Initial Thought: I loved Despicable Me. The second one was a huge let down in my opinion. It felt more like a television episode. I have always adored the Minions though. So when the trailer came out I was a bit excited. So I'm about to be in my late 20s. I will always enjoy cartoons if done with good humor. Let's just hope this is better than Despicable Me 2.
Characters/Acting: We get of course our Minions and the guy who does the voices as well as people who have done voices in the previous films. We also get a few new additions like Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, and Michael Keaton. It's nice to see Michael Keaton making a bit of a comeback lately. One thing that's a bit difficult is making a movie where the main characters barely ever say a word in English. I thought Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm made pretty fun and goofy villains. I was more so surprised with Sandra Bullock as she pulled it off quite well.
Story: Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world. It's a fairly simple plot that seems like it will rely heavily on the humor aspect of the film. The beginning sequence was pretty fun to see all the different bosses they had and watching them become the minions we know. There are some elements of dark humor here that seems likely to be noticed by children. I laughed a couple of times. I always like seeing a film with villains instead of the usual heroes. I liked the pop culture references that were thrown in here and there. There are scenes during and after the credits.
Directing/Writing: So it seems the Pierre Coffin of the first films is returning here along with Kyle Balda for this film. Kyle Balda helmed many of the Minions shorts as well as his Lorax film. Brian Lynch did a decent job writing the spin off Puss in Boots from the Shrek films. Hop however was not so lucky being an original idea. I guess he is only good with preexisting ideas.
Final Thought: This was better than the second for sure. It was funny and actually felt like a movie. It was a nice film that is as much for kids as it is for adults even with some of the dark humor. The only thing is you almost always wonder what it is they actually say. It's worth a watch if you have kids or like a fun cartoon.