaging himself. To be clear I'm not trying to discredit how the character hit close to experiences you had, but narratively the film doesn't really commit to what they tried with Hans, so I'm curious to see, what gave you the intended impression of the character?
DreamWorks makes some really good films but they're shit at doing it consistently and espexially marketing them well, a bunch of DreamWorks films could've used better marketing honestly, like Road to Eldorado, Guardians and definetly Megaman, which is weird because DreamWorks absolutely does know how to do good marketing, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train your Dragon were all well realized in that department, even some of their less stellar entries like Madagascar and Boss Baby have good marketing, which is why those movies have sequels, it's mind boggling how inconsistent they are.
@@nicholasfarrell5981 I don't know how relevant you historic knowledge will be when talking about Disney's very aproxximate and vague approach to their fairy tail settings. I honestly don't get vibes of Habs trying to isolate her, he again just comes off as genuinely being supportive, and I know he's supposed to be deceiving, but red flags will inevitably pop up when you pretend to be something you're not, which may sneak suspicion at the moment and get noticed only in retrospect, but Hans is just too unbelievably good at hiding said red flags fir me to believe they didn't make up the twist halfway through the film, it's also unclear in the film how lonely Anna really is, her sister won't see her and the castle is pretty much closed from the outside world sure, but am I to believe there were 0 servants for years and that Anna and Elsa just raised themselves and kept the castle clean and shit on their own, without ever making a connection to any of servants whatsoever? That seems a little far fetched, I can see Elsa trying to close herself from others, but Anna would absolutelytry to make friends with anyone as starved of social relationships as the narrative claims she is. The duet also doesn't give me any hints, he doesn't drop subtle hints about having ulterior motives, in fact the song is pretty much all about Anna with Hans as an accessory to her new found freedom with all the talk about open doors which is only relevant to her and Elsa's character, the Italian dub actually kinda improves the song a bit, instead of saying "love is an open door" they say "what a chance I've got" which actually makes Hans feel more actually part of the musical number as they both feel like they've ground a chance to achieve their goals by meeting each other and actually provides something to be recontextualized after the twist, it's not much but it was sonething. Hans is interesting as a concept, it's unfortunate that his plot is only possible through contrivances much like the rest of the film.
@@nicholasfarrell5981 him being there is only suspicious if you have a deep enough knowledge of history, the average viewer and writers likely won't think about how succession lines work beyond the very basics, and it is likely not even a factor in the story as there's no mention of Hans having diplomatic skills and visiting other allied countries during important events before his brothers who preced him in the lone to the throne being odd, in short you're being too big brain and inserting additional clues the movie doesn't actually give you. I don't get the off sync part cause it's been a while abd I'm not enough of a music nerd to notice that stuff, but the lyrics should still have played a bigger role in red flagging Hans.
How many people of your generation thought there was a twist when there wasn’t one? You guys thought his stocker behavior at the beginning of the movie was normal? Society is doing a very bad job of teaching people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Again you guys thought there was a twist to his villainy when there wasn’t.
Megamind isn't a "big child" but rather has had the villian label slapped on him from birth. The movie is about destiny vs action. When he finally realized he wasn't truly a villian, his arc went really well.
Also the line “Don’t rob me, the lady across from me has WAY better stuff” made me raise my eyebrow the first time I saw this but I just saw laughed it off, it was after watching it for a second time that I realised what that line was put in there for
The funny part is that in some aspects this dynamic weirdly reminds me of the Incredibles, specifically Buddy and Hal. Both started off as nice guys, but they had one thing in common, they didn’t listen! Both had infatuations, and both had ideals to be the perfect superhero. And when they got rejected, they turned into resentment. You should definitely look into this comparison. The one difference is that we see the transition Hal went through to get from Point A, to Point B, to Point C. With Buddy, we see him going from Point A to Point C, understanding his transition took a dark turn. But otherwise their story is more alike than I realized.
I know it's probably the most cliché and generic comparison with this character, but my gosh, Tighten perfectly captured the feeling most Discord/Reddit mods get after gaining their mod privileges on their respective websites.
And then the scene where titan gets spooked by metro man showing up also captures the feeling of the owner or co owner coming by and bans them and also takes their mod powers away.
@@pastatheh7041 Yeah, you have discord power mods meanwhile the server I'm in, the mods (Myself Included) have effectively been Americanized with checks and balances to prevent any power trips.
I wasn't that shocked by hal being a bad guy but I think I initially assumed that MetroMan would come back and be the main villain and hal would be the bitter traitor who allies with him. Was more surprised by metro man choosing to disappear into obscurity.
Metroman was someone who had it all, power, fame, glory, admiration. Therefore he doesn't desire them anymore. Hal was the complete opposite. He had nothing going on for him, and he desire them all. Kinda ironic that the one who have it choose to throw it away and the one who never had it desire it so badly it droves him insane.
I feel like metroman didn't feel challenged anymore, life had no meaning because he had everything, so he started doing things that his powers can't affect, like playing music, Roxanne says: you are not even good. And he does not care, cause that is why he is doing it, he wants to keep growing.
@@hw_yozoraVODS There's a theory that he became "Music Man" because his powers don't make him good at music. So he has the challenge of learning to play music.
Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but the second Megamind decided to turn Hal into a superhero I knew he'd turn evil because I've been around guys like this, and even though it mostly wasn't directed at me once you meet this kind of guy you learn fast to never be remotely off guard around them.
The moment he was punching the van, first time I saw this movie had me thinking "Please don't let this be the love interest, girl no". I don't know why it struck with me but the amount of anger felt- unusual? Dunno.
It's not really a twist actually. The guy was unsettling from the beginning. They exaggerated his powers to make it obvious for the kids and more dangerous but he still wasn't a nice guy from the beginning. But noone take his and his behavior seriously until he starts to crush the city. Yet there is a lot people like him in real life. And they could be dangerous.
@iceburgess461 The thing is, this is not an underdog just for being a bit weird. Anyone has a right to ostracize him because he is actually and genuinely creepy, and if he could, he would be a selfish piece of shit in any given opportunity. The quote aplies more to Megamind, especially since the village that treated him well were the criminals that found him in the prison lmao.
I feel like the reason tighten works isn't because he started out as a regular human and became a villain. It's because he's always been a villain and we didn't even notice it until he had the power to do something about it. Think about it. The instant we meet Hal, he immediately starts creeping on Roxanne. He likes her and wants to date her, and when we see Roxanne push him away and get rejected, we kinda feel bad for him. We're used to seeing the story of the lower guy that starts off small, likes a girl and eventually wins her over, so we don't really think of Hal as creepy and just tend to pity him. But Hal doesn't. He never gets Roxanne, not even after he gets his powers. We also see that his love of Roxanne is somewhat abusive; when Hal is rejected, he gives up on being a decent person to steal and stalk Roxanne. We start off assuming that Hal deserves to get the girl because that's a trope seen everywhere, but we finish realizing that Hal doesn't deserve the girl at all.
That first paragraph sums it up perfectly. I don’t think Hal was “born evil” per se, I believe all heroes and villains are created in large part by their environments and circumstances. Hal probably did start out as a decent guy, but years of being a pushover made him resentful of others and deeply selfish and possessive of the few friends he did have, like Roxanne. He believed he was entitled to Roxanne because of all the suffering and loneliness he had been through in life. But the only difference between Hal at this point, and Hal after becoming Tighten, is that he didn’t have the power to do anything about it before. Once he got the power, it quickly went to his head. He had convinced himself that if only he was special, if only he was attractive and strong and cocky like the “Chads” of the world, like all those classic superheroes, he would get the girl he deserved. In his pursuit of this obsession, Hal didn’t realize that the most important thing about being a hero is having empathy, which he lacked. That’s what made his turn to evil only a matter of time.
As the old saying goes, "if you want to test a man's character, you give him power." Ironically, Megamind is the one giving power when you'd expect the bad guy to hoard it all for himself: he literally gave away the power of the one guy who repeatedly beat him to someone else.
I think a good hint that Hal would turn bad was how he lashed out violently and punched the news van, then immediately blamed the van hurting his hand. That was before he got powers
You could even kinda say the entire scene leading up to that was a red flag for Hal's soon-to-be villainy. Nothing screams "creepy douchebag" more than asking out a girl while she's mourning the "death" of a guy she was really close to. RIGHT AFTER HIS "DEATH." This was also made worse considering, if I'm remembering correctly, the reason Hal was holding back before Metroman's "death" was because he was under the assumption that Metroman and Roxy were a thing. So essentially, he waited until her supposed "boyfriend" was out of the picture, and then thought a good time to shoot his shot was right after his "death", and then got upset when understandably, she was not into it
@@puppetpawss To add to that, he has the gall to criticize “Bernard” (Megamind in disguise) for taking advantage of Roxanne’s grief, so he could get with her, when Tighten did THE EXACT SAME THING ON THE EXACT SAME DAY. Not only that, but Tighten also tried to manipulate Roxanne into going out with him multiple times. Overall, Tighten was a selfish hypocrite who couldn’t face his own flaws.
@speedracer2008 And got protective of Roxanne despite her not needing or wanting him to, and "I'm her partner... she's not thinking straight" Totally disregarding what she's thinking.
It's so interesting because earlier in the movie, he doesn't seem to feel like he deserves Roxanne either, with the whole "what is wrong with me" scene. He knows he's weird and he's pretty self aware (aside from the stalkery bits.) I think that's why nobody expects him to be the villain, cause he doesn't think he's important either. But once he gets metroman'd it TOTALLY flips the script. She liked metroman, and now he's metroman. So she likes him now! Right?
The brilliant part of him not thinking he's important is that what he believes to be the problem isn't what the audience can see is the problem. The audience can tell that he's an awkward creepy loser, but what Hal believes to be the problem is only apparent once he's Tighten.
Well he's "self aware" but only to an extent. The full quote is "what is wrong with me, chicks dont dig bouncy houses, they dig clowns!" He's beating himself up for not getting Roxanne just *like that.* So not quite self aware, but more of the awareness of self awareness itself, a concept he fails to fully grasp.
Hal sees his problem not as something within him (selfishness, possessiveness etc.) but as external things like power, attractiveness, and the fame of being a hero. He thinks that if he only had these things, Roxanne would just *have* to like him. It actually says a lot of what he really thinks of Roxanne. He sees her as someone just as shallow as he is, rather than a real person.
He's a pretty solid depiction of what we now call an Incel (no idea if the term existed at the time of the movie's production). He believes at first that his failures at romance are due to him not presenting/having "what she wants in a guy". He *thinks* she likes the "Chad" Metroman (whom she actually has no romantic interest in) and that his lack of "having what she wants" is the main barrier between them. He then has that barrier removed by getting Metroman's powers, and like incels, fails to realize that not only is romance not transactional in that way, but also that having some arbitrary set of traits and becoming a "Chad" doesn't entitle him to her affection. The film also does a good job of calling out the sort of toxic protagonist mindset that is prevalent in Hollywood (Especially in Adam Sandler movies) that depicts someone with little to no redeeming qualities "getting the girl" either through sheer persistence or by "doing the thing that wins the girl", like beating a villian, or winning at an activity.
It was more unexpected for metroman to still be alive than Hal being the villain. The moment he got those powers you knew he was going to be the bad guy purely based off his previous behavior. Even what he said outside the base of talking for Roxanne. He wasn't really self aware as he didn't see anything wrong with his behavior in of itself. So to me he isn't a twist villain, a good one, but not a twist.
The way they used the “nice guy” trope in the way it actually comes off was a great idea. An already terrible person gets powers to justify said bad behavior and thoughts. At least for me, he was always a suspish guy and I knew something was going to happen with him in some form. So I didn’t see him as a twist more of “when is it gonna happen” villain but it’s a great movie!
I've been thinking about the connection between power and morality. At the end, I've decided to say that you'll only see one's true colors once they are in a state of power. People like to say that power corrupts. Yes, too much of it in one person's hands is definitely a bad thing, but in my opinion, it's not that simple. Some of the people in our lives who we see as nice, humble, polite, or otherwise good people, are typically that way as a defense mechanism. They're insecure, weak, and vulnerable. So, they can't offer much and have to rely on being the safe guy/girl, the good guy/girl, or the nice guy/girl. And they may believe that their goodness means that they should get what they want. Because of this entitlement, they grow resentful of others. Once they have more going for them somehow, we think they've changed. The truth is they haven't. They just no longer recognize the need to be nice. So, they think they can do what they want. What you see is that person's true colors. As we see in Tighten, the nice guy underachiever who becomes a monster once he gets Metroman's powers.
I think this amazing quote from Abraham Lincoln might be interesting to you: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power"
@@balanc-joy9187 exactly. That's kinda why superman's such an amazing hero. He's a all powerful man, yet he spends most of his time a meek, unassuming reporter who grew up in a smalltown on a farm. And the other portion of his time, he uses his powers to help others, when could (just like hal) use it for his own gain. And lex luthor is such a great foil because he has just as much power as superman, albeit in a different way, yet all he can do it use it for his own gain and be resentful towards superman and him being superior to lex in a way he never could.
I don't think its that simple either. Alot of people are good, just because their good, even if they don't have alot going for them, and once things do turn up for them, they can still be a nice person, only with more influence. And hal was already clearly a terrible person, its just nobody bothered to pay attention to the red flags.
@@ProjektTaku I think you're misunderstanding me. One's true nature only comes out when one perceives that they are in a position of power over someone else. Such as how one treats employees in food service or retail.
To quote author Robert Caro, “The cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said ... is that power always reveals.” Power isn’t inherently corruptive, but people may mask their true thoughts and intentions behind kind gestures when they’re in positions of relative weakness. Giving someone the power to do anything they want lets them reveal what they really wanted to do all along.
