CERT: U / PLATFORMS: CINEMA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
We’ve waited a long time for Gru to rise, after appearing in the closing moments of 2015’s Despicable Me prequel Minions, this second Minions-centric film was met with many COVID setbacks, with only Top Gun Maverick being comparable for just how long it has taken to get set for cinema release. And while we wouldn’t say Illumination’s film will floor you quite like Maverick, it has also been worth the wait. Just ask the box office and the, erm, Tik Tokers…yeah, bit weird all that, anyways….
Minions: The Rise of Gru picks up with young aspiring villain Gru (Steve Carell), as he and his new loyal Minions constantly create mischief and even have an evil lair up and coming. But when Gru’s villainous idols The Vicious 6 have a new vacancy after they turned on their veteran leader Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), Gru sees his chance to enter the world of villainy properly, naturally all does not quite go to plan, and his minions – particularly Kevin, Bob, Stuart and Otto (Pierre Coffin) – may be his only chance of getting out of this pickle.
Even by the previous standards set by this franchise, Minions: The rise of Gru is barmy. Starting with a James Bond-styled opening (accompanied by Caroline Polachek’s cover of “Bang. Bang”), the film constantly groups in a number of genres from Indiana Jones style artefact adventure, to martial arts action mayhem, to monster movie chaos. And that’s just the start of it. Indeed some things work better than others, when it comes to the giddy energy it all offers, but its a loving burst of family fun, which really cares about its characters old and new, and that’s really quite nice to see.
There are lots of links to Despicable Me, while also allowing for a frantic story of its own, with a roster of baddies, that boast a joyously retro villain of the week ’60s Batman-esque vibe. The Vicious 6 themselves being gloriously silly, see Jean-Claude Van Damme’s lobster handed Jean-Clawed (we laughed way more than we should have done), Taraji P. Henson’s funky new leader Belle Bottom, and Lucy Lawless’ Nun-Chuck who gets some incredible visual gags as the film’s sinister sister. Who’d have thought Illumination would surpass Pixar in the villain stakes this year?!
There are lots of new characters to enjoy, as well as familiar faces, all given real memorable impact by a voice cast roster that is incredibly stacked! In fact there are some very warm moments within this story, thanks to these characters. That said, the film is by far at its best, in those moments where the Minions themselves are allowed to unleash their slapstick antics (an aeroplane sequence is one of the franchise’s best), and once again Bob is the adorable standout, though new Minion Otto is great, and we are constantly in awe of the vocal performance of Coffin as all the many Minions.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is simply great fun, and that’s all it needs to be. The wheel is not re-invented. It all rollicks along at such a rate that any missteps are immediately forgotten and it is genuinely a super feeling seeing these characters back on the screen. Kids will love it, adults will have great fun with a number of gags, references and song choices (in another retro soundtrack), and the film accomplishes its mission of showing how Gru started his ascension to becoming our favourite Scarf wearing baddie, while also leaving some room for expansion of course.
At this rate, The Minions are not going anywhere and that’s fine by us, because Rise of Gru is one of the series’ best and indeed maddest efforts yet. So we look forward to joining the Minions in another chorus of “Illumination” again, not sure we’ll suit up and smuggle bananas in the screen though…
