Good morning everyone, and welcome to another session of movie reviewing! Today, we are going to be reviewing the sequel to the 2015 animated film, Minions, which of course was the prequel to the Despicable Me franchise. So, let’s see what new adventures Gru, and the Minions have now in between the events of Minions, and the very first Despicable Me film, shall we?
Plot: Set in 1976, and after the events of the first Minions movie, 11-year-old Gru, and the Minions gang discover an artifact called the Chinese Zodiac, an object known to cause people, and creatures to develop special powers. Now, once the Zodiac goes missing, it is up to Gru, and the gang to the location of the Zodiac before it falls into the wrong hands.
Now, as some of you know, I gave the first Minions movie a mediocre review when I rewatched, and reviewed that film about a month, or two, ago. Again, it wasn’t a bad film, but could’ve likely been better. That being said, was Minions: The Rise Of Gru any better? Well, I’m delighted to say that, though this sequel had some flaws, Minions: The Rise Of Gru was definitely an improvement, and proof that sequels can sometimes be better than their respective predecessors. First of all, sure, we already knew the Minions origin story from the first film. However, because of that, at least we have a better idea of where they’re coming from when difficult times strike them, and their master, Gru. Additionally, yes, there were some running gags just like there were in the first film. And with the main characters including the popular Minions, that’s expected. Here’s the difference between this sequel, and the first film. While the first film focused way too much on the running gag, having too crude of humor at times, and things like that, it’s a different story here. Yes, some of the humor might have been crude in the sequel. However, the audience will be surprised to find that the jokes, and overall humor, are much cleaner, and funnier this time around as well. Not only that, but the story seems to feel a little stronger, and much more engaging this time around. You can tell that the writers were obviously trying to improve on this sequel in every way, either because not nearly as many people seemed to like the first film, or some other reason like that. The characters are also improvements, for the most part, as well, even Gru, and the Minions. There are also some good newer characters as well. Oh, and there rare also the villains, consisting mostly of the Vicious 6. Now, even if not all of the members of the Vicious 6 were entirely fleshed out, they were really cool, and most definitely seemed to have more depth to them. Yeah, that’s more than one could say about Scarlett Overkill in the first Minions film. Additionally, there’s some really fun creativity for this film, especially when it comes to around the middle, and near the end of Minions: The Rise Of Gru. This is especially true when it comes to the climax of this film. I won’t give away what happens at this point of the film. However, I will say this, the climax makes the movie a little darker, and more exciting at the same time. Finally, the animation is really good for this film, especially when it comes to designs of the characters, or even water, and other objects.
Still, Minions: The Rise Of Gru is not without flaws. First of all, when it comes to the villains, most notably those of the Vicious 6, even though they’re more developed than Scarlett Overkill, and you love to hate them even more as a result, some of them could have still been fleshed out more, and had more depth to them. Additionally, there were some major plot holes throughout the film as well. Finally, what was with one of the people in the Vicious 6 villain organization being a nun? Oh, not just that, but that nun also sometimes saying “Hallelujah” before getting ready to do some evil deeds with the other members of the Vicious 6 at times? I’m sorry, but that seems to feel rather too random in this case. I understand that there are corrupt leaders in the church even today. However, that doesn’t stop this deal with the nun character in this film feeling out of place for this film, you know? That being said, I would like to take a moment to make a comparison between Minions: The Rise Of Gru, and the 1996 Disney film, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Now, for those of us who saw that film, we may know that there was another corrupt leader in the villain of that film, Judge Clause Frollo. Still, in that case, it worked much better for a couple reasons. One being that that film was set during the Middle Ages. For those of us who are brushed up on history, especially when it comes to the history of the church back in that time period, we should know that there were way more corrupt leaders in the church back in that time period than there seem to be today. So it works much better. The other reason being that while Frollo represented the hypocritical, and Pharisee side of the church, the Archdeacon basically showed the loving, caring, and compassionate side that showed what loving God, and others was truly about. All to say that while it worked better with that situation in Hunchback Of Notre Dame, it feels more random, and out of place with Minions: The Rise Of Gru.
And that’s my review for Minions: The Rise Of Gru. While it was mostly an improvement from 2025’s Minions, there were still one, or two ways in which the first Minions movie was a little better. Apart from those, Minions: The Rise Of Gru is better in almost every way. It’s more solid, fun, engaging, and has more heart to it than the first film seemed to. In all honesty, I can see why it has done well at the box office. I would say that if you haven’t seen Minions: The Rise Of Gru, but want to, definitely go see it, and hopefully have a good time with it!
Final Grade: B
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 