With Minions being released this weekend I thought it would be fitting to review the two films that introduced us to the Minions, Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2. So without further ado...
Despicable Me
A mysterious criminal mastermind has stolen one of the pyramids in Egypt, sparking a fit of jealous envy in evil genius Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who hasn't managed to make headlines since he and his minions swiped the Times Square JumboTron years back. Ever since Gru was a little boy, he dreamed of going to the moon. Now, if Gru can just build a rocket and get his hands on a powerful shrink-ray, he can cement his reputation as the greatest thief who ever lived by stealing the Earth's satellite right out of the sky. But immediately after Gru heists the shrink-ray, the cunning super-nerd Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) swoops in and snatches it right out of his hands. Now, in order to claim the moon, Gru must first reacquire the weapon from Vector. Armed with the knowledge that his nemesis has a mean sweet tooth, Gru adopts cookie-selling orphans Margo (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher), and Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier) and commissions a new line of cookie robots from the evil Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand), his personal weapons specialist. But as Gru and his diminutive yellow minions prepare to carry out the biggest heist in history, something strange happens. Gru discovers that the three little girls who have come into his life are much more than simple pawns. They actually seem to care about Gru, and it turns out the scheming evildoer makes a pretty good father. When Gru realizes that his upcoming moon mission clashes with a ballet performance by the girls, he must decide what's more important -- being a present parent or cementing his nefarious reputation once and for all.
This was a really big surprise. I say that because a lot of things could've gone wrong from the Minions themselves being boring or used more than they should've, the voice actors not fitting the roles and the plot seems really ridiculous, but it all worked out in the end. The film is absolutely hilarious and eventhough these are animated characters, the shenanigans they go through are insane and ridiculous. It does borrow from a lot of other animated films and that can both help and hurt you. It can help you because it shows you a building block you can make a really great film around, but it can hurt you because it shows that you aren't original and that doesn't bode well for your film. There is a lot of great laughs and a few touching moments that help carry the film along. Overall this was a really fresh and tremendous idea that the film will enjoy, but borrowing from other films kind of hurts it's originality. I give Despicable Me a 9 out of 10.
Despicable Me 2
When Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), the world's most super-bad turned super-dad has been recruited by a team of officials to stop lethal muscle and a host of Gru's own, He has to fight back with new gadgetry, cars, and more minion madness.
This was a really fun and enjoyable film. I really thought that the filmmakers improved vastly on the storytelling and they made this a more original film than the first film. I thought the humor was great throughout and I haven't laughed that hard in an animated film in a long time. The animation is just absolutely flawless and some of the best animation I've seen in a long time. I thought the voice acting was really great and they all fit the characters well. I also liked the character development of Gru making into a hero after being a villain for so long and I thought the transition was a smooth and easy one. I will say the film is a little cliched and often predictable. Plus I loved the minions in this movie more that the last film and the end scene with is just gut-busting comedy perfection. Overall I thought this was an acceptable sequel and better than the original. I give Despicable Me 2 a 9 out of 10.
Overall Franchise Rating: 9 out of 10
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, what would you rate them, are you excited for Minions and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
Despicable Me
A mysterious criminal mastermind has stolen one of the pyramids in Egypt, sparking a fit of jealous envy in evil genius Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who hasn't managed to make headlines since he and his minions swiped the Times Square JumboTron years back. Ever since Gru was a little boy, he dreamed of going to the moon. Now, if Gru can just build a rocket and get his hands on a powerful shrink-ray, he can cement his reputation as the greatest thief who ever lived by stealing the Earth's satellite right out of the sky. But immediately after Gru heists the shrink-ray, the cunning super-nerd Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) swoops in and snatches it right out of his hands. Now, in order to claim the moon, Gru must first reacquire the weapon from Vector. Armed with the knowledge that his nemesis has a mean sweet tooth, Gru adopts cookie-selling orphans Margo (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher), and Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier) and commissions a new line of cookie robots from the evil Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand), his personal weapons specialist. But as Gru and his diminutive yellow minions prepare to carry out the biggest heist in history, something strange happens. Gru discovers that the three little girls who have come into his life are much more than simple pawns. They actually seem to care about Gru, and it turns out the scheming evildoer makes a pretty good father. When Gru realizes that his upcoming moon mission clashes with a ballet performance by the girls, he must decide what's more important -- being a present parent or cementing his nefarious reputation once and for all.
This was a really big surprise. I say that because a lot of things could've gone wrong from the Minions themselves being boring or used more than they should've, the voice actors not fitting the roles and the plot seems really ridiculous, but it all worked out in the end. The film is absolutely hilarious and eventhough these are animated characters, the shenanigans they go through are insane and ridiculous. It does borrow from a lot of other animated films and that can both help and hurt you. It can help you because it shows you a building block you can make a really great film around, but it can hurt you because it shows that you aren't original and that doesn't bode well for your film. There is a lot of great laughs and a few touching moments that help carry the film along. Overall this was a really fresh and tremendous idea that the film will enjoy, but borrowing from other films kind of hurts it's originality. I give Despicable Me a 9 out of 10.
Despicable Me 2
When Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), the world's most super-bad turned super-dad has been recruited by a team of officials to stop lethal muscle and a host of Gru's own, He has to fight back with new gadgetry, cars, and more minion madness.
This was a really fun and enjoyable film. I really thought that the filmmakers improved vastly on the storytelling and they made this a more original film than the first film. I thought the humor was great throughout and I haven't laughed that hard in an animated film in a long time. The animation is just absolutely flawless and some of the best animation I've seen in a long time. I thought the voice acting was really great and they all fit the characters well. I also liked the character development of Gru making into a hero after being a villain for so long and I thought the transition was a smooth and easy one. I will say the film is a little cliched and often predictable. Plus I loved the minions in this movie more that the last film and the end scene with is just gut-busting comedy perfection. Overall I thought this was an acceptable sequel and better than the original. I give Despicable Me 2 a 9 out of 10.
Overall Franchise Rating: 9 out of 10
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, what would you rate them, are you excited for Minions and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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