Great villain. I feel like the first time you watch this everything that hints at his true nature just plays as silly jokes but on rewatch those hints become REALLY creepy and even scary in a few places. And I just love the bold message that's left with him. Most superhero films like to give the message that anyone can be a hero but Megamind reminds us that anyone can also be a villain.
Anyone can be a villain, but not anyone can be a hero. All it takes to become a villain is succumbing to temptation. As for what makes a hero? Damn, I don't even know where to begin.
@@MrEffectfilms Well... not necessarily. A villain can be someone who has some kind of a twisted view of what's best for humanity and will do anything to achieve it out of pure stubbornness, a.k.a Hitler. He was convinced that he belonged to some kind of a special race that was genetically far more superior to the other races and must be kept pure at all costs, so the other races would have to be either killed or turned into slaves so they wouldn't taint humanity at large with their inferior genes, or something like that.
I just realized that Mega Mind is the Shrek of super hero movies. Much like Shrek it takes a simple formula and adds things that you typically wouldn't, plus a great execution of new take.
That’s how Dreamworks is as a whole. They make many great movies that subvert one’s expectations and play around with common tropes in ways never seen before
Yeah Megamind enjoys the theatrics of being a villain. To him it is just one big play. As he says, it is all about presentation. He is simply playing a part.
All they really did for Hal in the ‘transition’ to villain was giving him the ability to do ‘more’ Personality didn’t change he just had more options for his actions
Hal had more opportunities to be evil since his powers means that he didn't have to worry about the consequences of terrorising the city like getting arrested by the police.
6:53 to 7:20 This is a perfect summary of why I love his implementation in the story. I think it’s important that we don’t forget to call people like him out every once in a while in media to make sure that kind of _“low level evil”_ doesn’t go *TOO* unnoticed if that makes sense. Cuz sometimes, your worst enemy is that creepy nerd in the background
I love how megamind was clearly capable of winning the fight from the start but he did see it as a goof for a while. Man so EASILY gains metroman's godlike power with a single hair, he could've been just as powerful from day 1.
Fun fact, if Ben Parker hadn't died, Peter would have definitely abused his powers all for personal gain It was only until Ben's death that Peter finally realize the responsibility his powers came with In the Spider Gwen comics Peter actually becomes the Lizard because of how sick and tired he was at getting bullied
@@OhKayEl I agree, any victim of abuse especially as a child is well deserving of sympathy and ironically many villains in comics we know usually are those victims: Eddie Brock had an abusive dad even forced him to plead not guilty when he accidentally ran over a kid, Kingpin was bullied for his size (and he uses his size later as a fighting technique), Doc Ock was abused by his dad and peers for being nerdy as a kid and by his co-workers (whom actually gave him his nickname), Harley Quinn was pretty much manipulated and abused by Joker which is why she broke things off and went her own way, Bane was literally punished by the law as a baby for something his dad did which is messed up since any kid literally raised by infancy in a prison especially the one Bane was sent too would be lucky to even stay alive before puberty And Killer Croc was born with some weird mutant condition that turned him into a crocodile and was ostracized for it by society.
@@OhKayEl Yeah fair point tbh she's never been that stable even before meeting Joker, her whole past has been shaky when coming from a shitey family and shitey environment, she became a doctor to actually diagnosed herself and her family. Outside of that she's unusually drawn to dangerous ppl.
The interesting thing about Tighten is that back when the movie was released, it probably was pretty shocking and unexpected for him to turn out to be the bad guy of the story, but now? In 2022? He SCREAMS potential threat. I think the whole rise of the Incel movement and all the mass shooters who have been inspired in some way by it have completed changed the way this guy is seen by the audience. I recently watched it with a friend who hadn't seen it before and while she didn't straight up predict that he would get superpowers and become the antagonist, she knew the guy was trouble from the moment he first spoke.
I think what I appreciate about Megamind, is how much depth it gave Hal, in the short span of being a gag character to being a villain. When we're introduced to him, we know he has feelings for roxxane. When he mocks the script he assumes was given to her by the team during their reporting at the metroman museum prior to metroman faking his death, roxxane confirms she wrote it herself,and then he corrects himself to make it seem less harsh or awkward what he said. Then, he follows it with a weird analogy about how he would watch her like a "dingo watching a human baby", his way of flirting is odd and we can see roxxane visibly uncomfortable with the remarks. As we go on further, after metroman fakes his death, Hal invites Roxxane to a party, and upon being rejected, he admits "WHATS WRONG WITH ME". With the addition of a scene where Hal accidentally receives powers, he plays it off saying he fought off 50 ninjas, and when roxxane refers to Bernard as her "partner", haha immediately responds "look Partner, I'm her partner, she doesnt know what shes saying". Back at his apartment after roxxane drops him off, he says "I'll leave the door open in case you want to check up on me". Through these interactions, we get a hint into his mentality: He is obsessed with Roxxane, he's possessive of her, and values her as his lover, and Why's that?because he sees her and metroman as a duo made for each other, because metroman is the big playboy celebrity everybody loves and admires. And for Hal, he knows that he is inadequate, unfit, and a zero compared to someone like Metroman. He "loves" Roxxane because in a way, he idolises Metroman, and the masculine alpha chad energy he embodies, because of the reaction it brings from people. It's the attention he craves, and he recognises that roxxane is often saved by metroman the most, she is Metromans catalyst for solidifying his status as a beloved hero, which rewards metroman the usual praise and affection of the public. He has self esteem issues, and can't seem to resolve it. This is embodied by the exchange between him and megamind during the final battle: "this is the last time you make a fool out of me!/ I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself!" Now, before I comment on Hal further, let's compare him, metroman and megamind together. Megamind is an underdog led to embrace villainy as a role model, which was reinforced by Metromans charisma. Metroman was always a playboy, received positive attention, and was a celebrity among man since birth, which pushed megamind to become a rival to metroman out of a desire for purpose. However, we know that metroman at some point resents his status as a hero, because he is bound as an idol, and not truly free to pursue his own desires. Metroman doesn't hate megamind, in fact he almost embraces him like an old friend, despite their childhood. But for metroman, his journey is that of being stuck in a loophole, and wanting an escape from a life that is more of a burdening chore than a liberating duty. He doesn't hate helping people, but he doesn't want to keep having to do it, nor does he want to keep fighting megamind, as eventually, he has matured beyond some silly childhood rivalry, and wants to move on. Megamind however, compared to metroman, was never embraced by people, never cherished, and his role models were criminals. He couldn't look up to metroman because at first, metroman pushed him down, and eventually they became rivals their whole lives, but this villainy stems from Megaminds desire for purpose, and a deeper desire to be wanted by people, and at first, he receives this in a negative way as a villain until he finally achieved "defeating" the hero, and lost sense of direction. Even megamind feels remorse, and his actions aren't truly evil as a sociopath, as he has never once killed anybody, or really put anyone at harms way without metroman there to save the day, at best he's at nuisance. It's only after megamind defeats Hal, people recognise him as a hero, and embrace him, as well as the encouragement from Metroman, that megamind finally realises he doesn't need to be as villain to receive the feeling of purpose and want in life, he obtains that as a reward for being a good person, and inspires a positive consequence that helps everyone. Metroman built his life around being a celebrity, but it cost him his freedom to be himself, and he only fulfilled a role. He didn't want this fame, glory, and status because it became overbearing, and he realised it did not fulfill him. He complements Megaminds character as the positive reinforcement Megamind needs, not the purpose megamind should build his life around. Now, Hal on the other hand. He too is an underdog, but a special one. He is a Foil for Megamind, he is an underdog, in that he has clear self esteem issues, he doesnt see any grand purpose for himself, and isn't wanted by anyone. He knows he's weird, and has no knowing of how to improve himself. He instead indulges in fantasy because it's what comforts him, the idea that he gets to be with the "beautiful girl" as the caped hero. Like megamind, he has somewhat built his life around Metroman too, to give himself a fleeting purpose, as both Hal and megamind have a desire that revolves around metroman: to be rewarded with attention. Unlike Megamind, he isn't gifted with intelligence. Unlike Metroman, he isn't gifted with superpowers. And among humanity, he has no accomplishments at all, according to Minion. He knows he has nothing, but has no way of innovating to improve himself. Instead, his "growth" begins when megamind accidentally gives him powers. You see, Hal mirrors megamind perfectly, because he isn't accomplished, and he is an underdog, and lacks purpose, other than that he has built his life attention round Metroman (but for Hal, Roxxane is something of a catalyst behind what he desires in metroman). Megamind created Hal out of a desire for purpose, in his state of villainy, because he wanted to feel accomplished again when he was being a bad guy, and a hero would come in and fulfil the usual routine. Hal represents what megamind COULD have been. When Hal is given his powers, he is stripped of his chance to actually improve on himself, because instead he has been given a catalyst to his desires: everything he saw in metroman is now something he can be, he doesnt NEED to work hard to improve himself, his morality and character isn't put to the test, because he has simply reached the end goal. The life he built around Metroman has been fulfilled, and now he can go through with his own personal desires he thinks will complete him. In a way, he is a victim of his ego, which was groomed by Megamind during training days, until the events unfold. In a way, Megamind led Hal on this path, but Hal is oblivious because rather than maturing as an adult, and confronting his flaws he seems familiar with, he has been given an easy escape straight into just being a "superhero". And what does he do with these powers? Exactly what you expect from someone who obsesses over the catalyst to a hero's status: he courts Roxxane against her will, ignores her concerns, and genuinely believes she would love him if he was a hero than Hal. Hal has rejected himself out of resentment for the once weak, weird creep he once was, and embraces the alter ego "Tighten", this big strong super who now fills the shoes of Metroman (not for his heroism or charisma, but simply a superhuman entity he assumes people like simply for the sake of it) Upon being rejected once more, it destroys his self image because everything he thought he understood about the relationship between Metroman and Roxxane, is challenged when she won't date him now that he "has powers, has a Cape, is the good guy". Hal is an underdog who wanted power, fame, and recognition and attention of a hero. Then, he became a manifestation of Megaminds conflicted image and desires, and in and way, his perverted reflection of the dreams megamind wanted, are what awaken megamind to realise what true evil is, and enable him a chance to redeem himself and go on a heroes journey. Hal doesn't get to redeem himself, because despite having clear self awareness on his flaws, he doesnt know the true root of his own problem, and when he receives powers thinking his flaws are fixed, his expectations are shattered by the harsh reality when roxxane won't love him, and instead of a heroes journey, he regressed again into what he's always done: indulging fantasy. Only this time, he can afford to make fantasy a reality, he plays games, robs banks, and envisions himself fighting armies or doing "cool stuff". He has powers, he can do what he wants. What he couldn't accomplish as a person, he has an escape to accomplish as a super. And so, he does things that are simply fun for him now: destroy buildings, put people's lives at risk, and become a monster. That's why I love Hal as a villain. He parallels Megamind, he is a perversion of what metroman is, and Roxxane as a character is a catalyst to his deeper issues as a character, which manifest out of his refusal to go on the heroes journey. Sure, he might not be as complex, but to me, the little details really add to him. Unpopular opinion, but I see Hal as a bit of a tragic villain story. Not out of sympathy, but in a way, he is tragic, simply because of what he represents. I'd say he more than an allegory for "incel culture", and pretty much embodies very personal self esteem issues, but also the issue of rewarding a problem with what it wants, instead of letting it resolve itself naturally.
Under rated movie. I think the reason Hal is so effective is he's not a nice guy. He *thinks* he's a nice guy but he really isn't. He's a creep who I don't think *knows* he's a creep. This guy doesn't need powers, he needs a psychologist. It's like the old saying goes. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”
@@williamfinch9858 We don’t have any proof Jesus passed it either, or that he even had that power in the first place. But there are definitely historical examples of people who were given great power and didn’t let it corrupt them. Cincinnatus and George Washington are some of the most famous examples. Though these were sadly very few and far between.
Hal *is* a nice guy, but he's not a good guy. Anyone can be nice: nice is acting a certain way until you get what you want, but not everyone can be good.
8:06. Also note the flashing red lights on the tower when Titan is talking to Roxanne. This is a very subtle clue to his true intentions just before the fight with Megamind. Color theory plays a huge role in this film and can give hints to a character's mindset. Megamind for instance is a blue extraterrestrial, born around the same time as Metro Man. One is blue and black, and the other is white and gold. Titan weilds a more very dangerous color palette, as Mel he's always wearing a black shirt and a brown vest while as Titan, a red and white super suit. Without Metro Man, Megamind becomes the wild card who can potentially destroy Metro City if Titan isn't defeated.
Absolutely, I love how Hal was written in this movie. Cinema Therapy used him as an example of "Nice Guy Syndrome" and talked about that more indepth. :3
Hal is probably one of the scariest villains I've ever seen. Why? Because we already have men like Hal irl and that is a terrifying reality. Nice guys and incels whose motivation is entirely based on their ideas that women are rewards to be won with shallow acts of kindness are dangerous. When women act like actual people with personal autonomy and reject them because they actually have some form of self worth and don't want to be with a guy that sees her as an object and relationships as transaction, these men begin to fester a hatred and jealousy towards women and the men who are successfully in relationships. Incels are entitled and that leads them to violence. Look at the mass shooting incident where a self-proclaimed incel was responsible for ending and ruining the lives of many people. Look at the countless cases of violence including sexual violence towards women whose only crime was saying no. Hal is probably the most real villain I've ever seen in a movie and that is terrifying.
I get the sentiment but calling him one of the scariest villains makes it seem like you haven't watched anything outside of marvel movies, like he's obviously a good villain but scary isn't a word to describe it, and he isn't the realest villain even by animated movie standard
A person who is only nice to another person because of ulterior motives is called a manipulator and not a "nice person". Nice people are trying to be nice to everyone regardless of getting anything from it.
