![]() ![]() In doing so, the movie – which sees Gru try to prove his worth as a budding supervillain – feels more like a Despicable Me film than Minions. ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ (2022) ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ | Universal StudiosĬoming seven years after its predecessor, this sequel to Minions splits its focus between young Gru and the Minions themselves. But for those willing to engage in the silliness, Minions is a decent franchise refresh. Of course, it often sidesteps into over-the-top gags and impromptu musical numbers. Given how the Minions speak mostly in unintelligible gibberish, the movie does a solid job of making them sympathetic leads who push their story forward. Minions gets a lot of juice out of its period setting. Set in the late 1960s, the Minions embark on a quest to find a villain they can serve and think they’ve found one in Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock). Naturally, Hollywood gave the childish critters their own movie in which to run amuck. The vehicles Belle Bottom and her buddies zoom around in are pretty cool.After the first Despicable Me, it became clear the Minions – and not Gru – were the breakout stars. The scenes set in Chinatown are colorful, a nice contrast to the bland visual palette of the rest of the movie. The kung fu training subplot that features Yeoh is the most consistently fun part of the movie. Some of the voice acting is pretty good, especially Henson, Yeoh and RZA, who plays a friend’s biker. There are a few other things that really help keep “Rise of Gru” from being a complete disaster. It helps buffer you from having to sit through too much Minion zaniness or their inane baby talk. It’s a bit of a blessing that “Rise of Gru” splits its screen time between the Minions’ search for Gru and Gru’s plot with Wild Knuckles. Even in the first Minion-centric film that told their origin story, it worked, although by the end of that film, the welcome was worn out. Minions can work, and pretty well when they’re kept in the role of side characters. More than 20 years and countless “Bullet Time” rip-offs later and this trick feels unnecessary and just plain tired.īut the worst part of “Rise of Gru” is the fact that you’re essentially watching a pretty decent idea die a long-overdue death. When it’s not doing that, “Rise of Gru” is ripping off ideas from other intellectual properties, from the opening credits that crib from “James Bond” to the supervillain team-up that’s an obvious riff on Marvel’s Sinister Six team from “Spider-Man” comics.Īnother annoyance “Rise of Gru” can’t seem to get enough of is the whole slow-motion “Bullet Time” trick that blew minds in “The Matrix” in 1999. Instead, this flick just plays the hits, repeating gags and jokes from the previous films while any new jokes are only mildly amusing. “Rise of Gru” wants nothing to do with that noise. It’s just that, thanks to “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Kubo and the Two Strings” and a whole bunch of Pixar movies, we know that it’s possible for family films to express important themes, stir complex emotions, and pose thoughtful questions. ![]() There’s plenty of space for that kind of family film. I get that this is a kid’s movie and its entire purpose is to keep children engaged while separating their parents from their money. Henson) and Gru learns essential lessons in villainy. Along the way, the Minions cross paths with Kung Fu Master Chou ( Michelle Yeoh) and acquire the skills they’ll need to combat a supervillain team led by the evil Belle Bottom ( Taraji P. “Rise of Gru” is the fifth helping of the “Despicable Me/Minions” franchise and follows a quartet of Minions (all voiced by Pierre Coffin) as they try to rescue Gru ( Steve Carrell) from the clutches of disgraced supervillain Wild Knuckles ( Alan Arkin). That’s how I feel watching this movie, too.” As this was going on, I thought “You said it, kid. There’s a scene in “Minions: The Rise of Gru” where Bob the Minion is trying to soothe a crying baby on an airplane. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |