MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (7/10/15): MINIONS
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| "Hey, we still like that Pharrell song from our last movie ... It makes us – of you know!" Kevin, Stuart and Bob enjoy a moment together in a scene from MINIONS. Credit: © 2015 Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: The voices of Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Steve Coogan, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Geoffrey Rush and Pierre Coffin
WRITER(S): Brian Lynch
DIRECTOR(S): Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): A prequel (if you will) to the Despicable Me movies that made them famous, Minions tells the story of the little yellow one and two-eyed henchmen who, throughout history, have lived with one sole purpose in mind: Serving the most evil of supervillains possible dating back to the days of the Tyrannosaurus Rex to Napoleon Bonaparte.
Fast-forward to 1968 and the minions have found themselves living in an icy cave in Antartica with no master to serve ... And the boredom is threatening their very existence. Determined to save his species, one minion – a two-eyed hero named Kevin (voiced by Pierre Coffin) – comes up with a plan to venture into the outside world and find a new master to serve. Joining him on the journey are the one-eyed Stuart (Coffin) and spunky, little Bob (Coffin again). Where do they end up? Why, smack dab in New York City ... Which is where they learn about the perfect event to find a new master: Villain Con in Orlando where the top villain in the entire world – Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock) will be speaking.
So, what happens when three little ambitious do-gooders (er, make that do-evil-ers) hit the road? A quest that may serve to change the lives of minions everywhere forever.
Fast-forward to 1968 and the minions have found themselves living in an icy cave in Antartica with no master to serve ... And the boredom is threatening their very existence. Determined to save his species, one minion – a two-eyed hero named Kevin (voiced by Pierre Coffin) – comes up with a plan to venture into the outside world and find a new master to serve. Joining him on the journey are the one-eyed Stuart (Coffin) and spunky, little Bob (Coffin again). Where do they end up? Why, smack dab in New York City ... Which is where they learn about the perfect event to find a new master: Villain Con in Orlando where the top villain in the entire world – Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock) will be speaking.
So, what happens when three little ambitious do-gooders (er, make that do-evil-ers) hit the road? A quest that may serve to change the lives of minions everywhere forever.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People who loved the Minion characters from the first two Despicable Me films; adults who like clever/subtle pop culture references mixed in with their family friendly comedy; Sandra Bullock fans
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who find the minions and their English/Spanish/Whatever-"Bee-do" means language annoying; People who will end missing Margo, Agnes and Edith from the Despicable Me films; anyone who didn't enjoy the first two Despicable Me movies
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? While it's not the classic one might hope for, Minions is a welcome family-friendly addition to the Despicable Me franchise fans young and old will enjoy.
Minions features everything fans have come to expect from the Despicable Me franchise: Irreverent pop culture references, plenty of slapstick humor/well-timed jokes and camaraderie among the characters. Each of our three lead minions has their own personality that plays well off of each other, be it Bob's young, overmatched-in-many-aspects nature, Stuart's desire to be bold or Kevin's level-headedness, which in turn makes them endearing to the humans they encounter. Of course, this is all done without losing their sense of irrefutable cuteness, which plays well into every fall, crash, scream and slap the minions take or dish out.
Bullock – like Jon Hamm in a limited role as her character's husband Herb – does a solid job to make Overkill an interesting character who is not just a female imitation of Steve Carell's established Gru. The human character that stands out the most, however, might be the Birdman himself Michael Keaton as Walter Nelson, the leader of a rather unique family that the minions first encounter in New York.
Other than that, Minions pretty much delivers everything you'd hope in terms of looking beautiful visually with dynamic 3D effects, great musical selections that fit the era and tone of the movie and jokes that will be appreciated by fans old and new/young and old alike. It's not perfect – the movie doesn't have that key, heartfelt moment you'll always remember and some of the jokes feel a little light even for an animated kids movie – but it's a solid piece of work you'll be pleased with in the long run.
And that's all a minion would want.
Minions features everything fans have come to expect from the Despicable Me franchise: Irreverent pop culture references, plenty of slapstick humor/well-timed jokes and camaraderie among the characters. Each of our three lead minions has their own personality that plays well off of each other, be it Bob's young, overmatched-in-many-aspects nature, Stuart's desire to be bold or Kevin's level-headedness, which in turn makes them endearing to the humans they encounter. Of course, this is all done without losing their sense of irrefutable cuteness, which plays well into every fall, crash, scream and slap the minions take or dish out.
Bullock – like Jon Hamm in a limited role as her character's husband Herb – does a solid job to make Overkill an interesting character who is not just a female imitation of Steve Carell's established Gru. The human character that stands out the most, however, might be the Birdman himself Michael Keaton as Walter Nelson, the leader of a rather unique family that the minions first encounter in New York.
Other than that, Minions pretty much delivers everything you'd hope in terms of looking beautiful visually with dynamic 3D effects, great musical selections that fit the era and tone of the movie and jokes that will be appreciated by fans old and new/young and old alike. It's not perfect – the movie doesn't have that key, heartfelt moment you'll always remember and some of the jokes feel a little light even for an animated kids movie – but it's a solid piece of work you'll be pleased with in the long run.
And that's all a minion would want.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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