Minions (2015) (English Language)

Review

91min

Genre:       Family, Animation, Comedy

Directors:   Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin

Cast:         Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm…and more

Writer :     Brian Lynch

In a spin-off prequel to the hugely successful ‘Despicable Me’ films, the Minions seek a new evil master to follow after accidentally destroying their overlords throughout history, a quest which takes them to the side of “Scarlet Overkill”, the self-professed first female super villain who seeks to conquer England and become the new Queen.

Director and voice of the “Minions” Pierre Coffin expands on what he built in ‘Despicable Me’ and gives the loveable little yellow pill-shaped creatures an epic, action-packed and extremely silly origin story that goes from the dawn of life on Earth to the swinging sixties.

 No doubt ‘Minions’ is as visually stunning as you would expect a modern animation to be, with the sights of London in the 60’s a particular highlight… and sure the Minions are super cute, but cute just ain’t gonna cut it for an hour and a half and gets dangerously close to being annoying after a while.

 Gone are the compelling narrative, memorable characters and emotional heart that made ‘Despicable Me’ so engaging and what’s left is what you’d expect from a spin-off, a safe and silly mix of repetitive jokes and interchangeable characters within an inconsequential storyline in which the “Minions” are the only stars, everything you’re going to get from this film can be summed up in the first 20 minutes and there’s a limit to how much “cuteness” and high-pitched “Miniony” French/Spanish/Gibberish you can enjoy.

 It would be easy to say that ‘Minions’ is just a silly fun family film, but given the high standards set by animations like ‘Big Hero 6’ and ‘The Lego Movie’, not to mention classics like ‘Shrek’ and ‘Toy Story’, all of which deliver a mix of ingredients that keep the entire family enthralled, the truth is that apart from a few clever topical references, ‘Minions’ is a cute and moderately entertaining kid’s film which parents can sit through without getting much from.

 The Bottom Line…

Cute and silly… and that’s about it, ‘Minions’ fails to live up to its origins and the high level set by recent family animations, maybe they didn’t merit a spin-off in the first place, oh well the inevitable box-office killing will be plenty of consolation.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Despicable Me (2010)

An evil genius obsessed with being the world’s greatest criminal has his life turned upside down when a group of orphan girls switch from pawns in one of his plans into the love of his lonely life, he’ll need help from his adorable and faithful “Minions” to save the girls from his most fearsome rival.

Directed by Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud and starring Steve Carell, Jason Segel and Pierre Coffin among others.

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