Film review: ‘MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
The fun, inventive, hyper-energetic but sometimes (for adults) headache-inducing world of our little animated buddies, the Minions, continues with Minions: The Rise of Gru.
This one takes us back to the mid-70 s and criminal genius Gru’s nascent years as an aspiring super villain. Here, the 11-year-old primary school student Gru (Steve Carrell) dreams of joining his heroes, a super villain gang known as The Vicious 6 in their dastardly pursuit or riches and world domination. When that opportunity arrives, Gru unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of a battle between the gang and discarded member – and Gru’s personal hero – the oddly named senior citizen villain, Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin) who looks a bit like Larry David dressed as a bikie. Fearing for Gru’s life, his trusty little henchmen, the Minions, set off to San Francisco to save him.
After four films, the Minions/Despicable Me universe and characters are now well-established so, rather than focus on intricate plotting or character developments, this movie is mostly about elaborate sight gags, action sequences and a pastiche of the 1970s. The only thing approaching subtext here is Gru’s search for a father figure in the ornery Mr Knuckles.
The action is as loud, frenetic and cleverly constructed as in earlier Minions and Despicable Me films. It’s mostly exciting and fun although some parents might be concerned about the bruising slapstick violence inflicted on the Minions, apparently in the name of comedy.
As a 70’s parody, this film will probably delight older viewers. There are classic tunes from the likes of Mott the Hoople, the Carpenters and The Ramones as well as 70’s covers from contemporary artists including the wonderful Weyes Blood and pop cultural references to Evel Knievel and kung fu movies. The candy-coloured recreation of the 70’s – rendered, once again, with astonishing photorealistic animation – often recalls Austin Powers: Goldmember or even a Tarantino film.
As the villains of the piece, the Vicious Six are an entertainingly eclectic, striking looking (and obviously merchandise-ready) group. They and rest of the characters are voiced by a fascinatingly odd combination of actors including Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Julie Andrews, Jean Claude Van Damme, who plays a character named Jean Clawed who has a giant lobster claw and Taraji P. Henson who leads the Vicious 6 as the Foxy Cleopatra-esque Belle Bottom.
Despite the flashy new arrivals to the franchise, the original characters still stand out. Steve Carrell’s Gru is once again very funny and endearing. Carrell manages to make him sneaky, malevolent and sympathetic at the same time. Also, the Minions’ (mostly voiced by Pierre Coffin) mix of cuteness, naughtiness and innocent destructiveness is still a riot and will delight youngsters.
This film’s relentless action, gags and ear drum-pummelling sound threaten to become a little exhausting but at a tidy 88 minutes, Minions: The Rise of Gru doesn’t outstay its welcome and provides plenty to enjoy along the way for established Minions fans and newcomers.
Nick’s rating: ***1/2
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure/ Animation.
Classification: PG.
Director(s): Kyle Balda.
Release date: 23rd June 2022.
Running time: 88 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm right here on 88.3 Southern FM.