Review - Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Benjamin Bratt.
Directed by Chris Renaud.

The minions are back. I loved the first film so I had high hopes for Despicable Me 2 and I was left quite satisfied. I watched Monsters University last week and to be quite honest I was a bit disappointed at how it lacked the overall fun of its predecessor. However Despicable Me 2 makes up for my disappointment by being a really fun sequel.

Gru (Steve Carell) is no longer a mastermind villain. He now dedicates his time to his three daughters (Margo, Agnes and Edith) as they have developed a good father-daughter relationship. Gru also runs a jam business and is constantly pressured to start dating - plus the girls long for a mother figure. After a secret lab and a mutating chemical is stolen by an unknown personnel, the AVL (Anti-Villain League) recruits Gru and he decides to take on the task of recovering the stolen chemical.

Kristen Wiig's character Lucy is introduced as Gru's partner in finding the stolen chemical. I think she was a fine addition to this film, although her character does come off as cliched. The other characters were solid; Steve Carell does a splendid job in voicing Gru and he leads the way quite comfortably - as in the first film. However who stole the show were none other than the Minions. If you think they were awesome in the first film, they are even more awesome in this film. They get more screen time and simply made this film even more fun with their antics and babbling. Don't get me wrong.. the other characters dialogue and antics throughout also contributed to the fun experience of watching Despicable Me 2. There was never really a dull moment - I chuckled from start to finish. The only weakness in this movie is probably the plot. While it's not a big deal to me, it kinda got weak midway the film. It didn't lose itself wholly but I think the reason for this is that the film was trying to focus on its family theme as well. The good thing however is that you are kept entertained by the characters and I had a good time overall. The minions even made the cliched ending awesome.

As you have heard, there will be a Minions spin-off movie in 2014. While Despicable Me 2 isn't better than the first film, I enjoyed it and think it is a good setup for that upcoming minion movie. The movie was fun and the minions were awesome.

Rating: 8/10



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