THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Illumination’s Despicable Me quickly became Universal’s new animated phenomenon as the franchise was a treat for children and adults alike from 2010 to then on. While Felonious Gru (Steve Carell) became an iconic anti hero in the animated genre, it was hard to deny the adorability of his henchman army, the Minions. As their popularity grew, many wondered how did these creatures meet their boss in the first place. In 2015, we got a spin-off that showed a journey which would answer just that.
PLOT
Narrated by Geoffrey Rush, the film shows the titular creatures have been around since the dawn of time. Their purpose is to serve others, which has been the case from sea to land, from creatures to man. After being unintentionally responsible for the demise of Napoleon, all of them sheltered in a snowy cave. But when years went by, the film’s present that is 1968, they felt bored without a master to serve. This inspires one minion named Kevin to go out into the world and find a new master. He gets accompanied by fellow minions named Bob and Stuart. Their travels reach them to New York City and when they shelter in a mall, they discover a hidden message that invites them to a convention of super villains in Orlando, Florida, known as ‘Villain Con’. This becomes the perfect place for them to find a new master as past villains besides Napoleon have been evil. By the next day, they hitch a ride with a criminal family known, the Nelsons, who were on their way there. Upon arrival, the minions are able to get hired by popular villainess Scarlet Overkill when Bob is able to unexpectedly snatch a ruby from her. Although she welcomes them to her home and introduces them to her husband Herb, she assigns them to steal the Imperial Crown from Queen Elizabeth II. If they succeed, she’ll invite the rest of their kind to live with her but if they fail, she will kill them. Kevin reaches out to his kind of the job, which they all decide to make way to London after also killing a Yeti on accident. With gadgets supplied by Herb, they are able to sneak into the Tower of London, but it gets out of hand as their attempt to steal the crown leads to Bob removing King Arthur’s sword from the stone, which allows the minion to dethrone the queen. Feeling betrayed, Scarlett confronts the minions which results in Bob quickly deciding to abdicate the throne to her. Still upset at them, she traps the three in a dungeon and has Herb torture them. In his attempts however, they appear to be invulnerable to pain and death. Once he leaves, the minions escape in hopes to apologize to her during her coronation. When they arrive Westminster Abbey, they accidentally drop a chandelier on her. She survives, only to demand them to be executed. Bob and Stuart get captured, resulting in Kevin to save them on his own. When he sneaks into Scarlet’s castle to fight back with Herb’s weaponry, he ends up growing gigantically after triggering a machine that causes the transformation. When he fights Scarlet, the rest of the minions arrive in London. The villainess tries to retreat with her rocket dress, but Kevin holds on and is pulled into the sky. Everyone mistakes him to die when he swallows a missile that explodes inside him. But instead, it reverts him back to his normal size. Elizabeth II gets reinstated as queen and rewards the three minions for their heroic efforts against Scarlet. However, the villainess and her husband try to steal the crown again, only for them to be stopped by a young Gru who stops them with a freeze ray. The film ends with all the minions following him, identifying him as their new master.
THOUGHTS
I quickly became a fan of these movies when they first came out, especially the first two, so I was onboard to see how this would turn out. I may have not seen this one in theaters like I had with the entries in between, but it didn’t change the fact that I had a good time with this one as well. This one doesn’t take itself too seriously, which has its faults I’ll address later, it also becomes a benefit because the whole point of these movies is to have fun with a smile. It delivers on that end as the main characters would go through wild shenanigans I didn’t think I’d be laughing at. With scenes like: Killing past masters on accident, watching The Dating Game, and messing around at Buckingham Palace, it’s hard to have a straight face through it all. Aside from that, Directors Kyle Balda & Pierre Coffin, the latter of which who masterfully plays all minions as unique and distinctive as possible, give it its heart through the titular species. Although better written as side characters, they stand out in the lead roles and prove their worth as pop culture icons not just for adorability, but being themselves and enjoying every moment that comes their way. Their purpose may be to serve others, but that shouldn’t mean to not find joy in the positions they put themselves in. I think it’s impressive how we don’t understand their fictional language and still get an idea of what they’re saying through body language. And I think the creativity kicks in big time when we focus on three particular minions that become stars of their own here and in the soft reboot follow up The Rise of Gru. Kevin was a standout due to trying to be the most mature of his kind, wanting to regain his purpose. While the others are easily scared, he improvises whenever he chooses to take a stand. It’s not everyday you see someone turn into a giant to protect your loved ones. He easily convinces the others to pursue Gru at the end because he sees that he will be greatest boss yet for being the most vile with ease at the time. Lucky for us, this would lead to the most fun dynamic Illumination could ever provide. Stuart is easily another favorite to look back on for being the most playful. He didn’t really know what he was walking into unlike Bob, but it didn’t stop him from making the best of it. The guy loves music, which made it neat to see him express it whenever he had a ukulele or guitar. And in all honesty, his