Minions: The Rise of Gru – Review
87 Minutes, Rated PG
Written by Matthew Fogel and Brian Lynch
Directed by Kyle Balda

**NOTE: this post has been updated now that we actually got the chance to talk about it. You can read Ryan’s review HERE.**

Synopsis:

The untold story of one twelve-year-old’s dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain.

This one’s for the little little kids. I mean, yeah, as an adult you can still appreciate some of the less-juvenile snickers, but this iteration of the Minion-verse is very much geared toward the younger demographic, even younger, I think, than previous films.

That could be because I’m old, mind you.

The many, many young (sub-8) kids in the screening I attended were very much enjoying the film the entire time, which is precisely what you want from a film like this one.

Young Gru desperately wants to be in the Vicious 6, the most fearsome gang of villains in the world, but he’s rejected because he’s a kid. He then decides to take matters into his own hands by stealing something the 6 needs to accomplish their world-conquering plans.

Chaos ensues. Partly through Gru’s own ineptitude, but mostly through the good intentions of his Minions.

My one, single gripe about this movie is that the voice talent for the Vicious 6, aside from Taraji P. Hensen and Alan Arkin, is completely wasted.

How do you waste Danny Trejo, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, and Jean-Claude Van Damme?

HOW!?!

They manage it, as those villains get minimal, and often lost in the background noise, use.

And that’s a crime worth stopping.

But in the end, Minions: The Rise of Gru is a serviceable animated adventure that could only possibly bother you if you stop to realize that Otto the Minion is never seen after this movie.

But it fails to reach the crazy-effective heights of the original Despicable Me.

Minions: The Rise of Gru hits theaters exclusively on July 1 and stars Steve Carell, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, RZA, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Russell Brand, with Julie Andrews and Alan Arkin.

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