Les Minions 2: Il était une fois Gru

The latest from Illumination Studios is another adventure, actually a prequel this time, as we follow how Gru, still voiced by Steve Carrell, tries to get in the door to join the Vicious Six (voiced by Alan Arkin, Taraji P. Henson, Jean Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Danny Trejo & Dolph Lundrgren) after they have betrayed Arkin during a sacred stone heist. Dismissing him as being too young & distracted by another potential try-out, Gru manages to steal the stone sending the baddies on his tail but due to one of the accompanying minions trading the stone out for a pet rock, the race is on to get the rock back before the Vicious Six (really five at this point!) get their collective mitts on it. Sure the film is threadbare plotwise (being an excuse to have a bunch of minion antics running throughout the story like socks on a laundry line) but the film is nothing but fun & unlike the Shrek films which acted as an alternative to the Pixar output, at least the Illumination team keeps pushing the envelope on perfecting their visuals (standouts include the textures on the minions' goggles & Gru's realistic expressions when he's upset or challenged). Returning champs to the franchise include Julie Andrews as Gru's mom, Russell Brand as Mr. Nefario (he's not a doc yet) w/Michelle Yeoh as a kung fu master the minions get lessons from & the Rza as a biker who gives a minion a much needed ride to San Francisco.

The movie did have some solid laughs, but they really overdid it with the butt jokes and fart jokes. That just doesn't appeal to me (although I know who it does appeal to, so I'm somewhat sympathetic). Otherwise I would've given it an 8. Still, a fun short watch.

Going to watch "future best animated picture winner" Minions:Rise of Gru I had high hopes. I was not however expected the experience that I had. The Story was crisp and emotional, the animations though fake felt realer than ever,I say this with no exaggeration.....IT WAS BETTER THAN MORBIUS. It's Morbin time...More like It's Minion Time.

Nothing too impressive or new.. Te scenes look contrived. Learning kung-fu scenes were an utter waste of time. Too slapstick even for kids. Hope there will be a better storyline next time.

For reference, here are my ratings for the other movies: Despicable Me - 9 stars. Despicable Me 2 - 7 stars. Minions - 6 stars. Despicable Me 3 - 6 stars.

I am so pleasantly surprised that this is the best one since the original. It fires on all cylinders: comedy, story, visuals, action scenes. It starts out fast and never lets up. The movie flies by. And it has tons of great new characters.

This movie is absolutely hilarious. I was literally in tears in some scenes. The minions are at their very best with so many memorable moments. The story is surprisingly unpredictable and keeps you invested. The visuals are stunningly beautiful. I was mesmerized. And the action scenes are pretty epic, the best of the entire series.

I had a blast with this movie. It's definitely worth seeing on a premium screen, greatly enhancing the visuals and action scenes.

(3 viewings, opening Thursday IMAX 6/30/2022, IMAX 7/6/2022, 7/1/2024)