With incredibly disappointing animated films such as Epic, Monsters University, Hotel Transylvania and The Croods having been released in the past year....I had a bad feeling that Despicable Me 2 was going to be bad. I am glad to report that I was very wrong. I actually really liked the first Despicable Me. It wasn't Pixar level or anything but it was a film that both children and their parents should have easily enjoyed. The sequel, while not as fresh and fun as the first one still manages to get its job done. Sure...this is not top of the line but even Pixar has a bad film out so it's definitely the safest bet for a film that both of them can enjoy.
The film once again follows Gru (Steve Carrell.) Now raising the three girls from the first film and enjoying life as the boss of the Minions...he finds out there is yet another mission he must complete. He is told this after Lucy (Kristen Wiig) takes him to an underwater layer that is the home of the AVL or Anti Villain League. The AVL is run by Silas (Steve Coogan) who tells Gru that there is a bad guy who just stole an entire navy base. Now...Gru and Lucy must work together to find out who this bad guy is and what their motivation is.
The voice work is pretty perfect. Carrell once again makes an excellent Gru...really laying on the accent this time which makes it even funnier. Wiig is very good at giving her character some spunk. Coogan has very funny dead pan delivery as the leader. Of course...everyone comes to these movies for the Minions and they pretty much deliver. I say pretty much because there is a story arc in the later half that prevents them from being in it as much. However, when they are on screen...they are very funny.
Although the film's plot does make the plot twist pretty obvious....it's still engaging to wonder whether or not Gru and Lucy actually have enough combined power to save the day. There's also a very nice chemistry between these two. They're partners who obviously have deeper feelings for one another and the film makes them work realistically.
When all is said and done....this is actually a pretty solid film. Like I said....Despicable Me 2 isn't as refreshing as the first one nor does it have the pizzazz that had. However, I don't think the cast and crew were going for anything mind blowing. They just wanted to make yet another fun family film that both kids and their parents can enjoy and in that...they succeeded.
(3 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG for rude humor and mild action)
No comments:
Post a Comment