Minions: The Rise of Gru

★★★

Picking up where we left off with the Minions and their newfound master Gru at the end of the last movie, The Rise of Gru shifts the focus back on the protagonist of the Despicable Me movies. Set in 1970s San Francisco, an 11-year-old Gru aspires to join the villainous Vicious 6 gang, but will his disaster-prone Minions help or hinder his goal?

I never thought that I would have anything interesting to say about this one, but this latest installment of the Despicable Me/ Minions films managed to surprise me on a couple of things. There are the many Chinese references, for example the Chinese zodiac, San Francisco Chinatown and the Chinese New Year parade held there, Michelle Yeoh’s brief appearance, and the iconic Bruce Lee yellow jumpsuit. There was also a joke on Kungfu Panda’s “inner peace”, and another one stolen from Shrek 2. Even a googly eyed rock made an appearance, very likely a nod to Yeoh’s most recent film. They should have opened this during the Chinese New Year celebration. It would have been on-theme and could have done particularly well in the Southeast Asian region.

The problem I have with this movie and its predecessor is that they both have this constant barrage of slapstick gags that became really tiresome to watch. There are no build-ups and pay-offs, just Minions punching each other, and yelling and shrieking throughout the entire runtime. The Rise of Gru is slightly better than its predecessor because at least the A-story is about him. The Minions have always worked better as comic reliefs in the Despicable Me movies, but what do I know? The first Minions movie made a billion freakin’ dollars in 2015!

Originally published on my Facebook page, here.