Minions: The Rise of Gru review

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU: 

SEQUEL TO DESPICABLE ME SPIN-OFF EMBRACES THE SILLINESS OF ITS TITULAR CHARACTERS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Gru and his Minions are back in Minions: The Rise of Gru

 

            The Minions have returned for another animated adventure in Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth installment of Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise and follow-up to the 2015 spin-off prequel, Minions. I thought the Minions’ first solo feature film was fine though definitely inferior to the first two Despicable Me movies, but it had a handful of laughs, enjoyable voice acting, and amusing characters with equally amusing designs, it’s a passable kids’ movie. 

            Did it need to have a sequel? I didn’t think so when it was first announced because the first film ended with the Minions leaving with young Gru and setting up the events of the first Despicable Me movie. Even the main Despicable Me films were starting to decline in quality with 2017’s Despicable Me 3 being a very by the numbers third installment aside from an amazing vocal performance by South Park’s Trey Parker as the film’s villain. 

            Then the trailers started to come out and it looked…fine, but I was still questioning why a Minions sequel needed to exist. It was also a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic as it was originally scheduled to be released in summer 2020 but was pushed back until 2022.

            Now that the film is finally out, I can say that Minions: The Rise of Gru is…surprisingly a very entertaining follow-up and a lot more fun to watch than the first film (The first Minions movie, that is). It isn’t a great movie, nor does it try to be anything deep or meaningful, it’s just a fun, goofy, and completely chaotic animated film that kids will adore, and parents will get some good laughs out of. 

            Set in the 1970s, the film follows young Gru (voiced by Steve Carell-The Office, Anchorman 1 and 2, Foxcatcher) who aspires to be the greatest supervillain on Earth and a member of a villain group known as the Vicious 6. However, after being turned down by the group for not being evil enough, he hatches a plan that’ll make them think otherwise…by stealing an ancient and powerful stone from their lair with help from his loyal and mischievous Minions (all voiced by Despicable Me 1-3 and Minions 1 director, Pierre Coffin). 

            But when Gru is suddenly captured by his favorite supervillain, Wild Knuckles (voiced by Alan Arkin-Gattaca, Little Miss Sunshine, Argo), three of his Minions, Kevin, Stuart, and Bob embark on an adventure to rescue their master or “Mini-Boss” as the Minions call him while Gru himself learns that even bad guys need help from their friends. 

            The film also features the voices of Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ralph Breaks the Internet) as Belle Bottom, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank) as Master Chow, Jean-Claude Van Damme (Universal Soldier, Street Fighter, Timecop) as Jean-Clawed, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus: Blood and Sand) as Nun-Chuck, Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV, Universal Soldier franchise, Creed II) as Svengeance, Danny Trejo (Desperado, Spy Kids franchise, Machete) as Stronghold, Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Death on the Nile) reprising his role as Dr. Nefario, and Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Shrek franchise) reprising her role as Gru’s mother Marlena. 

            Overall, Minions: The Rise of Gru may not be among some of Gru and the Minions’ finest adventures, but it’ll give fans of the Despicable Me/Minions franchise what they’re looking for...while somehow finding new ways to be even more insane than expected. The first Minions movie did a decent job with the 1960s setting and it had glimmers of Despicable Me craziness with characters like Scarlet Overkill and some of the villains at the Villain-Con, this one on the other hand embraces the 70s and involves stones that turn people into monsters or animals, several villains each with their own distinct designs and vehicles that reflect their personalities, kung fu, and a climax that’s the very definition of chaos. 

            The plot isn’t the best and in terms of meshing the Despicable Me and Minions elements together, it’s a mess. One plot-point involves Gru bonding with Wild Knuckles and learning how to be a great villain only to be interrupted by Minions learning kung fu or causing trouble, none of them really correlate but I feel like for a movie like this, that was intentional for more focus on the comedy. 

            The comedy is hit-or-miss and will depend on your tolerance of the Minions, if you find them funny, you’ll probably laugh at most of these jokes, but if you find them annoying, this won’t change your mind. For me, I think they’re funny enough and for every joke that doesn’t work, it’s usually followed by ones that do. 

            Yeah, they do a lot of butt and fart jokes, but other times they’ll be doing more fast-paced and physical gags reminiscent to like a CGI Looney Tunes cartoon. Those moments are when the Minions’ style of humor work best with one of my favorites being a chase between a guy on a motorcycle and a Minion on a tricycle, it’s surprisingly a perfect mix of action and slapstick comedy. 

            Some other highlights of mine were the Minions’ kung fu training montage that pays homage to films like Enter the Dragon, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the climax where the Minions battle the Vicious 6 which is one of the most bonkers action sequences I’ve ever seen in an animated film. From the zany and fast-paced animation to its ridiculous villains and blend of high-octane action and Minion-style physical humor, it makes for a truly entertaining final act. 

            Even with all the insanity going on, I’m grateful that there is still some of that Despicable Me heart in this movie, mostly regarding the relationship between Gru and Wild Knuckles. It’s sort of like this villain father-son relationship where the mentor becomes a parental figure to young Gru and it’s a genuinely sweet friendship that kind of mirrors what Gru is eventually going to do when Margo, Edith, and Agnes come into the picture. 

            The film also does an excellent job with fan-service and easter eggs from the earlier films such as Gru meeting Dr. Nefario for the first time, a scene eerily similar to the coffee shop Freeze-Ray scene from the first movie, and appearances from supporting characters who would eventually be involved with Gru’s actions in the future. They don’t linger on these callbacks, nor do they go up to the camera and say “Hey, you see what we did here?”, I thought it was a neat way to tie it in with the first movie. 

            Minions: The Rise of Gru gives exactly what it advertises, a fun, colorful, and delightfully wacky animated adventure with the Minions. Kids will love it and parents will get some laughs out of it…Banana!