@@m4tko true. This whole “nice guy” (manipulation) thing isn’t really special to dudes either, and honestly I know that tighten is a super villain, but he isn’t the most scary villain ever. Still a threat tho. Just ain’t the scariest.
My thoughts exactly, Hal gaining superpowers is similar to an incel finding a gun; almost everyone in the mainstream just keeps painting them as harmless losers until they enact violent crimes in public, and then paint it as a sudden twist rather than a logical conclusion to such a person gaining the ability to commit mass murder.
5:05 The reference is direct to the game named 'Donkey Kong', where (Jumpman) mario is the hero still. It's the sequel, 'Donkey Kong Jr.', that is the game where he becomes the antagonist. It works even better too, the theme of the hero that *later* becomes a villain is more fitting.
Tighten is one of the most effective animated movie villains and has zero redeeming qualities. He isn't even a super villain according to Megamind himself.
Being a Supervillain requires having at least more than 2 brain cells, which was too much to ask of Tighten, who couldn’t even spell his own name right...
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 and showed his cowardly nature when megamind disguised himself as metroman despite Hal already seeing megamind had a watch to make himself look like anyone in action at the start of there very first fight.
@@jewel9117 Absolutely. The culture was there. The language describing the culture was not. I remember watching that movie in the theater and being so completely horrified by Hal because I recognized the character type and I thought they were going to make him a joke… maybe some sort of sidekick for whatever new villain came along. When he ended up with super powers I was both horrified and relived. Horrified because I knew he was going to go very wrong and relieved because they weren’t going to make his behavior “harmless.”
@@katpiercemusic and makes geek girls/women scared of the guys that they are SUPPOSED to like, as in game/fan groups in general. And people wonder why our daughters are afraid and reluctant to date nowadays... it's because of the tropes and stereotypes forced down our throats that punish those that don't want to be conformed to them! Most women are NOT trying to be shallow, we're just tired of being coerced into relationships that we know we can't return in ANY aspect, usually with guys like Hal who expect us to comply because of said double standards and stereotypes enforced by those story tropes!
I remember when this movie came out. I went into it thinking it would be another Bee Movie -- basically hyperaware schlock that had no real themes or plot and just existed to be memed on for future generations. I didn't really expect to like it. Instead, I LOVED it down to its very core. I'm AFAB and basically every girl has experience with the Nice Guy genre of dude by the time she's in middle school. Megamind was calling that shit out before the term "nice guy" was even coopted to mean egocentric weirdoes for years to come. And yet, when I went online, I saw mud-for-brains big reviewers on RT saying it was a ripoff of Disney's Incredibles??? Did they even WATCH the same movie as me?! The movie deserved SO much better. It was genuinely good. **EDIT** Jesus Muhammed Christ, wtf is going on down there O.o
The only thing Megamind and The Incredibles have in common is that they’re both animated movies about superheroes. I’m guessing most of those people didn’t actually watch Megamind because there’s almost nothing else in common between these movies. The only remote similarity between the characters is that Syndrome and Tighten / Hal both were geeks with a broken pedestal (Mr. Incredible and Roxanne respectively), but their motivations, goals and personalities were very different.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the negativity Megamind received from reviewers and critics was because Hal hit too close to home for them, because those people were also nice guys. That's actually the tricky part about reviews in general - you don't know how honest the person reviewing is being. On a similar but unrelated note, I'm pretty certain that the reason a lot of sports underdog films are written the way they are (where protagonists exactly like hal are good and jocks are evil) is because the scripts are written and directed by bitter nice guys.
Notice how in the fight between megamind and titan mega actually cares for the cillvillions and the property and titan dosent care causes a lot of property damage is just amazing how the villan cares more evreyone safety then the hero 😅
It also foreshadows this exchange, which is when we realize just how evil Hal / Tighten has become: Megamind: "Woah woah, this isn't how you play the game!" Tighten: (With evil red eyes) "Game over."
I remember being EXTREMELY put off by Hal the first time I watched Megamind because i unfortunately had experiences with pushy guys who just cant take no for an answer but played it off as being socially awkward and "just nice", even as a teenager. I had a feeling he could be an obstacle especially once Meganmind's and Roxanne's romance became a thing but I thought they would go the "awkward clingly dude wins the girl" cause thats how people tend to write them. I was genuinely and pleasantly suprised that they called out his creepy behaviour and actually made him a villain which just shows how good of a twist villain he is since even people who do realise that somethings wrong probably dont see the twist coming.
What? I would definitely call him a suoer villain. Wait, were you talking about Megamind? Welp he sure isn't a super villain nor a regular villain, he's actually a chill guy
An interesting little thing I just noticed is that Tighten's regular name is a reference to the two most well known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
Interesting Because the powers Megamind gives to him can be seen as a power ring The ring makes what you want real, not even Batman wants one since he's afraid of wishing something related to his parents Si Hal having that power is a great touch
I think tighten works because he was always a bad person, but he wasn't evil, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't, he wasn't a threat just because he was your stereotypical Hollywood nerd and when megamind gave him powers it's when everything went downhill
These are fantastic. Just watched your Frollo vid and the one with the Atlantis villain. Loving these, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of your vids.
@@casperpedersen223 Well I've got a lot more videos in the animated villain series, but tomorrow's video is about Helluva Boss. The next video after that one will be centered on another carton bad guy though!
@@4shame Haven't seen those series, only heard of 'em so far. Could I request something on Silver from Treasure Planet at some point? I freaking love that movie.
Oh, and I forgot to mention one more thing under the “hints” category. Hal says in the beginning of the film that if he was Metro Man, Megamind wouldn’t kidnap Roxanne ever again. And he ends up being right, because once he becomes Metro Man Hal ends up being the one doing the kidnapping instead
Iirc he also said he'd lock Roxanne up in his basement to "protect her from all harm" which is probably what clued me in to how scared I should be of this loser.
@@StoutShako when did he say that I don't remember that part?
@@aaronlewis4369 I think it was right after he said that he wouldn’t let Megamind kidnap her. Roxanne said something like “that’s really sweet, Hal”. Then Hal went on to say how he would keep her locked up in the basement to keep her “safe” from Megamind. Then Roxanne gave him this creeped out, “you went waaaay too far” look, which he even acknowledged at the time. (“Too far?” “....Yeah”)
Megamind is an alien who understands roxanne because she's a human being, but hall was a human but now a superman Rip off who doesn't understand roxanne, because he only took the gig.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 I think he said that he would watch her like a dingo watches a human baby, WHICH HE LITERALLY DOES AS SOON AS HE SAID 'there's this good looking one I have on my mind currently. " and it zooms in to Roxanne in her apartment..... 😬
Tighten is a good villain, because he highlights how an underdog with superpowers could realistically go wrong with them. It would be tempting to use superpowers for one’s own gain, which is a flaw that someone with powers can overcome or give in to. Hal cared about having powers for the sake of getting what he wanted, rather than helping others.
In that way I think he contrasts beautifully with Metro Man. Metro Man never had the chance to become mad with power because he had it from the start
@@4shame Right. He did what was expected of him from having these powers.
It should also be pointed out that the thought never occurred to Megamimd that someone blessed with super powers might not use them for selfless purposes. He just assumes anyone with powers will naturally be good. This is foreshadowing that for all of Megamind’s attempts to be evil, he’s really a good guy at heart. He can’t even comprehend what true evil is like because to him, “villain” is just a role that was given to him by society, one he occupies because the role of hero was already taken. Nobody, in his mind, would ever *choose* to be a villain if they had a choice, if they had the power to do good in the world. On the other hand, Hal was given all the tools he needed to be a hero, but chose to be a villain in spite of that, because unlike Megamind, he didn’t have the heart and soul of a true hero.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 This is shown perfectly when Tighten reveals all the things he stole and Megamind tells him he can’t steal stuff, cause he’s the hero. This segues into Tighten establishing that he doesn’t want to be the hero, because it doesn’t give him what he wants. He’d rather be the bad guy, because he gets to do whatever he wants. Megamind is shocked, because he never imagined Tighten would do that. Not only that, but Tighten is taking his philosophy of villainy to a level that Megamind couldn’t imagine. At the end, Megamind wanted to be a villain to have fun. Tighten wanted to be a villain to get what he wanted, even if it meant hurting or killing people.
You know looking back now, Hal/Tighten receiving superpowers due to a scientific chemical, feeling a big sense of entitlement for love and attention he believes he deserves, just because he's powerful enough to get away with anything, only to become evil out of petty reasons, even being so lazy by using only his laser eyes to cause destruction and harm, plus add in the quote: "All you're gifts, your powers, and you squander them for your own personal gain?!"....
Yeah, the he's basically Homelander from The Boys.
At least Tighten taught us 3 very valuable life lessons:
-There is no Easter Bunny.
-There is no Tooth Fairy.
-There is no Queen of England.
Yeah...that line hits differently now.
Lol 😆
@@ShinyAvalon hits so good tbh
Not anymore
well this comment is now Sad 😥
What I love about Hal is when he becomes a villain he doesn’t stop being Hal. Its not like a green goblin situation where his evil side took over. He’s the same guy he always was, but with more opportunity to be evil.
Like Walter White
he didn't become evil, his evil was enabled
@@rory8182I mean, not really? He was selfish and rude the entire time but didn’t have the means to act on anything, but once he did, he used it for his selfish goals. Being evil isn’t doing something bad, but the attitude and reason behind it. The reasons and attitude were there the entire time.
@@TJ-hg6op I think that's what rory meant by what they said
@@TJ-hg6op why does this have more likes when you just said what they did lol yt is weird.
My favorite hint that Tighten was evil was the first time Megamind broke into his house and he immediately says "Are you robbing me? Because if so the old lady next door has way better stuff than me." (Might've got a few words wrong, that was from memory). His complete willingness to throw someone under the bus should have been a big hint to Megamind that Hal was not the right person to give powers.
Yeah he did say that, I feel that was a hint the movie was giving that he was evil before he even learned he had powers, like the powers didn't turn him evil or corrupt him, he was already evil the powers just allowed him to fully be who is actually was.
No it was right :) and I totally agree with you
What i love about Hal as a villain is that he doesn't play games. Most Disney twist villains and villains in general like to beat around the bush and give monologues and whatnot, but Hal gets straight to the point and it makes him scarier.
It makes sense, considering that Hal isn’t one for thinking, but action. He just wants to beat you to a pulp. No games, no tricks. If he wants you dead, he’ll make sure of it.
Because it's Disney 😅
Well he does literally play video games before getting mad at Megamind but he does get to killing you when he wants to kill you.
@@ameliawilder28 It's not Disney though. It's DreamWorks.
“Let’s engage in some witty banter, you go first!”
“*Primal scream of anger*”
One of my favorite hints about Hals true nature is when Megamind comes to give Him his powers. He breaks down his door and Hal, assuming that he is getting robbed, asks Megamind to steal from his neighbor instead of him, as she had better stuff than he did.
It was a pretty funny scene at first glance, but looking back, it shows that Hal was always a selfish and cowardly person that lacked the true qualities of a hero.
A lot of Hal’s “villainous turn” hints are played for laughs so that the viewer will just see him as a dorky kid and not suspect what’s coming, it’s the movie’s way of playing with our expectations. Like in his very first scene; where he talks about locking Roxanne away to keep her safe from Megamind. It’s played off as a joke, but we can already see some of that possessiveness that will become prominent later.
Or when they escape Megamind’s lair, instead of being happy that Roxanne is safe, Hal is upset with her for leaving him behind and for hugging “Bernard” (“you accidentally hugged him instead of me”, again, hilarious, but also hints at his selfish and possessive nature)
Agreed! And also, he seems to have vaguely passive-aggressive shirts and buttons in every scene. Obviously, on their own, not a sign of villainy, but they again hint at his true nature when coupled with all the other clues. Once he had powers, he no longer had to be passive about his hostility towards the world.
@@IronShaman81 good point! On their own its not much but looking back, its a nice little detail to show that he was always a bit of an evil guy.
@@IronShaman81 There's something a bit messed up about wandering about in a 'Game over' shirt mere days after a beloved figure of the city died.
Well look how megamind duped Hal into thinking he was metroman desperate already seeing that disguise watch before in the movie and he ran away after begging for his life but of screen he went wait a minute only megamind calls metro city metrocity even though metro man did it once himself at the beginning of his speech on the museum opening the day he faked his death.
Unlike the Disney twist villains, Hal/Tighten's pre- and post-villainy reveal doesn't alter his personality or give the audience whiplash from the sudden change. When Hal becomes Tighten, he doesn't become a different person; the super powers just make what traits we saw from him previously even worse. Both are childish, petulant, cowardly (to a certain extent as Tighten), entitled, dimwitted, selfish and creepy. The "Disney Twist" takes a pre-established character who was in two or three scenes and seems nice and reveals them as the antagonist, usually accompanied with them becoming either spiteful or cartoonishly malicious. The twist in Megamind comes from the fact that the audience doesn't expect Hal to let the power go to his head and thus become the big bad, yet at the same time, it makes perfect sense considering who he's been set up to be. Disney's twists are always treated as a whodunit, while in Megamind, it's more of a WHENdunit. One is a cheap twist made for a momentary shock, the other a surprising and well-done plot development based on natural character progression and storytelling. Both Megamind and Tighten are underdogs, an alien that was bullied for being different and a pathetic, morally-weak dork respectfully. However, one learns from his mistakes and goes on to use his gifts for the betterment of others while the other lets the power corrupt him, creating a great foil pairing.
That was gold
@@juanausensi499 Thank you!
That's actually the best way to describe Disney twist villains and why they don't work.
I've thought about this as well, and made an ice cream analogy to explain my thoughts.
