Film review: Minions - More ‘aww’ than awe

Minions, the highly anticipated Despicable Me-spin off, leaves its older audience underwhelmed

The thought of spending an hour and 44 minutes with a bunch of loveable, yellow blob-like creatures left many adults inordinately excited ever since it was announced that there would be a movie about the Minions. The resulting Minions, however, leaves viewers asking for more; more storyline and more depth, especially since the first few minutes of the film focusing on the evolution of minions remains the movie’s high point.

Find the biggest, baddest boss around and serve him: that’s the Minion motto. The problem is, the bosses, ranging from a T-Rex to Napoleon, are harder to keep than they are to find. While the Minions strive to be henchmen, their sidekick skills are based on a process of trial and error: the T-Rex gets pushed into bubbling lava, Dracula is surprised with a burning dose of morning sunshine and Napoleon is blown away with his own cannon. Even with these mishaps, however, the Minions manage to win our hearts with their enthusiasm and general cuteness.

In this film, a blunder sends the Minions into hiding and into a funk; their ‘boss-lessness’ leaves them feeling gloomy and lost. As he sees his mates despair, Kevin hatches a plan to save all ‘minionkind’ from annihilation. He tries to rally the cream of the crop to go back out in the world and find a new boss, only to end up with banana-loving Stuart and tiny Bob. Together, the three make their way to Villain-con in Orlando, searching for their scariest boss yet.

Luck seems to be in their favour, as the Minions pledge themselves to Scarlet Overkill, the first ever villainess the world has seen. They are her ‘knights in shining denim’ until everything changes and the Minions are once again running for their lives.

Minions, directed by Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin from a script by Brian Lynch, has plenty of moments that leave viewers rolling with laughter. But the production seems to target children more than adult viewers, unlike the Despicable Me films which, although still cartoons, were a treat to watch for one and all.

All in all, viewers leave the cinema still quite in love with Kevin, Bob and Stuart, as it is always fun to watch the Minions’ antics. But the job of occupying centre stage instead of the chorus seems like to be a burden that these little villain-enthusiasts are not quite ready to bear.



Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 2^nd, 2015.