Minions: The Rise of Gru Review

Great, philosophical blood will be spilt and spilt again in referencing great art. Not a drop will be spared for Minions: The Rise of Gru. A travesty. Catering to a larger, younger market should not prevent the rise of Steve Carell’s moneybox from being a touching, enthralling piece of entertainment with deeper value. It does not stop it. Quality does not matter for where an individual finds wisdom or meaning. What does stop it, however, is the animation studio behind it and their constant filtering of cheap pop merchandise in the face of once-inspired creativity. Illumination Studios, finally, after five minion-clad feature films and a slate of pointless shorts, have realised you can pull the word “minion” out of their branding. It’s all downhill from there.

That vacuous, empty art style plays ball once again and for good or ill works to some degree. Minions: The Rise of Gru has an insurmountable charm to it that replicates what came before it with consistency and a sickening tone that’ll work for the braindead. As one of those braindead, it can be confirmed that Minions: The Rise of Gru is a completely forgettable, nice piece. It is fine enough for what it is, the riffs it hopes to take and the shots it wishes to deploy. At points, it feels more videogame than anything, with enemies shuffling out of the walls and laying waste to new characters. These moments are solely to show off the art style, they’re over too quick to have much impact. At least they’re enjoyable.

Some good bits of slapstick, but not quite the great, heavy-hitting stuff that makes the physical humour work. Minions: The Rise of Gru has the benefit of doing no real damage to its characters but the detractor is the damage done isn’t real. Guest House Paradiso was made by the believability, Minions: The Rise of Gru fails to present effects or emotion in its comedic portions. Animation provides a wider scope for the pratfalls and presentation of physical humour, which is why it is strange to see restraint levelled rather frequently. Alan Arkin’s character takes a dive from a ship, and Steve Carell’s work as Gru marks another comfortable role for the funny man but does little to add much more to the world that has housed these characters for nigh on a decade.

Not quite the filet Minion audiences would’ve hoped for. A little overcooked in what it hopes to achieve in referencing 90s action stars, and a tad underdeveloped in its story. It’s no Better Call Saul. There is the setup, the characters and interactions that proved successful in Despicable Me, but with that tinge of lifelessness scattered within. Predictable at times, fun at others. A perfectly mixed bag that again proves Illumination Studios have no drive to create something new. A throwback to the freeze ray with a cheese ray gag in the past isn’t smart writing, it is lazy and reeks of lacking abilities. Still, it is a throwback to simpler times. Ten years ago was a while back. Minions: The Rise of Gru shows just how little some things can change.