Minions (2015)

"Banana!"

A film about the characters that you love in the film but are sick of seeing everywhere else...

Seriously, if I have to see one more Minion meme...

Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob go on an adventure to find their tribe of minions a new evil master and end up being recruited by super-villain Scarlett Overkill, who is plotting to take over the world.

I am a huge fan of 'Despicable Me' and I always thought the Minions were the best part of the film. I was relatively excited to see the 'Minions' movie and had patiently waited months for it's arrival. In the lead up to the release, I was slightly put off by the over saturation of the minions. You couldn't enter a shop or go online without seeing the minions somewhere or another and the 40,000 trailers for it didn't help either.

On arrival at the cinema, I think that there might have actually been more adults going to see 'Minions' than children, a welcome sight to know that I wasn't the only one!

Critiquing 'Minions' is a relatively hard thing to do. It doesn't take itself too seriously so if I take it too seriously then I feel like I'm missing the point so I'll try and keep this light.

'Minions' wasn't great but it wasn't awful either. There were parts of the film that had me laughing and it's not a bad film at all. 

It is funny, it's just not as funny as I would have hoped it would be. 
It has it's moments.

There are some great characters that are totally unexpected and there are some really memorable moments that will take you by surprise. 
You'd barely recognise Sandra Bullock's voice as Scarlet Overkill in the beginning but you soon realise it's her as the film goes on. She's good as the villain alongside Jon Hamm who plays her husband Herb. Watching the constant battle between Scarlet and the minions was one of the better aspects of the film with their clumsy nature that seems to be foiling her chances of taking over the world. 

Unfortunately, most of the funniest parts of the movie were shown in the trailers so when it actually came to the jokes, they just weren't as funny. You'd already seen it so much that the punchlines were expected and this sort of ruined a lot of the comedy for me. The jokes were funny but funny in the way that a joke from 'Friends' is funny, they make you chuckle but it's not like you're seeing them for the first time. I really wish that they'd made a separate trailer for the film that had very little from the actual plot so that it came as more of a surprise in the film. Pixar's 'Monsters University' had the perfect balance with their trailers, they released random scenes that they created especially for the trailers so that when the film was released you hadn't seen everything already.

I can't help but feel that the personalities of the minions had been diluted for children. In 'Despicable Me' they are a lot more mischievous and naughty compared to 'Minions' where they are more "cute" and accidentally evil to please a younger audience. I definitely think that 'Minions' was more of a kids film than 'Despicable Me' was and it does detract from how much freedom they have to make the jokes they were able to make in 'Despicable Me'. 
It does just feel like a film designed to sell happy meals from McDonald's...

'Minions' suffers from what I like to call the "Vince Vaughn effect".

Vince Vaughn is fantastic in small doses. He's amazing as the secondary character in a supporting role, he comes along now and again and delivers some cracking scenes but then promptly leaves so you can get back to the main plot. 
However, seeing too much of Vince Vaughn is counterproductive. In a lead role, he's not as funny. Vince Vaughn in 'The Break Up' is nothing compared to Vince Vaughn in 'Old School'. Seeing too much of him ruins the craving we get for his little gems and I think 'Minions' is the same. What made them so funny in 'Despicable Me' was the fact that they were so random and so chaotic at times that you couldn't help but laugh. They were a nice addition to the plot but didn't detract from it and in 'Minions' I feel like the intrigue about the minions is slightly ruined. It's like The Joker in 'The Dark Knight', he's phenomenal because he's so rarely on screen so when you do see him he just blows you away. This being said, a whole film where The Joker is the lead character would be overkill. Much like what I thought 'Minions' felt like.

Despite this, there are some fun details in the world that 'Minions' creates.

The time period is great. There's some awesome music to be heard in 'Minions' from Jimi Hendrix to The Doors. They capture the time period really well and make fun of it in good humour too. It's funny to see the lead up to that time through the Minions' travels to find a suitable master. Seeing 60's London is fun and there are some fantastic references to the culture of the time with the likes of The Beatles etc.

Overall, 'Minions' is a good time but not as great as I was hoping it was going to be. 

It will make you laugh and it's fun to see some of the little references to 'Despicable Me'. There are some fantastic actors that do the voices in the film and Sandra Bullock does well as Scarlet Overkill. Kevin, Stuart and Bob are likeable and it's fun to go on their adventure with them. I was happy how they linked it to 'Despicable Me' and was pleased that Gru makes a small cameo.

At the end of the day, I'd rather just watch 'Despicable Me' and I can't say I'd rush back into the cinema to see 'Minions' again. As a novelty it works but I personally think it wears thin after a while. 

Hopefully this yellow font hasn't given you a headache already but it felt fitting for the movie!

BANANA!