I'll use Vanilla as a stand-in for "good" and chocolate as a stand-in for "evil". The right kind of twist villain is like a vanilla chocolate twist. The evil is always there, you just don't always see it. At the start you might see more of the vanilla, but as you get different perspectives on the character, you get hints at the chocolate, before the ice cream turns, at which point their negative traits overshadow their positive traits. The problem with the Disney twist villains, is that the characters aren't actually twists. They introduce a 100% vanilla character, with absolutely no chocolate in sight. They remain pure vanilla until it's their time to be a twist villain, at which point they just steal the vanilla and replace it with chocolate. That isn't making a twist villain, that's just stealing my ice cream! There's no mystery, no suspense, because there was never a hint of chocolate to make a viewer realize that there's more to this ice cream than meets the eye, it's just crude shock value.
@@calsalitra4689 Wow. That was the perfect analogy. Nice job!
I love the details in this movie. Like when Roxie is captured by Megamind she is completely calm and nonchalant. But when she first encounters Titan/Hal she terrified and barely capable of keeping it together.
That lets the audience know the real threat without words. Show, don't say.
She knows Megamind doesn’t want to hurt anyone. I bet the entire city knows that, actually.
@@anti-usernamesaltaccount3623 Yeah they know. Just compare their reaction to when Megamind kidnapped Roxanne at the beginning vs when Titan took over the city. With Megamind, they’re booing him like he’s the “bad guy” in a WWE match. It’s all just entertainment, no one’s actually gonna get hurt, and they’ll do the same thing next week or something. Roxanne acts the same way, she trusts Megamind to keep her safe (More then she even realizes at the time) With Tighten, they all instantly descend into pure terror.
To be fair Megamind has kidnapped her before, it’s probably old hat by now for her. Though it’s a nice detail and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the directorial intent.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820, she even casually comments on knowing the kidnap bag by smell, but that only serves to emphasize just how old hat and familiar it is
@@anti-usernamesaltaccount3623 No she has a unique perspective on him. Notice how quickly everyone surrenders once Metroman is out of the way.
Megamind saying "okay take me to jail" and then Hal/Tighten responding with "I was thinking more like the morgue" is SO good
I'd also like to mention that Hal sees fighting in a completely different way. Megamind and Metroman's fighting wasn't bloodthirsty or overly destructive because Megamind and Metroman saw it as a competitive rivalry, in the same way two kids would view a game of Tag.
But Hal doesn't, he sees it as a goal, a mission almost, he wants Megamind *dead* and he shows that in his wreckless, he destroys the city and even when he does have Roxanne in his clutches, he treats her like a toy, adding onto his selfish nature.
That Hal is evil isn't a twist. That Hal is *relevant* is the twist.
It's more Hal becoming evil
@@natek4488Hal was always evil.
He’s seen in the few scenes with Roxanne at the start being a bumbling creep who feels entitled to her because he’s a “nice guy”. He never was a good person.
How much he is evil is the twist. How entitled he is is the twist. How much of a creep he is is the twist. It’s not the fact that he is an entitled evil creep.
More specifically that Hal is *competent* at being evil is the twist.
@@carlireland5049 i wouldn’t say that he’s especially competent, just that he’s got untold powers at his fingertips. There’s no need to be competent when everything is easy for you.
Though he’s been trained by Megamind to use them, so there’s that.
i mean you don't out a character in a mocie for no reason lol why wouldn't he be relevant lmao
Tighten was a terrifying villain, it’s not only that he went crazy and tried to kill Roxanne, it’s that he seemingly has no motive other than “destroy / conquer everything”. He didn’t really *need* to destroy Metro City to accomplish his goal, he just did it because he could, and because it was probably fun for him. This guy is an absolute sociopath, and we should all be very thankful that he no longer has his powers.
So basically, the dude's Homelander. Both don't get what they want, so they become evil, since they have powers and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
The fear and tension created when you realise oh I just gave a violent mentally/emotionally unstable person unchecked power.
@@osmanyousif7849 not exactly, they’re both using the “evil Superman” trope, but if one is a school shooter the other is a child actor who overcompensates for his low self worth
Power corrupts but when you actually give power to someone that isn't exactly ready to handle it things will go out of control really bad and really soon
@@victormagoco9752 , well both of them got power from a super genetic chemical, and were trained to become stronger (Also, note how they're both so lazy with their powers by just simply using their laser eyes...) don't get what they want, they slowly become more evil, since they realize that they have all these powers, and think they can do whatever they want. Heck, when Homelander slowly becomes more and more evil, yet the citizens are unaware, you cannot tell me that this dialogue wouldn't happen:
Citizens: Hooray!!!! Homelander has freed us!
Homelander: Oh, I wouldn't say freed, more like "under new management".
The funny thing about Hal is that, even as a regular dude, you notice that he never actually demonstrates any truly positive qualities. He’s pushy towards Roxanne and her boundaries, rude to other people and snarks behind their backs, and generally holds an unpleasant attitude. There’s rarely a moment where Hal acts kindly with no strings attached.
What ultimately makes him below the audience’s suspicion is his appearance and his weakness. He’s too much of a coward and a weakling to actually get away with hurting others, and he looks so geeky and unassuming that you naturally assume he won’t be super dangerous. He’s every harmless Hollywood nerd stereotype, and the movie uses the audiences preconceived notions about the archetype to trick them.
To be fair…….
…he did feel bad about Space Stepmom (Megamind lied to her 😞)
@@vulturedroid7674 That's its own trope: Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas
hell even in the scene where he tries to invite Roxanne to a party it clearly shows how selfish he is and hw little thought he gives to Roxanne's autonomy as a person and her feelings. She's just a PRIZE to him.
the funny thing is, hal's name is a mix of 2 green lanterns (hal jordan, john stewart).
2 of the most brave, selfless superheroes who have tons of willpower, directly contrasting against his cowardly, pathetic nature.
@@sarafontanini7051
Yeah, he keeps mentioning shit like bouncy houses and clowns, neither of which Roxanne has shown any interest in, to try to get her to come over, and becomes incredibly pushy even when she outright tells him no.
Also, Hal’s apartment is way too small for the party he was claiming to have. Which means he was obviously just trying to set himself up on a date with her but was lying to convince her (and thankfully it didn’t work).
Honestly, if a ‘nice guy’ like Hal was given this level of power in real life, I don’t think anyone could doubt they’d do similarly abhorrent things.
Uh if I were in his position I would probably just make a pocket dimension and isolate myself there
@@kathleenchafe2770then you're not a 'nice guy'.
@@definitelyadragon1644 wait a minute if a nice guy is actually a jerk wouldn’t that mean a mean? Guy is actually a good guy
@@kathleenchafe2770"nice guy " is a term used to describe those who are only nice to gain something from someone else
@@kathleenchafe2770 Nice guy is different from "nice guy" (in quotes). If it's in quotes, it refers to a guy (usually a guy, though not always) who _performs_ niceness. It's not actually who they are. They're not good to other people simply because that's the kind of person they want to _be,_ they're "nice" to somebody specific because they think it'll get them that person. And if, heaven forbid, the object of their niceness happens to be uninterested for whatever reason, the "nice guy" will feel betrayed and become bitter (and potentially scary), simply because they feel that the act of performing niceness entitles them to the other person's affections.
Another thing I learned from other reviewers is how Roxanne’s dress showed how she changed throughout the movie
Her dress is red at first, the polar opposite of blue, which is obviously Megamind’s color. In the middle, she’s wearing purple, a blend of red and blue. In the end, she’s wearing blue, showing how she now knows and understands Megamind and loves him for who he is, not who he’s made out to be
No
You watched that BS channel that makes up stuff based on confirmation bias didn't you? Red isn't the "opposite" of blue. What does red have to do with anything in the movie? Why wasn't she wearing white for Metro Man?
@@fallen4life080I’m gonna play devils advocate here but how do you explain the shining then?
@@フランクランドン The shining purposely used Red as a trigger for anxiety and dread (blood, evil, etc). What the OP said here makes no sense, colors don't have opposites other than black and white (lack of color being black and all colors together of the spectrum forming white). Even if the OP wanted to use the two ends of the color spectrum as "opposites" the opposite of Red would be Purple not blue. And again, what does red mean in the movie? There's no link to it. Unlike the shining the color red has no meaning in Mega mind
@@fallen4life080well we know Roxanne and metroman weren’t actually a couple so that doesn’t make sense. Also it’s a common thing in society for red and blue to be pinned against each other even if they aren’t opposites. Also also even if it isn’t intentional it’s still a cool detail. Even if this is false let people believe what they want and enjoy the movie.
Fun fact: in the scene where Roxanne rejects going to Hal's party after Metro Man's death, he returns to the truck and says "What's wrong with me!" But in an alternate scene he says "What's wrong with HER!" I think the dialogue change was a good option on the filmmakers part, for one that would have outed him as being a potential villain way too fast in the movie, and the line "What's wrong with me!"ads a layer of insecurity to Hal, sure he always felt that he was entitled to Roxanne's love regardless of if he had super powers or not, but he doesn't completely blame her for not liking him romantically either, the only thing keeping them apart in his mind is his lack of special powers which is obviously why he's so ecstatic when he's injected with Metro man's DNA. I think this is especially nice because in most movies with underdog characters, theyre perfectly fine people but society just doesn't treat them well, and this causes them to question if they're as good as they truly are, but in Hal's case he was never good. And I also think the truck scene is a subtle clue to what kind of partner he is, when he's rejected as his regular self he beats himself up over because he thinks it's just his lack of powers that's keeping Roxanne from liking him, but when she rejects him after he gets Powers he starts attacking her, because he thinks that there's no reason she should not like him now that he's a superhero. Had he somehow trapped her into a relationship with him then he probably would be abusive, if not physically, then definitely verbally, that's especially true when he gets mad after she hangs out with Bernard, showing that he doesn't think she should like any other men but him. People like this have existed for a long time now but it isn't until just recently in history where we finally realized that not all underdogs deserve to be on top, some are at the bottom for a reason.
There's also him lying about a party he was having. If she hadn't said she wasn't in the mood for a lot of people, he probably wouldn't have admitted it would actually only be the two of them, getting her to go with him under false pretenses. I wouldn't want to be alone in an apartment with this guy.
That's a really good summation of his character, and what I've been trying to say about some quote, unquote "underdog" characters.
While he does ask what's wrong with himself and not her, it's still not self reflective: rather than realising that he made her very uncomfortable, he just assumes that girls don't like clowns and if he had just remembered that then she'd be all for it.
Also there's the phrase "power corrupts" becoming a question once you analyze it
Does power corrupts? Or just gives corrupt people the ability to show it?
Did you wanted to help people and lost your way with temptation or you wanted all of that since day 1 and simply didn't made a move due to a lack of power?
Yeah, when you realize it Hal is an underdog but also an incredibly accurate showing of the "nice guy" trope. He might seem normal and just mild mannered but as shown his obsession with Roxanne and wanting her to go with him out of a sense of entitlement or "I can treat her better then him" when really he's as bad if not the worst person she could hook up with.
Reminds me of something I read once, I'm paraphrasing but:
"You are not "peaceful" unless you are capable of violence but choose not to be. If you are not violent because you are not capable of violence, you are HARMLESS."
Hal was never "good" or "peaceful", he was harmless. Key word being WAS; once he was capable of evil, he showed his true nature.
That was a Jordan Peterson speech. One of his best, too. In the same talk, he uses Batman as an example of a man who is monstrous, yet has caged the monster within himself through self control and a strong moral foundation.
I was reading something by a self defense instructor once which pointed out that a lot of pacifists weren't actually pacifistic, they were just terrified of physical violence - they were perfectly happy to visit emotional harm on people and harass them and otherwise act terribly towards them, and used their "pacifism" as a means of justifying their behavior and how they weren't actually bad people because they weren't physically hurting people.
@@TitaniumDragon There's a saying in some fighting circles. The gist of it is that you should always choose your best friends from the people who can knock you out cold.
@@jaffarebellion292 Jordan Peterson said that?? Damn, another example of "the worst person you know just made a good point."
@@ZilRockbottom Not even gonna touch that one. It would only start a hundred-comment long argument where no one walks away respecting the other.
Not only is he a great twist villian, he’s also a person who slowly becomes a monster but he had it in him the whole time. I remember gradually becoming more disturbed by him as a kid. Seeing him descend into his own entitlement and pettiness, and only when he threw a tantrum at Roxane after putting her in danger, did the twist hit me, he’s the big bad. And it kept going to the point he decided “if I can’t have her, no one can”
Yep, Hal always had the capacity for evil within him. The only difference? Before, he didn’t have the power to act on it. He had a lot of pent up resentment and frustration, and once he had the power to do something about it, that’s when he finally revealed his true darker side.
Whats funny is that i see this as a perfect metaphor for incels. The majority of them believe the only thing stopping them from getting a girl is their looks, so if they got magically turned into a buff superhero and still got rejected, they'd have to realise their personality was the problem all along
@@skyrat1896 Is it really a metaphor? Hal pretty much just is an incel. I could definitely picture him going to online forums to rant about his inability to get Roxanne and how that makes all women evil.
@@dyhallLmfao
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820no
"and there is no queen of England"
*Not Anymore*
Megamind 2: Tighten Takes Great Britain
Way better sequel than the one we got, you gotta admit!
Hey if he gets rid of the manchild King then all hail Tighten.
@@zephyr8072 The Manchild King will take care of himself momentarily by trying to cure his cancer with homeopathy.
'and how many people would've guessed that the boss baby would've gotten a sequel' dang savage
What makes Tighten really work is not just the whole "he's a goofy side character with a crush on the main heroine so you don't realise he's the villain" but also the fact that he doesn't sem like main villain material. He's stupid, he's silly, he has no plans or goals beyond his crush. He just doesn't seem like main villain material.
But that's why he IS. He's so stupid and selfish that he cannot better himself, he has no goals so he just uses his powers for his own simple enjoyment.
He's NOT a supervillain, he's JUST a villain.
Huh, guess there's more to being a supervillan than just presentation.
“Oh you’re a villain alright… just not a super one!”
-Megamind
Goddamn the character writing of Hal gets better and better the more it’s analysed. Hats off to the writers of Megamind, I genuinely don’t know how they managed to write such a layered and intricate character who ended up being the perfect twist villain.
Bingo. That's the point exactly.
That’s the thing. Tighten isn’t smart or manipulative, like many typical supervillains, but the fact that he’s a short-tempered idiot, who doesn’t think past his own desires, makes him scary, as it means he’s willing to use his powers to get what he wants, no matter who he hurts to achieve it.
8:00 Oh my, a detail I never noticed before : while Hal is ranting about how confused he's that she still doesn't want him despite his powers, Roxanne almost falls backwards and has to hold unto him BY HERSELF to avoid dropping ! He didn't even seems to notice she's literaly clinging for dear life, showing even more how selfish he truly is !
TV Tropes pointed this out in the Nightmare Fuel page of the film. They said it best when they said “Hal is THAT emotionally unintelligent”.
@@speedracer2008 A fellow of culture, are we lol (I'm not being sarcastic : I love that site !)
@@Kaito57 I do too but they're too harsh on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and kiss up to Catcher in the Rye and really seem to dislike the 21st century. So I say it's not that reliable a source.
@@jeffreygao3956 ... How exactly ? I don't recall TV Tropes being a review site lol
@@Kaito57 It’s wording is biased especially on YMMV pages.
I love how the line when things get bad is when Tighten goes "Jail? Oh, no no no, I was more thinking like *the morgue.* You're dead!" As we know while Megamind is a supervillain, he isn't actually looking to HURT anyone. He just really enjoys the back and forth between him and a charismatic superhero. He was even shocked when he thought he actually killed Metro Man. So when Tighten comes in and after the first battle, he announces his intent to flat out MURDER Megamind, the tone of the movie shifts significantly. What we once knew as the supervillain becomes a hero, and what was once intended by Megamind to be a superhero becomes the villain. Not the supervillain, as Megamind puts it, there's one difference between a villain like Tighten and a SUPERvillain like Megamind: PRESENTATION!
Honestly I think that line works a lot better In Polish dub. I mean "pressentation"? Really it was extremely... lame. Almost as lame as a Tighten was.
But in Polish dub he says "Trzeba mieć klasę!" which means "You must have class! /be classy!"(I'm not 100% sure what would be best way to tranlsate it), which is actually pretty cool and not so blatantly superficial.
@@Lyokoheros-KLPXTV im polish and yes, you did it right
When I was younger, I thought it was funny that Megamind was basically one of the Saturday morning cartoon villains. For all his big talk, he never actually tried to hurt people. The fact that Roxanne was able to laugh at him with absolutely no fear at the beginning of the movie showed that she was actually comfortable around him and knew that he would never actually harm her. Contrast that to when Tighten tried to impress her with his powers and she was terrified the entire time. She trusted Megamind more than Hal / Tighten because he had earned her trust (even if she didn’t realize it at the time).
But then I realized that Megamind never chose to be the villain, it was the role society gave to him. Even landing in a literal prison didn’t make him evil. The prisoners actually treated him better than the people on the outside, to the point where he was released for good behavior to attend school (I missed this detail as a kid). It wasn’t until he was rejected over and over again by his peers and teachers that he decided if he was going to be forced to be a bad guy, he might as well be, to paraphrase, “the baddest of them all”.
But Megamind’s idea of evil was based on stereotypes, not things that were actually part of his character. His goals were generic “defeat the hero and take over the city”, he cared more about the show and the banter than whether he actually won or not. He never had the ruthlessness of a villain, which why he was so shocked by Tighten’s turn to evil.
@@Lyokoheros-KLPXTV not lame to me but if there is a translation of the whole line then i think it would be great since he said "there is one difference between a villain and a supervillain PRESENTATION" which makes sense whiles "there is one difference between a villain and a supervillain You must have class/Be classy!" doesnt fit right
@@figshw How it doesn't fit? (Also You know that I just translated that translation into English? Actual Polish text was "Złoczyńcą to ty może jesteś, ale na pewno nie super wiesz? [Co za różnica?] Trzeba mieć klasę!", in sqaure bracket is the Titan part)
And no, "there is one difference between a villain and a supervillain PRESENTATION", doesn't make sense and is nothing beyond most JARING superficial things Megamind could have tell...
There's no Easter bunny, there's no tooth fairy, and
This is now my favorite comment of all time. That is all
Loved the part when none of the 64 people who liked this comment haven't even finished the joke after a year.
@@DreaguiVII sush, keep it that way
@@MelodyLumina rawr
And what 👑
I like how in Megamind the superhero is a regular dude, the regular dude is the supervillain, and the supervillain is the superhero.
Tighten is smarter than Megamind, he's the first to figure out the illusion of the Queen of England
Edit: Lizzie's in a box
And England itself as a country is an illusion. There is only the United Kingdom, of which England is merely a region / province. That would be like saying California is an independent country.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 Tbh California might as well be its own separate country. 🤷
Edit: Holy heck! 100 likes just because I called out California's bs?!
@@counterattack248 Yea. I was going to use Texas as an example too (whether they love or hate us, most people agree our state is very independent...).
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 “England is my city”
And I suppose there is an EASTER BUNNY AND TOOTH FAIRY, since he saw Rise of the Guardians....
I feel like Metroman felt like it was fine to fake his own death because he knew that Megamind wasn't really evil and everyone would be fine without him.
I saw him faking his own death as more of him just... getting bored. He wasn't really much of a superhero, he was a people pleaser with superpowers. He did it mostly because it got him positive attention from an early age and he liked that. Once he finally got tired of it, he just faked his death with no care for what would happen in his absence. Sure Megamind wasn't actually going to hurt people, but he did start things off pretty bad in his ill fated attempt at playing the evil overlord. If Metroman had a shred of actual heroism in him, he would've stopped it, but he just simply didn't care.
@@VeraTheTabbynxyou’re almost right. But in Metroman’s own words “there’s a yin to every yang. When there’s evil, good will rise up”. So while Metroman was selfish he knew that good will always be there to combat evil and vice versa. He’s selfish but he’s by no means a bad person and I’ve honestly grown to like him
@@rickyronny4019 I honestly can't say I believe for a moment it's that deep. Even if it were, he just abandoned the city to its fate hoping some good would prevent catastrophic damage. It would be like the Good Samaritan simply passing by, reasoning the next person or the one after that would help. No matter the framing, he is not justified nor truly much of a good person.
@@VeraTheTabbynxno
@@rickyronny4019no
Titan: *who are you??*
Tighten: *I'm you, but better*
Tighten is an amazing villain because he is so realistic. He is super creepy from the start and is given all the power he could ever want to do with as he please. From megamind that just wanted to play around and be accepted to this god damn nightmare.
This movies stands on the pedestal of masterpieces in my mind. It’s sad that it’s reception was as it was. From the character development to the risk of being genuine to how social stigmas can be misleading. This movie captures the essence of real life (up to a certain extent of course, it’s about superpowers) and portrays it appropriately without cutting uncomfortable corners like Hal’s perversion of reality, as it should be done. I love this movie so much!
I definitely wish more kid's films were willing to explore the same kind of themes
@@williamfinch9858 no.
The reason hal is condemned is because everything bad that happened to him was his own fault. He was the reason for his failures, yet he blames society.
And people like that do exist, and the way hal is presented and treated throughout the movie is perfect acceptable.
Hal was a "underdog" but only because of his horrible worldview and personality. He wasn't a victim of society, megamind was, he just didn't get what he wanted and threw a tantrum.
Also, villainy can be extremely funny.
@@williamfinch9858 way to miss the whole fucking point, while society definetly helped shaping Hal's personality every bad choice he made was out of pure egoism.
Turbo Man and Megamind were both assigned to their roles without giving them a choice, Hal was a loser and social outcast but only because of his own faliure to see his shortcomings as a person, and his inability to actually feel real empathy towards others, especially his crush.
he had a chance to improve his life and find purpose becoming a force for good but he only saw his powers as means to access his goals, as in his mind he believes not being a nerd is what causes his romantic failings when it's really his lack of emotional maturity, he didn't let go of his obsession and when he finds out that his physical prowess isn't enough to get it he snaps and becomes violent, becoming a more dangerous villain than Meganind ever was, Hal doesn't need a tragic backstory, he works as a deepshit "nice guy".
@@williamfinch9858 I don't know who this Hans from education for death, but Hal doesn't have a tragic backstory, he's just random dude with no self awareness, assuming this Hans guy has a significant backstory then him and Hal are already completely different cause Hal doesn't have a backstory at all, he's just an asshole who does the wrong thing, just because a character is suffering doesn't mean they're tragic or deserve sympathy, I don't get why you insist so much on Hal being like Hans from education for death, they don't seem like the same kind of character at all from my knowledge of the Megamind movie and the description you provided me so far of Hans.
@@4shame watch 9, it touches on some themes like megamind, hard pg-13 movie though.
Spoiler warning:
The idea of Megamind playing a childish game can be expanded into a larger analysis of the story of the movie. The big analogy being that the whole thing is basically a make believe scenario being played out on the schoolyard. Megamind is the kid who wants to play the villain because it's more fun and he wants to be the center of attention, Metro Man is his best friend who plays along as the hero, but who grows bored of the game and finds a way to write himself out so he can pursue his true passion, Roxanne is the girl the two of them were trying to impress with their game, and Hal is the awkward childhood friend of Roxanne who feels entitled to her and turns into a bully to get his way, even though she doesn't feel that way about him. Ultimately, the introduction of someone not playing by the rules of the game forces Megamind outside his chosen role, leaving him with no choice but to take the now vacant role of the hero and stand up to the bully.
The story being written like this makes it quickly identifiable and relatable with children while still being interesting for adults. It manages to explore themes such as entitlement/abusive relationships and self rediscovery in a way that comes off as natural and realistic, despite the childish cartoon super hero stylization on display. Ultimately, Megamind is a shining testament to the fact that animation is a storytelling medium, and not inherently "meant" for any one age group.
As C.S. Lewis said “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.”
That which makes a story a good one applies to all stories, whatever the intended audience is, and Megamind is a good story.
@@ishouldhavebeencareful indeed he was
Ive actually already seen megamind but ty for the warning anyway
I think Megamind himself is also about how many supervillains are in general. Many act like children just having fun and a lot of their villany comes more due to lack of foresight than actual malevolance.
Are you an English teacher because thats very good analysis, that I cant even come up with.
Titan actually has hints of gaslighting that are so sutile and common that I could not see through the first part of the film. The way he tries to manipulate Roxanne, when she hugs Bernard/Megamind in disguise by saying: "She does not know what she is doing, she had a traumatic experience". Credit to Cinema Therapy.
Why is everyone else calling him tighten, is it a joke?
Ty for being the one person in the video/comments who spells his name right
@@pumkin610 cuz the idiot thought that's how his name is spelled.
I mean he even shows the scene where the name is spelled out onscreen so I really hope society is not this dumb
@@pumkin610 I think so, because he misspelled it when writing it on the city. The real name is Titan from Greek Mythology the race of titans.
I love how they showed how the “nice guy” was more evil than good,I also remember wondering about how to spell the villains name
It’s supposed to be “Titan” but Hal’s an idiot and thinks it’s “Tighten”
@@WitchHunterSiegfried that's true but I think it makes it funnier,😎👍
Tighten is by far the most committed villain in an animated movie: He was willing to kill Megamind and Roxanne with a snap of his fingers just because she turned him down
And even when people still thought that he was a hero, he went ahead and said the meme we’ve all watched before… “under new management”
Hal is such a good villian to me because he's a very realistic threat.. He's harmless and weird until he gets power, then people see him as the threat he truly is because he's not "harmless" anymore.
Well said. If you want to know where the real problems come from, you have to be able to catch these kinds of people before you give them power. Few people totally lose themselves when they gain power; most of them just reveal who they always were. That's why it's important to find the hidden virtues, as well. The quiet kids who never lie, or who always treat others with respect, are the ones who can be trusted.
So... A typical school shooter.
@@Drekromancer Most people*
kinda like TheBoys. They are just a bunch of normal people but with superpowers, they become even more assholes
@@Drekromancerbeing nice is bad, but being quiet is good? This doesn't make sense for me
We should also give some credit to the actor. He did a fantastic job of showing both an awkward, weirdo who you assume is just here for jokes, then he easily transitions into someone believably evil and selfish. The character outwardly changes over time but we also believe he has always had this evil nature from the start. Megamind is just such a phenomenal film. One of my few 10/10 movies.
Jonah Hill.
@@zenspeed404 8/10 any time he plays he’s incredible
Unfortunately, as we've recently found out, it's because Jonah Hill has first hand experience with what it's like in the head of a guy like this...
@@SeraphimCramerIs there an interview for this? I really wanna see it
@@reaperraider999Not an interview, but you can look up the dm's his ex girlfriend released showing how toxic & manipulative he really is. Stuff like demanding she run anything she posts on instagram by him for his approval first, not wanting her posting any sort of swimsuit pics (when she's a professional surfer), misusing therapy terms like "boundaries" to try to gaslight her into thinking she's the one being unreasonable...
I watched Megamind so many times when I was younger and never grasped the reason for why I didn’t like Hal in his personality. Now thinking about it, it was because of his may red flags. For me Hal is a villain from the start because of his red flags and obsession with Roxanne; and the fact that, compared to movies like Despicable Me or The Adventures of Tin Tin, it’s his personality and way of viewing the world what makes him a villain truly amazes me. Dreamworks took this movie and made a masterpiece with it, specially with Hal and Megamind as characters. Still to this day I believe Dreamworks could’ve achieved more fame if they released more movies like this one. Amazing video by the way! Loved it as per usual!
@@nicholasfarrell5981 I'm not sure what you mean I got the exact opposite feeling, Hans comes across as a genuine nice guy multiple times without any real red flags till the twist, which made it real jarring to me.
When a character acts manipulative they put on a show for others to give them the impression they want, and only engage with people when they have an ulterior motive, in his first appereance however Hans is friendly and helps out Anna, and with the twist in mind you'd think "oh he's just trying to gain her trust" but when you think about it there's 2 major issues.
1: he doesn't really know Anna at first, he learns of her soon after, but he doesn't have a motive to even approach her without having that information about her first, yeah she's a clutz about to fall from the water, but I mean, this guy plans to take over a fucking kingdom through murder if needed why does he give a fuck about some random bitch slipping, a manipulator acts cool only in front of people they want something from, or if there's a crowd to show off to, and there's no spectators to show off how nice of a guy he is so it's extremely convenient that his contrived good deed of the day leads him to the people he wants to get close to.
And 2: he never attemps to get her to give away information he would be interested in, he just helps her out and compliments her, and immediately let's her go without trying to subtly assure his way to the royal family, and he also shows a genuine nice smile after their meeting is done, which you can only say is disingenuous in retrospect, but it makes 0 sense, there's no malice whatsoever in his face and he's not putting an act for anyone to see, when a manipulator is alone they should be showing their true colors, but here Hans is acting for no one but the audience, and for the rest of the film he keeps not really hinting at any ulterior motive, he has nice conversations with Anna, doesn't really protest much when Elsa denies him Anna's hand, and even saves Elsa when he could've just let her die by the arrow, there's no reason for him to not stop that guy and just lie to Anna about how he couldn't stop it to get her trust, and we learn that he wanted to kill Elsa to get her out of the way to the throne, and possibly end the storm looking like a hero, so saving her doesn't benefit his plan in any way, he's actively sabotaging himself.
To be clear I'm not trying to discredit how the character hit close to experiences you had, but narratively the film doesn't really commit to what they tried with Hans, so I'm curious to see, what gave you the intended impression of the character?
DreamWorks makes some really good films but they're shit at doing it consistently and espexially marketing them well, a bunch of DreamWorks films could've used better marketing honestly, like Road to Eldorado, Guardians and definetly Megaman, which is weird because DreamWorks absolutely does know how to do good marketing, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train your Dragon were all well realized in that department, even some of their less stellar entries like Madagascar and Boss Baby have good marketing, which is why those movies have sequels, it's mind boggling how inconsistent they are.
@@nicholasfarrell5981 I don't know how relevant you historic knowledge will be when talking about Disney's very aproxximate and vague approach to their fairy tail settings.
I honestly don't get vibes of Habs trying to isolate her, he again just comes off as genuinely being supportive, and I know he's supposed to be deceiving, but red flags will inevitably pop up when you pretend to be something you're not, which may sneak suspicion at the moment and get noticed only in retrospect, but Hans is just too unbelievably good at hiding said red flags fir me to believe they didn't make up the twist halfway through the film, it's also unclear in the film how lonely Anna really is, her sister won't see her and the castle is pretty much closed from the outside world sure, but am I to believe there were 0 servants for years and that Anna and Elsa just raised themselves and kept the castle clean and shit on their own, without ever making a connection to any of servants whatsoever? That seems a little far fetched, I can see Elsa trying to close herself from others, but Anna would absolutelytry to make friends with anyone as starved of social relationships as the narrative claims she is.
The duet also doesn't give me any hints, he doesn't drop subtle hints about having ulterior motives, in fact the song is pretty much all about Anna with Hans as an accessory to her new found freedom with all the talk about open doors which is only relevant to her and Elsa's character, the Italian dub actually kinda improves the song a bit, instead of saying "love is an open door" they say "what a chance I've got" which actually makes Hans feel more actually part of the musical number as they both feel like they've ground a chance to achieve their goals by meeting each other and actually provides something to be recontextualized after the twist, it's not much but it was sonething.
Hans is interesting as a concept, it's unfortunate that his plot is only possible through contrivances much like the rest of the film.
@@nicholasfarrell5981 him being there is only suspicious if you have a deep enough knowledge of history, the average viewer and writers likely won't think about how succession lines work beyond the very basics, and it is likely not even a factor in the story as there's no mention of Hans having diplomatic skills and visiting other allied countries during important events before his brothers who preced him in the lone to the throne being odd, in short you're being too big brain and inserting additional clues the movie doesn't actually give you.
I don't get the off sync part cause it's been a while abd I'm not enough of a music nerd to notice that stuff, but the lyrics should still have played a bigger role in red flagging Hans.
How many people of your generation thought there was a twist when there wasn’t one? You guys thought his stocker behavior at the beginning of the movie was normal? Society is doing a very bad job of teaching people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Again you guys thought there was a twist to his villainy when there wasn’t.
Megamind isn't a "big child" but rather has had the villian label slapped on him from birth. The movie is about destiny vs action. When he finally realized he wasn't truly a villian, his arc went really well.
No
@@iceburgess461yes
Also the line “Don’t rob me, the lady across from me has WAY better stuff” made me raise my eyebrow the first time I saw this but I just saw laughed it off, it was after watching it for a second time that I realised what that line was put in there for
Tighten/Hal: Nobody turned Supervillain
Megamind: Supervillain turned Superhero.
Metro Man: Superhero turned nobody.
Metro Man: Superhero turned Markiplier
Tighten/Hal: Nobody Turned _Villain_ . "He's A Villain Alright, Just Not A Super One"
@SecretiveCustoms811
“Oh yeah? What’s the difference?”
@@professormadhattgaming583 Presentation! (Cue Welcome to the Jungle)
Superhero turned talented musician
Because it doesn't come out of nowhere, it makes sense to the already established character.
Another great thing about Hal is that Dreamworks was ahead of it’s time with what a creepy “nice guy” would be like if he had super powers
Exactly!
Nah, it's always been that way. Only difference is it was hiding in the dark all that time.
You killed me with that "game over" shirt reveal because I was 90% sure you were just going to say something about him being a gamer.
The funny part is that in some aspects this dynamic weirdly reminds me of the Incredibles, specifically Buddy and Hal. Both started off as nice guys, but they had one thing in common, they didn’t listen! Both had infatuations, and both had ideals to be the perfect superhero. And when they got rejected, they turned into resentment. You should definitely look into this comparison. The one difference is that we see the transition Hal went through to get from Point A, to Point B, to Point C. With Buddy, we see him going from Point A to Point C, understanding his transition took a dark turn. But otherwise their story is more alike than I realized.
I know it's probably the most cliché and generic comparison with this character, but my gosh, Tighten perfectly captured the feeling most Discord/Reddit mods get after gaining their mod privileges on their respective websites.
Discord mods are worse than tighten
In fact, anything is better than discord mods (specially mods of medium/big servers)
I mean it really depends on the person. Not every discord mod is gonna be villainous
And then the scene where titan gets spooked by metro man showing up also captures the feeling of the owner or co owner coming by and bans them and also takes their mod powers away.
@@pastatheh7041 My friend had admin perms and he either timed out me and used my family issues in chat in front of everyone
@@pastatheh7041 Yeah, you have discord power mods meanwhile the server I'm in, the mods (Myself Included) have effectively been Americanized with checks and balances to prevent any power trips.
I wasn't that shocked by hal being a bad guy but I think I initially assumed that MetroMan would come back and be the main villain and hal would be the bitter traitor who allies with him. Was more surprised by metro man choosing to disappear into obscurity.
Metroman was someone who had it all, power, fame, glory, admiration. Therefore he doesn't desire them anymore. Hal was the complete opposite. He had nothing going on for him, and he desire them all. Kinda ironic that the one who have it choose to throw it away and the one who never had it desire it so badly it droves him insane.
I feel like metroman didn't feel challenged anymore, life had no meaning because he had everything, so he started doing things that his powers can't affect, like playing music, Roxanne says: you are not even good. And he does not care, cause that is why he is doing it, he wants to keep growing.
@@hw_yozoraVODS There's a theory that he became "Music Man" because his powers don't make him good at music. So he has the challenge of learning to play music.
Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but the second Megamind decided to turn Hal into a superhero I knew he'd turn evil because I've been around guys like this, and even though it mostly wasn't directed at me once you meet this kind of guy you learn fast to never be remotely off guard around them.
men shouldn't have powers,they will use those powers for atrocities and defend for aggressors
The moment he was punching the van, first time I saw this movie had me thinking "Please don't let this be the love interest, girl no". I don't know why it struck with me but the amount of anger felt- unusual? Dunno.
I love that Titan is an intresting and realistic concept of anyone who gets powers
Including yourself.
It's not really a twist actually. The guy was unsettling from the beginning. They exaggerated his powers to make it obvious for the kids and more dangerous but he still wasn't a nice guy from the beginning. But noone take his and his behavior seriously until he starts to crush the city.
Yet there is a lot people like him in real life. And they could be dangerous.
And no one takes them seriously until they do damage
@@morganmiller41 A man not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth
@iceburgess461 The thing is, this is not an underdog just for being a bit weird. Anyone has a right to ostracize him because he is actually and genuinely creepy, and if he could, he would be a selfish piece of shit in any given opportunity.
The quote aplies more to Megamind, especially since the village that treated him well were the criminals that found him in the prison lmao.
So true
I feel like the reason tighten works isn't because he started out as a regular human and became a villain. It's because he's always been a villain and we didn't even notice it until he had the power to do something about it.
Think about it. The instant we meet Hal, he immediately starts creeping on Roxanne. He likes her and wants to date her, and when we see Roxanne push him away and get rejected, we kinda feel bad for him. We're used to seeing the story of the lower guy that starts off small, likes a girl and eventually wins her over, so we don't really think of Hal as creepy and just tend to pity him.
But Hal doesn't. He never gets Roxanne, not even after he gets his powers. We also see that his love of Roxanne is somewhat abusive; when Hal is rejected, he gives up on being a decent person to steal and stalk Roxanne.
We start off assuming that Hal deserves to get the girl because that's a trope seen everywhere, but we finish realizing that Hal doesn't deserve the girl at all.
That first paragraph sums it up perfectly. I don’t think Hal was “born evil” per se, I believe all heroes and villains are created in large part by their environments and circumstances. Hal probably did start out as a decent guy, but years of being a pushover made him resentful of others and deeply selfish and possessive of the few friends he did have, like Roxanne. He believed he was entitled to Roxanne because of all the suffering and loneliness he had been through in life. But the only difference between Hal at this point, and Hal after becoming Tighten, is that he didn’t have the power to do anything about it before.
Once he got the power, it quickly went to his head. He had convinced himself that if only he was special, if only he was attractive and strong and cocky like the “Chads” of the world, like all those classic superheroes, he would get the girl he deserved. In his pursuit of this obsession, Hal didn’t realize that the most important thing about being a hero is having empathy, which he lacked. That’s what made his turn to evil only a matter of time.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 Yep. Hal was just looking at the wrong part of himself.
I think you are right.
As the old saying goes, "if you want to test a man's character, you give him power."
Ironically, Megamind is the one giving power when you'd expect the bad guy to hoard it all for himself: he literally gave away the power of the one guy who repeatedly beat him to someone else.
Never felt bad for him even as a kid
I think a good hint that Hal would turn bad was how he lashed out violently and punched the news van, then immediately blamed the van hurting his hand. That was before he got powers
You could even kinda say the entire scene leading up to that was a red flag for Hal's soon-to-be villainy.
Nothing screams "creepy douchebag" more than asking out a girl while she's mourning the "death" of a guy she was really close to. RIGHT AFTER HIS "DEATH."
This was also made worse considering, if I'm remembering correctly, the reason Hal was holding back before Metroman's "death" was because he was under the assumption that Metroman and Roxy were a thing. So essentially, he waited until her supposed "boyfriend" was out of the picture, and then thought a good time to shoot his shot was right after his "death", and then got upset when understandably, she was not into it
@@puppetpawss To add to that, he has the gall to criticize “Bernard” (Megamind in disguise) for taking advantage of Roxanne’s grief, so he could get with her, when Tighten did THE EXACT SAME THING ON THE EXACT SAME DAY. Not only that, but Tighten also tried to manipulate Roxanne into going out with him multiple times. Overall, Tighten was a selfish hypocrite who couldn’t face his own flaws.
@speedracer2008
And got protective of Roxanne despite her not needing or wanting him to, and "I'm her partner... she's not thinking straight"
Totally disregarding what she's thinking.
@@gangrenousgandalf2102 Exactly. He never ONCE considered Roxanne’s feelings regarding ANYTHING.
It's so interesting because earlier in the movie, he doesn't seem to feel like he deserves Roxanne either, with the whole "what is wrong with me" scene. He knows he's weird and he's pretty self aware (aside from the stalkery bits.) I think that's why nobody expects him to be the villain, cause he doesn't think he's important either. But once he gets metroman'd it TOTALLY flips the script. She liked metroman, and now he's metroman. So she likes him now! Right?
The brilliant part of him not thinking he's important is that what he believes to be the problem isn't what the audience can see is the problem. The audience can tell that he's an awkward creepy loser, but what Hal believes to be the problem is only apparent once he's Tighten.
Well he's "self aware" but only to an extent. The full quote is "what is wrong with me, chicks dont dig bouncy houses, they dig clowns!" He's beating himself up for not getting Roxanne just *like that.* So not quite self aware, but more of the awareness of self awareness itself, a concept he fails to fully grasp.
