Minions: The Rise of Gru fails to reach the same heights as other films in the Despicable Me franchise

2.5 stars Starring: Steve Carell, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren Rating: PG In cinemas: now The school holidays are just around the corner, so parents worried about how to entertain the kiddies will be stoked to see the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth instalment in the Despicable Me mega-franchise. The use of “mega” here is not hyperbole — this series, which centres on reformed super-villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his army of yellow Minions, is the most successful animated franchise in moviemaking history. Three Despicable Me outings have grossed more than $3.6 billion at the global box office, and a prequel, 2015’s Minions, really proved the power of the franchise when it earned nearly $1.7b on its own. This success has been driven by a brilliant vocal performance from Carell, plots that are seriously funny and that lampoon hero/villain tropes, and, of course, the ridiculous marketability of the Minions. These little guys bring the slapstick comedy of a thousand banana-coloured Mr Beans, and it’s hard to imagine characters more perfectly suited to child audiences. So, it was no huge surprise a spin-off based on the Minions was a hit. But, when you keep going back to the same well, there’s always a risk that it’ll run dry, and, at the very least, The Rise of Gru suggests said well isn’t as full as it once was. The movie, as per the title, chronicles the rise of young Gru from being a school kid with villainous ambitions, to becoming a bona fide bad guy. To do so, he must be accepted into the world’s pre-eminent supervillain crew, the Vicious 6, which features characters voiced by the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless and Dolph Lundgren. And it all happens against a very Shaft-y 1970s backdrop. Sounds awesome, right? But, instead of being awesome, the film somehow has ended up being kinda mediocre. The aforementioned who’s who of action stars is criminally underused, and mostly consigned to providing the odd grunt here and there, while the plot lands in this awkward middle ground between derivative and convoluted. And even Carell, who is a highlight of earlier movies, is rather annoying as child Gru, forced to elevate his already pitchy vocal performance by an octave or two to pre-pubescent levels. That said, the animation here is about as good as you’ll ever see — seriously, it is jaw-droppingly beautiful. The Minions are still very cute, too, so it ticks all the boxes when it comes to amusing the rug rats for a couple of hours. It’s just the first film in the franchise to not do any more than that.

Minions: The Rise of Gru fails to reach the same heights as other films in the Despicable Me franchise

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