Les Minions 2: Il était une fois Gru

It may feel in total like this franchise is running out of steam, or at least fresh and creative ideas- but Minions The Rise of Gru does manage to be decently entertaining and charming enough to be worth at least a one time watch. A lot of people, critics included, bash the 2015 film Minions for a lack of a true plot among many other things- but in my personal opinion I actually enjoyed the first minions movie and may even find it better than this one. Although both films are flawed, Minions had a very clear although frantic vision set in mind for ts characters- and never felt like a combination of two completely different films like this one did. So what is it about this film that makes it worth watching? Well the animation for one is absolutely fantastic, gorgeous visuals that are easily the best to ever come out of Illumination in their company's entire run. Kid Gru is also a fun and charming lead, and i'll be darned if the minions silly gags didn't charm me from time to time and even earn a chuckle or two (the airplane scene most of all). Its plot is truly all over the place, much like the first film, and its focus on characters feels very divided- as well as its focus on future characters come to be in the franchise considering and reminding the audience how this is a prequel- in case the 70's vibes wouldn't tell you otherwise. I don't know, its entertaining it has its moments and I found some fun in it. Its an uneven little flick but its use of colorful visuals and fun characters make it decent enough for a pleasant experience- and certainly trumps the third Despicable Me film and latest franchise release before this one almost 5 years ago. It's hard to believe this franchise is still going, and how it still manages to propel itself forward, but in this age of commercialization and franchises- Minions the Rise of Gru can be more tolerable than most.

My Rating: 6.2/10.

Its a fun movie. Minion scenes are more than Gru and thankfully so. The chemistry between minions characters is epic. Love Kevin, Bob and Stuart.

There is no deep meaning or higher message, a simple carefree movie which is supposed to be seen that way.

I'm not sure why this movie doesn't have a higher rating, because i found it really enjoyable and much better than the first outing.

Lets start with the few negatives i have to say, because there aren't many. First the head female villain is a little annoying. Also there could do with a little bit more emotion so we appreciate the humour even more. These things are nitpicky though, as for the most part this is great fun.

Lets now take it for what it is; a comedy animation aimed mostly at kids. So, is it animated well? Yes, it's one of the clearest most colourful animations i think i have ever seen. Is it funny? Yes, in fact it's very funny. I laughed many times throughout, proving you don't have to eve use proper words to be funny. Mr Bean is a prime example of that, and so here are the minions. Lastly will kids get bored? Absolutely not. The story, (although with limited payout) moves along at such a great pace, the movie felt really short and the minions are so consistently funny, kids will never get tired of it and actually neither will the big kids (adults).

Finally i still maintain, there is nothing cuter in this world than Bob and when he does his pleading face, is like a puppy X100.

A last though is that if they want to keep this franchise alive though, i think they need to move onto shorts, because that will it will stop it becoming too repetitive and boring.

Nothing too impressive or new.. Te scenes look contrived. Learning kung-fu scenes were an utter waste of time. Too slapstick even for kids. Hope there will be a better storyline next time.

'Minions: The Rise of Gru' follows 11 3/4 year old Gru (voiced by Steve Carrell) trying to make a name for himself and join the ranks of an elite villians group, the Vicious 6. With humble beginnings as a troublemaker in his mother's basement, the minions (voiced by Pierre Coffin) are determined to help him succeed in his mission.

The film is a sort of origin story for Gru, despite having elusions to his childhood in the 1st and 3rd movies. The wacky and wonderful minions carry the film, but sadly, the plot seems haphazard. The henchmen, Jean-Clawed (voice by Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (voiced by Dolph Lundgren), and Stronghold (voiced by Danny Trejo) all seem to be second-string compared to Belle Bottom (voiced by Taraji P. Henson) and Wild Knuckles (voiced by Alan Arkin). The animation is fairly standard of the earlier movies, the flow is solid, and the film's ending kind of makes sense, but the plot in general is a bit of a hodgepodge.

Worth a watch with the kids.