Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2

Animated (Family)

2013

Rated: PG

Running Time: 98 Minutes

Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong, Russell Brand, Benjamin Bratt,

Directed By: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

Rating: 8 out of 10

Outline

A retired evil genius is recruited to try and track down a weapon that could destroy the world.

Review

Ummm, Was Gru a 50 year old virgin going into this film?

 Gru has retired from the world of evil and is enjoying his new life as a dad. That is all about to change as he is employed by the Anti-Villain league to try and track down a stolen and highly classified weapon.

I can tell you that this will not be one of my more popular reviews. So here goes…Firstly, I think I might be the rare person who liked this movie more than the first one. Secondly, I find the Minions super annoying. They are not funny, they are not cute, and they are over used. I will now direct you to the comments section below for your rebuttals on those two topics. Unlike the first film, Despicable Me 2 starts off great and never really falters. The cantankerous but lovable Gru, settles into his new life as a doting father and respectable community member.  He has retired from the life of crime and loves his 3 adopted daughters as if they were his own. He was great at doing evil but he is simply a master at being a dad. Unfortunately, the world of evil does not stop just because Gru did, and that is where we find ourselves with this film. A top secret weapon has been stolen and the world is in danger from a new master criminal. Gru is recruited by the powers of good to try and find this weapon before it is used against the world’s populace. The first half of the film is chalk full of entertainment and laughs. Gru has to work with a partner (Lucy) to try and track down the classified weapon. They bumble their way through elaborate traps, harrowing situations, and one angry chicken all in the attempt to complete their mission. Space age weapons and special fighting techniques will keep the viewer captivated as their professional partnership possibly grows into something more than just work.

 Steve Carell again supplies the voice for Gru, and he is simply perfect. The accent, tone, and inflection, gets the most from every sentence and every joke. The film would not be as great as it is without the sarcastic and dark presence of this awesome character. Sure there are other noticeable voices (Wiig, Brand, Coogan) but without Gru (Carell,) this movie would not be as great as it was.

As the film carries on it just gets more enjoyable. Minions start to go missing, clues lead to dead ends, and close brushes with death are always around the corner for Gru and Lucy. When Gru isn’t working, he finds himself playing dress up with his daughters, listening to their presentations for school, and going on awkward blind dates. He is as socially awkward as they come as he explores new situations in parenting and with his own love life. But most importantly Gru and Lucy are on the clock to try and save the world from an evil scheme. Will they do it? Watch to find out. In Conclusion, this film hits that perfect balance for both adults and kids. The adults will appreciate the clever humor (bad puns included,) fight scenes, cool gadgets, and awesome animation. The kids will enjoy the funny and cute characters (yes Minions included), the action, and when butts get mentioned. The negatives are mostly stemming from the Minions. I find they are used entirely too much and it detracts from the overall cleverness of this film. I also found the main villain to be a little too cheesy for my tastes.

Directors Chris Coffin and Pierre Renaud team up again for the sequel and knock it out of the park. They humanize Gru and while this easily could have failed, it worked on every level for me. The animation is fantastic as always, and Gru’s struggles to be a dad, to be socially acceptable, and to work for the good guys, is just as fun a watch as when he was evil. The film never drags as there are always high tech gadgets, great one liners, and an atmosphere of fun as the film goes on. It has all the explosiveness of the first film but is more polished.

I give this movie a huge recommendation but especially to people who liked the first film.

T Factor + If you like animated films then this could score higher on the rating scale.

T Factor – If you didn’t like Gru in the first film then this could score lower on the rating scale.

If you liked this film reel recommendations: Wall-E, The Incredibles.