Minions (2015)

 

Chrissy's Review:

By far not my favorite animated film this year. I think that they took on a difficult task with the main characters not having a real voice or language to connect with the movie viewers. The problem may have been that I came into this movie with high hopes from the Dispicible Me movies, but really I think the makers of this movie used adorable characters from a beloved movie as a crutch to try and bring in large amounts of cash. 

I never found myself laughing out loud at the movie, I did have a few hardy chuckles (but if I remember correctly I was chuckling at the kids being amused with the movie). Not a bad watch. I suggest you bring kids with you, but you could totally wait for it to come to your local handy dandy Red Box.

Favorite part: Bob 

Least Favorite Part: Scarlet getting her coronation dress. 

Matt's Review

I would like to start by making it known that I love the minions as characters. They are hilarious and endearing and easily relatable, ampersand adjective etc. In addition, Pierre Coffin's masterful voice work infuses each and every one of them with its own infectious personality. However, the adventure in which we now find the little guys is lacking. 

More specifically, the film suffers from lackluster writing and characterization. When we are watching the Minions in their element, left to their own devices, what is on-screen is utterly delightful. In fact, the first act of the film - which details the evolution of the minions from prehistoric times to 1960s New York and then Orlando - hits all the right notes, and gives us the promise of a fantastic movie. However, once we are introduced to the human characters of the story things begin to feel, well, pretty damn bland. The main villains in the story: Scarlet and Herb Overkill, are sadly mere one-dimensional cookie-cutter baddies, their only motivation being "Because EVIL!" Moreover, due to the apparent laziness of the screenwriters, just about all of their scripted jokes simply fall flat.

This laziness can unfortunately be seen throughout the entire human cast, with the one exception being a villainous family the Minions meet early in the plot. Broadly speaking, in lieu of thoughtful characterization or creativity in scripting, the human characters are reduced to mere stereotypes - the obviously fabulously gay tailor, the entirety of England portrayed as stuffy tea-sucking crumpet-munchers - for cheap yuks, which I found even more jarring considering how inappropriate and out-of-place this manner of portrayal feels in 2015.

Sadly, the plot suffers from similar symptoms. The story in this film is at best mediocre, brain-meltingly formulaic and ultimately predictable and unsatisfying. Due to this, the movie lacks the fine balance between humor and emotional heft that was one of the best aspects of Despicable Me. Here, we are left with a glaring imbalance between humor and inane filler.

Fortunately for the production however, Kevin, Stewart, Bob, and their minion brethren are present to break up the monotony with some absolutely delightful antics. I can not stress enough that, while there are some glaring issues here, the sequences which feature the minions on their own, being themselves and attempting to navigate a strange new world, are wonderful. Pierre Coffin delivers once again with his delectable ad libbed nonsense dialogue, and the care that was put into plotting, scripting, and animating these particular scenarios is readily apparent.

It is not enough to save the production as a whole, though, which feels fractured and incomplete. It is almost as though the Minions movie we deserve was written, put into production, and halted about halfway through by some exec saying, "Ok guys, change of plans. We at the top now believe that a movie featuring non-human characters and no intelligible dialogue will likely not work with audiences. We're going to need to to add these elements to the script in order for us to feel comfortable with continuing to finance this." He then proceeds to turn around, bend over, his pants falling to the floor, and drop a massive corn-flecked turd on the floor in front of the crew. Before hopping into his Bugatti to speed off toward the night's houseboat coke party, turns back toward the assembled horrified crowd with an afterthought: "Oh, completely unrelated note. Have any of you guys seen Wall-E? I've heard pretty good things but haven't gotten around to it. Think it's worth a RedBox?"

If you are a die hard fan, you may want to give this a watch when it hits Netflix or RedBox, but don't shell out $10 for it. However, I would suggest holding out for Dreamworks to give it another shot in a few years, without the timidity of an uncertain production. In the meantime, grab some bananas and give Despicable Me another watch. It deserves it.

Favorite part: The minions, obviously. And the preceding trailer for The Secret Lives of Pets (which provided me with the hardiest laugh of the night).

Least favorite part: Nearly. Every. Single. Human. (And there are quite a few of these buggers.)