First Take: Minions: The Rise of Gru – No TikTok trends needed to enjoy this one.

SYNOPSIS: The untold story of one 12 year old’s dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain

A week ago, the word ‘gentleminion’ was something nobody cared about. Things were way simpler then, but of course, the arrival of Illumination’s latest entry into the wider Despicable Me franchise made a lot of people buy suits, book out entire screens and have some fun. Luckily my screening went down without a problem, which is a relief. Namely because it was an OK film, nothing more, and nothing less.

Kyle Balda and Jonathan Del Val are in charge of this 97 minute film, and while it is paced very well for its main target audience, something about the script from Matt Fogel screams of desperation- these Minions are a key merch seller for Universal, and it feels like they’re trying every possible way to get films out involving the IP. Sometimes this is a good thing, but in this case, it doesn’t help matters much. Admittedly the teams in Paris (at the former Mac Guff studios) did a stellar job bringing the animation to life, and as is tradition for a Despicable Me related film, Heitor Pereira is in charge of the music.

Voicing the characters is a big part of movies like this, and with a cast of heavyweights that include Steve Carell, Taraji P Henson, a returning Russell Brand, Alan Arkin, Michelle Yeoh and of course Pierre Coffin as the inimitable sound of everybody’s favourite yellow sidekicks, they are able to take what is a relatively simple, paint by numbers plot and make it work for audiences both young and old. However, it is not a patch on the initial 2015 spinoff, which didn’t have two years of constant promotion or release date shuffling that this sequel had due to the pandemic – this is a real case of how not to market a film.

THE VERDICT

The Rise of Gru effectively completes the origin story which leads to the original Despicable Me in 2010 – and while it has opened at the top of the box office (partly due to TikTok), the next few weeks will be telling. Do everyday audiences want more Minions, or do they want new, original properties? Only time will tell.

RATING: 3/5