Hal sees his problem not as something within him (selfishness, possessiveness etc.) but as external things like power, attractiveness, and the fame of being a hero. He thinks that if he only had these things, Roxanne would just *have* to like him. It actually says a lot of what he really thinks of Roxanne. He sees her as someone just as shallow as he is, rather than a real person.
He's a pretty solid depiction of what we now call an Incel (no idea if the term existed at the time of the movie's production). He believes at first that his failures at romance are due to him not presenting/having "what she wants in a guy". He *thinks* she likes the "Chad" Metroman (whom she actually has no romantic interest in) and that his lack of "having what she wants" is the main barrier between them. He then has that barrier removed by getting Metroman's powers, and like incels, fails to realize that not only is romance not transactional in that way, but also that having some arbitrary set of traits and becoming a "Chad" doesn't entitle him to her affection.
The film also does a good job of calling out the sort of toxic protagonist mindset that is prevalent in Hollywood (Especially in Adam Sandler movies) that depicts someone with little to no redeeming qualities "getting the girl" either through sheer persistence or by "doing the thing that wins the girl", like beating a villian, or winning at an activity.
It was more unexpected for metroman to still be alive than Hal being the villain. The moment he got those powers you knew he was going to be the bad guy purely based off his previous behavior. Even what he said outside the base of talking for Roxanne. He wasn't really self aware as he didn't see anything wrong with his behavior in of itself. So to me he isn't a twist villain, a good one, but not a twist.
The way they used the “nice guy” trope in the way it actually comes off was a great idea. An already terrible person gets powers to justify said bad behavior and thoughts. At least for me, he was always a suspish guy and I knew something was going to happen with him in some form. So I didn’t see him as a twist more of “when is it gonna happen” villain but it’s a great movie!
No
Cinema Therapy did a really good job of explaining the “good guy” concept that Tighten has and I’m really glad you mentioned that in the video
I've been thinking about the connection between power and morality. At the end, I've decided to say that you'll only see one's true colors once they are in a state of power. People like to say that power corrupts. Yes, too much of it in one person's hands is definitely a bad thing, but in my opinion, it's not that simple. Some of the people in our lives who we see as nice, humble, polite, or otherwise good people, are typically that way as a defense mechanism. They're insecure, weak, and vulnerable. So, they can't offer much and have to rely on being the safe guy/girl, the good guy/girl, or the nice guy/girl. And they may believe that their goodness means that they should get what they want. Because of this entitlement, they grow resentful of others. Once they have more going for them somehow, we think they've changed. The truth is they haven't. They just no longer recognize the need to be nice. So, they think they can do what they want. What you see is that person's true colors. As we see in Tighten, the nice guy underachiever who becomes a monster once he gets Metroman's powers.
I think this amazing quote from Abraham Lincoln might be interesting to you: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power"
@@balanc-joy9187 exactly.
That's kinda why superman's such an amazing hero.
He's a all powerful man, yet he spends most of his time a meek, unassuming reporter who grew up in a smalltown on a farm.
And the other portion of his time, he uses his powers to help others, when could (just like hal) use it for his own gain.
And lex luthor is such a great foil because he has just as much power as superman, albeit in a different way, yet all he can do it use it for his own gain and be resentful towards superman and him being superior to lex in a way he never could.
I don't think its that simple either.
Alot of people are good, just because their good, even if they don't have alot going for them, and once things do turn up for them, they can still be a nice person, only with more influence.
And hal was already clearly a terrible person, its just nobody bothered to pay attention to the red flags.
@@ProjektTaku I think you're misunderstanding me. One's true nature only comes out when one perceives that they are in a position of power over someone else. Such as how one treats employees in food service or retail.
To quote author Robert Caro, “The cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said ... is that power always reveals.”
Power isn’t inherently corruptive, but people may mask their true thoughts and intentions behind kind gestures when they’re in positions of relative weakness. Giving someone the power to do anything they want lets them reveal what they really wanted to do all along.
Great villain. I feel like the first time you watch this everything that hints at his true nature just plays as silly jokes but on rewatch those hints become REALLY creepy and even scary in a few places.
And I just love the bold message that's left with him. Most superhero films like to give the message that anyone can be a hero but Megamind reminds us that anyone can also be a villain.
Anyone can be a villain, but not anyone can be a hero. All it takes to become a villain is succumbing to temptation. As for what makes a hero? Damn, I don't even know where to begin.
@@OhKayEl To be a villain you need to care mostly about yourself, to be a hero you have to care mostly about others.
@@MrEffectfilms Well... not necessarily. A villain can be someone who has some kind of a twisted view of what's best for humanity and will do anything to achieve it out of pure stubbornness, a.k.a Hitler. He was convinced that he belonged to some kind of a special race that was genetically far more superior to the other races and must be kept pure at all costs, so the other races would have to be either killed or turned into slaves so they wouldn't taint humanity at large with their inferior genes, or something like that.
I just realized that Mega Mind is the Shrek of super hero movies. Much like Shrek it takes a simple formula and adds things that you typically wouldn't, plus a great execution of new take.
The sequel is better.
@@BitlySkope THANK YOU
That’s how Dreamworks is as a whole. They make many great movies that subvert one’s expectations and play around with common tropes in ways never seen before
The difference is that Shrek has an incredible sequel while Megamind well...
@@FelipeMC-nc6qk yup 😂
i remember watching this and being like “wait it’s been 15 minutes how is the ‘hero’ already dead?”
Yeah Megamind enjoys the theatrics of being a villain. To him it is just one big play. As he says, it is all about presentation. He is simply playing a part.
All they really did for Hal in the ‘transition’ to villain was giving him the ability to do ‘more’
Personality didn’t change he just had more options for his actions
Underrated comment
Hal had more opportunities to be evil since his powers means that he didn't have to worry about the consequences of terrorising the city like getting arrested by the police.
When Tighten tightened up and said “It’s Tightening time” I literally tightened.
I tightened all over the place, the most tightening movie of all time. Tightenillion our of ten
I was at 8:25 when I read this, truly hilarious comedy
Not funny
6:53 to 7:20
This is a perfect summary of why I love his implementation in the story. I think it’s important that we don’t forget to call people like him out every once in a while in media to make sure that kind of _“low level evil”_ doesn’t go *TOO* unnoticed if that makes sense. Cuz sometimes, your worst enemy is that creepy nerd in the background
No
I love how megamind was clearly capable of winning the fight from the start but he did see it as a goof for a while. Man so EASILY gains metroman's godlike power with a single hair, he could've been just as powerful from day 1.
ngl I didn't think of him as a twist villain at first but after putting more thought into it I realized he definitely fits that bill
That's a funny-looking Lucario
@@DakotaofRaptors I know I'm using gourgeist instead of the usual for october
"You act like prey, but you're a predator" is a perfect Quote for Tighten.
a wolf in sheep's clothing
Fun fact, if Ben Parker hadn't died, Peter would have definitely abused his powers all for personal gain
It was only until Ben's death that Peter finally realize the responsibility his powers came with
In the Spider Gwen comics Peter actually becomes the Lizard because of how sick and tired he was at getting bullied
Oh yeah
Almost any villain who originated as a victim of bullying deserves my sympathy tbh.
@@OhKayEl I agree, any victim of abuse especially as a child is well deserving of sympathy and ironically many villains in comics we know usually are those victims: Eddie Brock had an abusive dad even forced him to plead not guilty when he accidentally ran over a kid,
Kingpin was bullied for his size (and he uses his size later as a fighting technique),
Doc Ock was abused by his dad and peers for being nerdy as a kid and by his co-workers (whom actually gave him his nickname),
Harley Quinn was pretty much manipulated and abused by Joker which is why she broke things off and went her own way,
Bane was literally punished by the law as a baby for something his dad did which is messed up since any kid literally raised by infancy in a prison especially the one Bane was sent too would be lucky to even stay alive before puberty
And Killer Croc was born with some weird mutant condition that turned him into a crocodile and was ostracized for it by society.
@@dewolf123 Harley Quinn is a bad example because she deliberately puts herself in the position to be hurt by the Joker (she's a stalker).
@@OhKayEl Yeah fair point tbh she's never been that stable even before meeting Joker, her whole past has been shaky when coming from a shitey family and shitey environment, she became a doctor to actually diagnosed herself and her family. Outside of that she's unusually drawn to dangerous ppl.
The interesting thing about Tighten is that back when the movie was released, it probably was pretty shocking and unexpected for him to turn out to be the bad guy of the story, but now? In 2022? He SCREAMS potential threat.
I think the whole rise of the Incel movement and all the mass shooters who have been inspired in some way by it have completed changed the way this guy is seen by the audience. I recently watched it with a friend who hadn't seen it before and while she didn't straight up predict that he would get superpowers and become the antagonist, she knew the guy was trouble from the moment he first spoke.
Shallow, tbh.
Shit aged like a fine wine tbh.
“There is no Queen of England” -Titan
I think what I appreciate about Megamind, is how much depth it gave Hal, in the short span of being a gag character to being a villain.
When we're introduced to him, we know he has feelings for roxxane. When he mocks the script he assumes was given to her by the team during their reporting at the metroman museum prior to metroman faking his death, roxxane confirms she wrote it herself,and then he corrects himself to make it seem less harsh or awkward what he said.
Then, he follows it with a weird analogy about how he would watch her like a "dingo watching a human baby", his way of flirting is odd and we can see roxxane visibly uncomfortable with the remarks.
As we go on further, after metroman fakes his death, Hal invites Roxxane to a party, and upon being rejected, he admits "WHATS WRONG WITH ME". With the addition of a scene where Hal accidentally receives powers, he plays it off saying he fought off 50 ninjas, and when roxxane refers to Bernard as her "partner", haha immediately responds "look Partner, I'm her partner, she doesnt know what shes saying". Back at his apartment after roxxane drops him off, he says "I'll leave the door open in case you want to check up on me".
Through these interactions, we get a hint into his mentality:
He is obsessed with Roxxane, he's possessive of her, and values her as his lover, and Why's that?because he sees her and metroman as a duo made for each other, because metroman is the big playboy celebrity everybody loves and admires. And for Hal, he knows that he is inadequate, unfit, and a zero compared to someone like Metroman. He "loves" Roxxane because in a way, he idolises Metroman, and the masculine alpha chad energy he embodies, because of the reaction it brings from people. It's the attention he craves, and he recognises that roxxane is often saved by metroman the most, she is Metromans catalyst for solidifying his status as a beloved hero, which rewards metroman the usual praise and affection of the public. He has self esteem issues, and can't seem to resolve it. This is embodied by the exchange between him and megamind during the final battle: "this is the last time you make a fool out of me!/ I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself!"
Now, before I comment on Hal further, let's compare him, metroman and megamind together.
Megamind is an underdog led to embrace villainy as a role model, which was reinforced by Metromans charisma. Metroman was always a playboy, received positive attention, and was a celebrity among man since birth, which pushed megamind to become a rival to metroman out of a desire for purpose. However, we know that metroman at some point resents his status as a hero, because he is bound as an idol, and not truly free to pursue his own desires. Metroman doesn't hate megamind, in fact he almost embraces him like an old friend, despite their childhood. But for metroman, his journey is that of being stuck in a loophole, and wanting an escape from a life that is more of a burdening chore than a liberating duty. He doesn't hate helping people, but he doesn't want to keep having to do it, nor does he want to keep fighting megamind, as eventually, he has matured beyond some silly childhood rivalry, and wants to move on.
Megamind however, compared to metroman, was never embraced by people, never cherished, and his role models were criminals. He couldn't look up to metroman because at first, metroman pushed him down, and eventually they became rivals their whole lives, but this villainy stems from Megaminds desire for purpose, and a deeper desire to be wanted by people, and at first, he receives this in a negative way as a villain until he finally achieved "defeating" the hero, and lost sense of direction. Even megamind feels remorse, and his actions aren't truly evil as a sociopath, as he has never once killed anybody, or really put anyone at harms way without metroman there to save the day, at best he's at nuisance.
It's only after megamind defeats Hal, people recognise him as a hero, and embrace him, as well as the encouragement from Metroman, that megamind finally realises he doesn't need to be as villain to receive the feeling of purpose and want in life, he obtains that as a reward for being a good person, and inspires a positive consequence that helps everyone.
Metroman built his life around being a celebrity, but it cost him his freedom to be himself, and he only fulfilled a role. He didn't want this fame, glory, and status because it became overbearing, and he realised it did not fulfill him. He complements Megaminds character as the positive reinforcement Megamind needs, not the purpose megamind should build his life around.
Now, Hal on the other hand. He too is an underdog, but a special one. He is a Foil for Megamind, he is an underdog, in that he has clear self esteem issues, he doesnt see any grand purpose for himself, and isn't wanted by anyone. He knows he's weird, and has no knowing of how to improve himself.
He instead indulges in fantasy because it's what comforts him, the idea that he gets to be with the "beautiful girl" as the caped hero. Like megamind, he has somewhat built his life around Metroman too, to give himself a fleeting purpose, as both Hal and megamind have a desire that revolves around metroman: to be rewarded with attention. Unlike Megamind, he isn't gifted with intelligence. Unlike Metroman, he isn't gifted with superpowers. And among humanity, he has no accomplishments at all, according to Minion. He knows he has nothing, but has no way of innovating to improve himself.
Instead, his "growth" begins when megamind accidentally gives him powers.
You see, Hal mirrors megamind perfectly, because he isn't accomplished, and he is an underdog, and lacks purpose, other than that he has built his life attention round Metroman (but for Hal, Roxxane is something of a catalyst behind what he desires in metroman). Megamind created Hal out of a desire for purpose, in his state of villainy, because he wanted to feel accomplished again when he was being a bad guy, and a hero would come in and fulfil the usual routine.
Hal represents what megamind COULD have been.
When Hal is given his powers, he is stripped of his chance to actually improve on himself, because instead he has been given a catalyst to his desires: everything he saw in metroman is now something he can be, he doesnt NEED to work hard to improve himself, his morality and character isn't put to the test, because he has simply reached the end goal. The life he built around Metroman has been fulfilled, and now he can go through with his own personal desires he thinks will complete him. In a way, he is a victim of his ego, which was groomed by Megamind during training days, until the events unfold. In a way, Megamind led Hal on this path, but Hal is oblivious because rather than maturing as an adult, and confronting his flaws he seems familiar with, he has been given an easy escape straight into just being a "superhero". And what does he do with these powers? Exactly what you expect from someone who obsesses over the catalyst to a hero's status: he courts Roxxane against her will, ignores her concerns, and genuinely believes she would love him if he was a hero than Hal. Hal has rejected himself out of resentment for the once weak, weird creep he once was, and embraces the alter ego "Tighten", this big strong super who now fills the shoes of Metroman (not for his heroism or charisma, but simply a superhuman entity he assumes people like simply for the sake of it)
Upon being rejected once more, it destroys his self image because everything he thought he understood about the relationship between Metroman and Roxxane, is challenged when she won't date him now that he "has powers, has a Cape, is the good guy".
Hal is an underdog who wanted power, fame, and recognition and attention of a hero. Then, he became a manifestation of Megaminds conflicted image and desires, and in and way, his perverted reflection of the dreams megamind wanted, are what awaken megamind to realise what true evil is, and enable him a chance to redeem himself and go on a heroes journey. Hal doesn't get to redeem himself, because despite having clear self awareness on his flaws, he doesnt know the true root of his own problem, and when he receives powers thinking his flaws are fixed, his expectations are shattered by the harsh reality when roxxane won't love him, and instead of a heroes journey, he regressed again into what he's always done: indulging fantasy. Only this time, he can afford to make fantasy a reality, he plays games, robs banks, and envisions himself fighting armies or doing "cool stuff". He has powers, he can do what he wants. What he couldn't accomplish as a person, he has an escape to accomplish as a super.
And so, he does things that are simply fun for him now: destroy buildings, put people's lives at risk, and become a monster.
That's why I love Hal as a villain. He parallels Megamind, he is a perversion of what metroman is, and Roxxane as a character is a catalyst to his deeper issues as a character, which manifest out of his refusal to go on the heroes journey. Sure, he might not be as complex, but to me, the little details really add to him. Unpopular opinion, but I see Hal as a bit of a tragic villain story. Not out of sympathy, but in a way, he is tragic, simply because of what he represents. I'd say he more than an allegory for "incel culture", and pretty much embodies very personal self esteem issues, but also the issue of rewarding a problem with what it wants, instead of letting it resolve itself naturally.
Holy shit I can’t believe I read all of that
@@drinkingcowboy4806 me neither
@@drinkingcowboy4806 welcome to the literate gang
By god you should become a youtuber, this script had me interested the whole way through
So basically: "Alpha" and "Sigma" men are just like Hal
Under rated movie.
I think the reason Hal is so effective is he's not a nice guy. He *thinks* he's a nice guy but he really isn't. He's a creep who I don't think *knows* he's a creep. This guy doesn't need powers, he needs a psychologist. It's like the old saying goes.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”
The funny thing is that all people would fail the test. Jesus is the only person who has ever passed it.
@@williamfinch9858 We don’t have any proof Jesus passed it either, or that he even had that power in the first place. But there are definitely historical examples of people who were given great power and didn’t let it corrupt them. Cincinnatus and George Washington are some of the most famous examples. Though these were sadly very few and far between.
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 No one else besides Jesus could have been given the kind of power He had and not succumbed to corruption.
Hal *is* a nice guy, but he's not a good guy. Anyone can be nice: nice is acting a certain way until you get what you want, but not everyone can be good.
@@williamfinch9858 jesus is Fake your entire religion is a lie
You even spelled it right, what a legend
Agreed
*and there is no queen of england*
4shame: Sorry this video is so late.
Me, watching it for the first time 8 months after it came out: Apology accepted.
8:06. Also note the flashing red lights on the tower when Titan is talking to Roxanne. This is a very subtle clue to his true intentions just before the fight with Megamind. Color theory plays a huge role in this film and can give hints to a character's mindset. Megamind for instance is a blue extraterrestrial, born around the same time as Metro Man. One is blue and black, and the other is white and gold. Titan weilds a more very dangerous color palette, as Mel he's always wearing a black shirt and a brown vest while as Titan, a red and white super suit. Without Metro Man, Megamind becomes the wild card who can potentially destroy Metro City if Titan isn't defeated.
Absolutely, I love how Hal was written in this movie. Cinema Therapy used him as an example of "Nice Guy Syndrome" and talked about that more indepth. :3
Hal is probably one of the scariest villains I've ever seen. Why? Because we already have men like Hal irl and that is a terrifying reality.
Nice guys and incels whose motivation is entirely based on their ideas that women are rewards to be won with shallow acts of kindness are dangerous. When women act like actual people with personal autonomy and reject them because they actually have some form of self worth and don't want to be with a guy that sees her as an object and relationships as transaction, these men begin to fester a hatred and jealousy towards women and the men who are successfully in relationships. Incels are entitled and that leads them to violence. Look at the mass shooting incident where a self-proclaimed incel was responsible for ending and ruining the lives of many people. Look at the countless cases of violence including sexual violence towards women whose only crime was saying no. Hal is probably the most real villain I've ever seen in a movie and that is terrifying.
I get the sentiment but calling him one of the scariest villains makes it seem like you haven't watched anything outside of marvel movies, like he's obviously a good villain but scary isn't a word to describe it, and he isn't the realest villain even by animated movie standard
A person who is only nice to another person because of ulterior motives is called a manipulator and not a "nice person". Nice people are trying to be nice to everyone regardless of getting anything from it.
@@m4tko true. This whole “nice guy” (manipulation) thing isn’t really special to dudes either, and honestly I know that tighten is a super villain, but he isn’t the most scary villain ever. Still a threat tho. Just ain’t the scariest.
@@m4tko You're definitely one of the nice guys.
My thoughts exactly, Hal gaining superpowers is similar to an incel finding a gun; almost everyone in the mainstream just keeps painting them as harmless losers until they enact violent crimes in public, and then paint it as a sudden twist rather than a logical conclusion to such a person gaining the ability to commit mass murder.
5:05 The reference is direct to the game named 'Donkey Kong', where (Jumpman) mario is the hero still.
It's the sequel, 'Donkey Kong Jr.', that is the game where he becomes the antagonist.
It works even better too, the theme of the hero that *later* becomes a villain is more fitting.
Megamind was really way ahead of its time. It did so many subversions of common tropes, and it did them well.
Agreed
Tighten is one of the most effective animated movie villains and has zero redeeming qualities.
He isn't even a super villain according to Megamind himself.
ITS TITAN
@@NK73080 "Titan" is the hero created by Megamind. "Tighten" is Hal's misspelling of his hero name, thus being his self-proclaimed title.
@@droidy365 🤓
Being a Supervillain requires having at least more than 2 brain cells, which was too much to ask of Tighten, who couldn’t even spell his own name right...
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 and showed his cowardly nature when megamind disguised himself as metroman despite Hal already seeing megamind had a watch to make himself look like anyone in action at the start of there very first fight.
Megamind predicted incel culture with Hal. Ahead of its time
Jack Fisher of Jack's World made a video describing Tighten as THE Incel villain. It's great.
More like called it out and brought it to light, ESPECIALLY in criticizing the tropes that tell us to root for characters like him.
@@jewel9117 Absolutely. The culture was there. The language describing the culture was not. I remember watching that movie in the theater and being so completely horrified by Hal because I recognized the character type and I thought they were going to make him a joke… maybe some sort of sidekick for whatever new villain came along. When he ended up with super powers I was both horrified and relived. Horrified because I knew he was going to go very wrong and relieved because they weren’t going to make his behavior “harmless.”
@@katpiercemusic and makes geek girls/women scared of the guys that they are SUPPOSED to like, as in game/fan groups in general. And people wonder why our daughters are afraid and reluctant to date nowadays... it's because of the tropes and stereotypes forced down our throats that punish those that don't want to be conformed to them! Most women are NOT trying to be shallow, we're just tired of being coerced into relationships that we know we can't return in ANY aspect, usually with guys like Hal who expect us to comply because of said double standards and stereotypes enforced by those story tropes!
@@jewel9117 Absolutely 👏👏💜
I remember when this movie came out. I went into it thinking it would be another Bee Movie -- basically hyperaware schlock that had no real themes or plot and just existed to be memed on for future generations. I didn't really expect to like it.
Instead, I LOVED it down to its very core. I'm AFAB and basically every girl has experience with the Nice Guy genre of dude by the time she's in middle school. Megamind was calling that shit out before the term "nice guy" was even coopted to mean egocentric weirdoes for years to come.
And yet, when I went online, I saw mud-for-brains big reviewers on RT saying it was a ripoff of Disney's Incredibles??? Did they even WATCH the same movie as me?!
The movie deserved SO much better. It was genuinely good.
**EDIT**
Jesus Muhammed Christ, wtf is going on down there O.o
The only thing Megamind and The Incredibles have in common is that they’re both animated movies about superheroes. I’m guessing most of those people didn’t actually watch Megamind because there’s almost nothing else in common between these movies. The only remote similarity between the characters is that Syndrome and Tighten / Hal both were geeks with a broken pedestal (Mr. Incredible and Roxanne respectively), but their motivations, goals and personalities were very different.
¿?
I actually wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the negativity Megamind received from reviewers and critics was because Hal hit too close to home for them, because those people were also nice guys. That's actually the tricky part about reviews in general - you don't know how honest the person reviewing is being. On a similar but unrelated note, I'm pretty certain that the reason a lot of sports underdog films are written the way they are (where protagonists exactly like hal are good and jocks are evil) is because the scripts are written and directed by bitter nice guys.
@@Xeronoia What are you talking about?
@@Xeronoia not every socially akward person is evil like Hal.
I think what makes him so scary is that he's literally an incel that got Superman's powers
Notice how in the fight between megamind and titan mega actually cares for the cillvillions and the property and titan dosent care causes a lot of property damage is just amazing how the villan cares more evreyone safety then the hero 😅
Hal’s character is consistent before and after getting powers, his ability to do wrong just increased.
Megamind is underrated because of Despicable Me
76 Likes?! Thank you 😄
You can see the shirt Hal wears at 5:37 says "game over"
This hints that Hal is a gamer
And extremely dangerous
It also foreshadows this exchange, which is when we realize just how evil Hal / Tighten has become:
Megamind: "Woah woah, this isn't how you play the game!"
Tighten: (With evil red eyes) "Game over."
This movie was important for my childhood development. I needed to see (as a woman ) that “nice guys” aren’t actually nice guys
"there is no queen of england" -Tighten
I remember being EXTREMELY put off by Hal the first time I watched Megamind because i unfortunately had experiences with pushy guys who just cant take no for an answer but played it off as being socially awkward and "just nice", even as a teenager. I had a feeling he could be an obstacle especially once Meganmind's and Roxanne's romance became a thing but I thought they would go the "awkward clingly dude wins the girl" cause thats how people tend to write them. I was genuinely and pleasantly suprised that they called out his creepy behaviour and actually made him a villain which just shows how good of a twist villain he is since even people who do realise that somethings wrong probably dont see the twist coming.
Who cares. Thighten is cool
Women need no rights, Tighten was right
Ok
@@Johnnygold332no
Giving a 'nice guy' superpowers is a recipe for disaster...
Oh he's a villain alright, just not a SUPER one.
What? I would definitely call him a suoer villain.
Wait, were you talking about Megamind? Welp he sure isn't a super villain nor a regular villain, he's actually a chill guy
Hal is the definition of a “nice guy.”
The scene where he risks Roxane’s life gave me chills! So scary as he drops and fumbles her, then expects her to swoon.
“There is no Queen of England”
They called him a villain cause he spoke the truth
You are right
Watching over multiple contry makes you an emperor
An interesting little thing I just noticed is that Tighten's regular name is a reference to the two most well known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
John Jordan is an amazing villain
@@anti-usernamesaltaccount3623 Maybe "John Jordan" is his name in the alternate mirror world where he genuinely IS a superhero :P
Interesting
Because the powers Megamind gives to him can be seen as a power ring
The ring makes what you want real, not even Batman wants one since he's afraid of wishing something related to his parents
Si Hal having that power is a great touch
I mean, Jonah Hill did play Green Lantern in The Lego Movie.
3:52, definitely. He says if he were Metroman then he’d keep Megamind from kidnapping Roxanne by “watching you like a dingo watches a human baby”
Because he's predatory and wants to consume her, not love her...excellent observation
Can't believe they actually put a 'dingo ate my baby' joke in the movie
@@JackHallowLantern I wouldn't be surprised if that was literal
I think it’s funny that dreamworks made an incel a supervillain so long ago
I think tighten works because he was always a bad person, but he wasn't evil, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't, he wasn't a threat just because he was your stereotypical Hollywood nerd and when megamind gave him powers it's when everything went downhill
No
These are fantastic. Just watched your Frollo vid and the one with the Atlantis villain. Loving these, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of your vids.
Thanks! I've got another video out tomorrow!
@@4shame Looking forward to it. Something in the same category maybe?
@@casperpedersen223 Well I've got a lot more videos in the animated villain series, but tomorrow's video is about Helluva Boss. The next video after that one will be centered on another carton bad guy though!
@@4shame Haven't seen those series, only heard of 'em so far. Could I request something on Silver from Treasure Planet at some point? I freaking love that movie.
@@casperpedersen223 Funny you should mention that! I've got a video about Treasure Planet planned!