The first reviews for Minions, Universal Pictures’ prequel to Despicable Me, have hit the web. Starring the cute and cuddly banana-friendly henchmen that have captured the hearts and souls of kids and adults alike, the movie explores their origin story and their search for a leader to serve.
When the minions debuted in Despicable Me, they stole the show from under the nose of their evil leader Gru, and the film’s main protagonists. Still, critics wondered if a full 90-minute long movie dedicated to just them would be pushing it too far. That, and the fact that sequels are a daunting job, especially in animation, makes Minions a gamble for its studio.
By the looks of the first reviews, it seems like Universal’s gamble has returned mixed results. The movie is currently at 70% on review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.3 out of 10. On IMDb, it has an average rating of 7/10, with a total of 10,298 reviews at the time of writing this piece. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gives it a 61% positive rating, with 11 top critics.
Here’s what some of the critics have to say about Minions:
Peter Debruge of Variety writes: “Delivering more Minions but less heart than their two previous outings, this by-popular-demand detour proves that as boundless as the yellow creatures’ appeal may seem, they work better as supporting characters than as the main attraction — not that the Minions will be wearing out their welcome anytime soon.”
Giving it a “C” grade, Jesse Hassenger of The AV Club notes that “At its best, big-studio computer animation opens up all manners of possibilities, allowing the filmmakers to play around with goofy sight-gag weapons like a lava-lamp gun that fires real lava and a set of robot limbs that Bob acquires for the length of an action sequence. At worst, though, it amps up the purity of animated slapstick to blockbuster levels of bombast. Minions has idiosyncratic roots, but it’s a franchise play all the way. Finally, even 5-year-olds have their own movie that mechanically cashes in on something they loved when they were younger.”
Joblo Movies gave Minions 7 out of 10, commenting that “MINIONS should be viewed as a colorful diversion, not the next crowning achievement in the field. There’s just enough here for the adults to be engaged – if less so than their sure-to-be-delighted little ones – but the movie nearly comes to “enough already!” levels of hyperactive insanity before ending. (88 minutes is more than enough.) The movie seems to be winking at us with its character named Overkill; MINIONS certainly comes close to overstaying its welcome, but thankfully never quite becomes a burden.”
Drew Taylor from Indiewire gave Minions a negative review, writing: “Minions is, in sharp contrast (to Despicable Me), totally mirthless. It’s often downright mean-spirited and has moments of surprising violence. The marketing engine of “Minions” is undeniably powerful. This is something craftily designed to sell toys and theme park tickets and special cans of Tic-tacs. But it’s not a movie. It’s an eyesore.”
Writing for Deadline, Pete Hammond notes that Minions “is full of great period gags and a terrific soundtrack of tunes including several Beatles songs of the time. The film in fact exists for its gags, which often are on target particularly in a sequence where the Minions are suddenly thrust into a 3 Little Pigs story… But it is huge family fun and should make a minnnnnnnnnt at the box office.”
Marshall Fine, film critic at the Huffington Post, states: “The plotting is frantic but only occasionally funny, while the slapstick animated action is imaginative but never quite as amusing as the filmmakers obviously think it is. Kids, of course, will be transfixed; adults, considerably less so… Think of “Minions” as the equivalent of a meal made entirely of french fries — a side dish elevated to the main course. By the end, you’re stuffed, but you’re hardly satisfied.”
Empire gave Minions 3 out of five stars, with its verdict stating, “Farty, burpy, fall-y over fun tied to a pretty inconsequential plot. Your kids will explode with joy.”
Finally, The Hollywood Reporter, in an amazingly detailed review, concludes: “After switching ’round the formula used in the previous films, in which the Steve Carell-voiced villain was cast as the improbable lead, this Swinging London-set prequel goes back to a more classically structured setup, in which the bad guy — or rather, bad girl, voiced by a workmanlike Sandra Bullock — is the antagonist, while the mostly mumbling heroes take center stage.
Unfortunately, this robs the film of much of what made its predecessors stand out, with the story lacking a clear narrative and emotional throughline to connect all of the film’s set pieces. That said, the film’s slapsticky gags are often amusing.”
From the looks of it, Minions seems to be a beautifully crafted kid-friendly movie, and a pretty funny one too, but with a bumbling plot and little heart. We should reiterate that we haven’t seen it for ourselves yet. So what do you think? Will you be going to watch Minions with your family and kids this weekend when it releases in India? Let us know in the forums.
