Despicable Me 2 (English)

If you are looking for a fun outing with the kids, and don’t expect miracles from the story, this is a good way to get your laughs.
Despicable Me 2 (English)

Film: Despicable Me 2: Rise of the Minions

Voice Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand

Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

I would have never thought Despicable Me could survive a sequel, but this is one follow-up that does justice to itself. A complete laugh riot right through, the antics of the minions have us waiting with bated breath for what comes next. And even though the story is not quite as rich as it is in the first film, it is a perfect continuation from the prequel.

The sequel begins in typical Despicable Me style. After the ‘introduction of the villain’ opening, it shifts to Mr Gru (Steve Carell) and his family at Agnes’ birthday party. The minions help organise the entertainment, and so we all know the laughs are on their way. Dr Nefario (Russell Brand) seems to have moved away from Gru in search of a more evil boss – one who will be indulgent of a brain jam-packed with nasty plots.

The music spoofs involving minions are hilarious, especially if you’ve been assaulted by the original music videos. The parody of the Westlife song in particular made me laugh my head off.

Naturally, Mr Gru has decided to pull a MegaMind and become a full-on super hero all set to save the world from the clutches of a super villain. The storyline doesn’t offer much scope for twists to this thread, or anything else.

And this brings me to the flaws in the film. Though it takes up nicely from where the last one left off, the story is almost non-existent. And while I liked that the filmmakers dealt with a growing audience by bringing in a touch of love-and-heartbreak, this movie is clearly targeted more at children than adults. With the voice cast it has, the film had the potential to become a decent animation-for-adults flick, but it doesn’t quite get there. The minions dominate my review simply because they dominate the film – they take up more than 50 minutes of the 98-minute movie. The movie should just have been titled Despicable Me 2: Rise of the Minions.

Sequels are always tricky, both for animation and motion pictures. With the exceptions of the Godfather trilogy, Lord of the Rings and Toy Story, I can’t claim to have been a fan of sequels for any film. This effort by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud doesn’t change my opinion.

However, it did make me start liking 3D again. I usually hate having to wear those annoying glasses through the entire duration of a film, simply to watch converted imagery that could have been enjoyed just as much in 2D.

But this film truly uses the third dimension, and the sequences were better off for it.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com