Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell, right) holds reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey, left) captive in a scene from the animated comedy Megamind. (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount Pictures)

In a system as large, complex and prone to glitches as Hollywood’s film industry, there’s bound to be some redundancy. So it shouldn’t be surprising when two remarkably similar movies arrive in the marketplace in quick succession, be they biopics about Truman Capote (Capote and Infamous), costume dramas based on the same 18^th-century French novel (Dangerous Liaisons and Valmont) or movies in which characters outrun rivers of lava (Volcano and Dante’s Peak).

Megamind is a mediocre effort that lacks the charm of Despicable Me and the depth and intelligence of The Incredibles.

And with the current glut of superhero movies, super-villains were bound to get some attention, too. A 3D animated feature by the DreamWorks team, Megamind is the story of a bald, bulbous-headed evildoer with an array of wacky gadgetry and creepy minions who discovers that he’s not as villainous as he once believed. As such, it could be easily mistaken for Despicable Me, another super-villain-themed 3D animated feature that became one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. Confusion may be further heightened by the presence of Tina Fey’s voice in both films.

That makes for a super-battle, albeit one in which Megamind has an automatic disadvantage, due to the fact it has arrived second. But even if it hadn’t, the movie would’ve seemed less than spectacular. Though it has moments of comedic flair and visual invention, Megamind is a mediocre effort that lacks the charm and sweetness of its closest competitor, as well as the depth and intelligence of The Incredibles.

That hero-spoofing 2004 Pixar hit provides the real template for Megamind. In place of Mr. Incredible we get Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt), a Superman facsimile with big muscles, chiselled features and a well established record of wins over Megamind (Will Ferrell), the blue-skinned meanie who has been his rival ever since they both arrived on Earth as babies. Oft-kidnapped TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Fey) isn’t the only one who thinks their good-versus-evil routine has been getting stale. Megamind is also wondering what it’s all for. His existential crisis deepens when – much to the surprise of everyone in Metro City – he emerges victorious from his latest battle with Metro Man.

He’s initially thrilled to have Metro City under his control – in one of the film’s cleverest visual gags, buildings now feature a parody of Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama poster, which combines the face of Megamind and the revised slogan “No You Can’t.” But it just isn’t the same without Metro Man around. As Megamind laments to his faithful minion, Minion (David Cross), “I’m a villain without a hero, a yin without a yang.” Setting out to create a new adversary, he makes the poor decision to give superpowers to Hal (Jonah Hill), Roxanne’s dorky cameraman.

Much mayhem ensues, though not a very exciting kind of mayhem. The narrative stalls early on and the rest of the movie fails to build much momentum. For all its skills, the DreamWorks team routinely neglects to prioritize the creation of a coherent, well-paced plot as carefully as its counterparts at Pixar. As a result, many of its movies collapse into bits, gags, chases and cheeky pop-culture references – and Megamind is no different in that respect.

That’s not to suggest there’s no funny stuff here – actually, there’s plenty. The jokes about Megamind’s mispronunciations – he pronounces Metro City like “atrocity” – may grow tired fast, but Ferrell works wonders with other material, much of it seemingly ad-libbed. Having given the newly transformed cameraman the sufficiently heroic but so-so moniker of Titan, Megamind explains, “It’s the only name I could trademark.” That the villain’s tutelage of Titan involves an extended impression of Marlon Brando as Jor-El in Superman is another nice touch.

The 3D-enhanced cityscapes of Metro City provide visual appeal. But it takes more than Ferrell’s occasionally inspired riffs and some strong design work for Megamind to belong in the same class as its rivals. This fight just doesn’t seem fair.

Megamind opens Nov. 5.

Jason Anderson is a writer based in Toronto.