Hypno Hat got me the biggest laugh because I didn’t think his use of it would be as wild as it looked. The last minion that gave me big smiles throughout went to Bob as well due to how he’s the child that doesn’t grow up. While that could make him more immature than Stuart, that doesn’t make him any less caring when he chooses to be helpful like Kevin. And when taking note of these three proves there’s nothing wrong being different. While the minions indeed carry this movie, we still had a duo of humans that were interesting enough to push the story forward. It was an interesting perspective to see a vast array of villains before Gru made his presence known, but it was clear that there was one who made bad look good. From the voice alone, Sandra Bullock makes Scarlet Overkill as the most domineering to behold of the series. She only shows elegance to those who choose naturally support her, and there ain't that much people out there aside from her husband. Considering that her upbringing was not satisfying, she strives to ensure to achieve the happiness she fantasized as a child and did not allow anyone to be in her way. Getting the crown was part of that and seeing the minions get it in what almost looked easy made her jealous. On the other hand, you got Jon Hamm who hilariously plays Herb to the most laid back psychopath in the series. He and Scarlett are a perfect match as their chaotic energy are equal. On top of that, he admires her determination to achieve her goals, which is enough for him to capitalize his creativity by equipping her with his advanced gadgets, knowing it would help make her happy. Considering that they both failed with their goals thanks to the minions (and Gru), it is safe to say that AVL partied like no tomorrow when apprehending these baddies. No matter how much fun I had when watching this, it doesn't issues many issues I noticed when re watching. Like I don't want to act like I'm overthinking it, but I am confused on how and when exactly did the minions made the goggles when seeing the T Rex was the first boss they ever served on land, especially when it appeared to be their first time on land. If they floated above when making prototypes, I wish that was clear. I want to feel bad and laugh at the same time when the vampire dies in the opening, but it's on him to not only have a room with a window, but it definitely looked like his fault for not telling the minions his weakness that is the sun. He would've lasted longer had he told him the most important thing that has kept him alive. I then wonder how did the minion trio not encounter a single ship until they reached New York? That's like saying you've avoided traffic lights for days, it's impossible. The mall they they visit looked cool too, but I am distraught that the changing room didn't have a sign. The minions could've walked in on someone changing and they would’ve gotten kicked out. Meaning that the plot likely would've not advanced from there. That's more ridiculous than the fact that the mall had no security to kick them out at night. I did think the whole interaction with the Nelsons was generally funny, but I was kinda thrown off on how Stuart was thrown off with the wife Madge (Allison Jenney) wielding a knife. The minions served Napoleon for crying out loud, so he shouldn’t be scared of a knife. It’s even a cool sequence when both groups make it to Villain Con through the fake bait shop, but am I the only wondering if anyone stumbled there on accident? It looks too easy to notice. I do understand that there has to be tension for the minions to be hired by Scarlet out of luck, but I’m shook that the other villains that are deemed would even dare becoming a henchman to her because they’re basically demoting themselves on the spot, which is exactly what they do when they capture Bob & Stuart. Speaking of which, that scene is fine for what it is because it gets the climax going, but I refuse to believe that the sunset turned to a thunderstorm in three minutes. On top of that, Scarlet demands Kevin’s presence by Dawn and when he leaves the pub after hearing her threat, it is already dawn. It’s not like she controls the weather, so I refuse to accept how it chooses to change when the plot demands it. Herb’s got some cool gadgets, but I don’t like that his lab has doors that automatically open rather than locking them. No matter how rich he and his wife are, they should have been cautious about this stuff. Also, it was a funny sequence when Scarlet pitches her threat as a bedtime story to the minion trio, but I again get confused on how she knew about the others. I feel this way because Kevin doesn’t tell her until the throne is abdicated towards her. If he told her offscreen and she forgot, that should’ve been clear too. It did look cute to see the guards dress like minions to please King Bob, but how long did it take to dress up. That looked like it took hours to prepare and I don’t buy that the crowd waited that long to see the king get out of the car while the guards we’re changing. On a regular, I would laugh seeing someone put on lipstick while driving because it’s like asking for an accident to happen. I ain’t laughing this time because the lipstick lady hits nothing in front of her, yet still overreacts. That was probably the worst continuity error this whole movie, if not the whole franchise, could ever have. And lastly, I want to be happy that Kevin overpowers Scarlet, but like a lot of modern action movies, I’m disturbed how casual it was for her to crash into buildings and we just ignore possible casualties. There’s no confirmation on if those buildings were empty, so you have worried until otherwise. However, I believe that once you’re capable of ignoring every said issue, then you’re still in for a good time. To wrap up, Minions is a positive highlight of 2015 for being a joyride for viewers who couldn’t get enough of these unexpected fictional icons. If you enjoyed the original trilogy to Despicable Me, I’m sure you’ll like this too.
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