Minions addresses a question that didn’t really need answering: where did those yellow, pill-shaped henchmen from Descipable Me really come from? The Minions were fine without an origin, their antics needing no explanation or backstory. But here we are with a feature length film that shows what these nonsense-speaking characters were up to in the years prior to meeting Gru. This movie is a case of more not being more. Though the film is sometimes funny, it lacks the heart to make it memorable.
The opening moments of the film explain that the Minions have been around since prehistoric times. They are a species of creature that seems to have evolved solely to serve the most evil creatures around. But their devotion to their masters backfires a lot, and this leads them to hide in a cave for a pretty long period of time. The Minions build their own little society in that cave, but they find it difficult to go on without a master. And so Kevin, Stuart and Bob (all voiced by co-director Pierre Coffin) set off on a quest to find their tribe a boss. It is 1968 when they arrive on the shores of New York City. They find their way to a villain’s convention, where they encounter the world’s number one villain Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock).
And all that is basically just preamble to the main plot of the film, which involves Scarlet taking them in and giving them a really difficult mission that has an unexpected outcome. And then there’s the stuff happening back in the cave, where the remaining Minions play out a little subplot of their own. The story certainly doesn’t lack for incident, the film taking the character from one crazy situation to another at a pretty rapid clip. There’s plenty of creative energy in this movie, and it’s all directed towards allowing the Minions to have as many crazy antics as possible in the given runtime.
But this is all just leading to a predetermined end, and all that craziness doesn’t really come together to present a cohesive whole. It seems entirely possible that this film was conceived as a series of ten-minute television episodes. The film’s attention shifts so often that it does feel like this story was meant for a different format. All stuck together as a feature, the rampant energy ends up being a little draining. And these disparate parts don’t really form a cohesive narrative. There are laughs to be had, but that effect diminishes as the story just keeps going.
It gets into some pretty questionable territory, too. Whereas the Despicable Me movies were about moving away from villainy, this film is about embracing it. The Minions may be largely incompetent, but they get up to some pretty shady stuff in their pursuit of a master. This is the kind of children’s movie that makes light of violence, its characters paying little mind to the use of explosive weapons and, in one particularly dubious scene, torture. The movie makes everything look bright and attractive, and that might be a problem in itself.
It will be said that kids will enjoy Minions. And that’s probably true. Minions is certainly watchable, and the sheer appeal of its titular creatures will likely keep the attention of younger folks. But kids will enjoy a great many things. And there is no shortage of quality children’s entertainment out there. What Minions lacks is a heart, the film just delivering one slapstick payoff after another, its narrative chunks barely connected in any meaningful way. Minions is okay, but one can certainly do better.
My Rating:
