Story
The sequel
to Despicable Me takes place approximately one or two years after the first
film. Gru has settled into his life as a father figure and he now focuses all
of his attentions on his daughters as opposed to trying to take over the world.
The peace does not last very long, however, as he is soon recruited into the
Anti-Villain-League. The AVL has been monitoring a new villain who has stolen a
very dangerous serum and they are relying on Gru’s experience as a villain to
help them figure out who the villain is and to locate the serum before it is
put into use. To help him on this mission the AVL has assigned onto Gru a
partner; the perky and quick-to-impress redhead Lucy. Can the two solve this
mystery before it is too late or will the mysterious villain conquer the world?
The sequel to Despicable Me takes place approximately one or two years after the first film. Gru has settled into his life as a father figure and he now focuses all of his attentions on his daughters as opposed to trying to take over the world. The peace does not last very long, however, as he is soon recruited into the Anti-Villain-League. The AVL has been monitoring a new villain who has stolen a very dangerous serum and they are relying on Gru’s experience as a villain to help them figure out who the villain is and to locate the serum before it is put into use. To help him on this mission the AVL has assigned onto Gru a partner; the perky and quick-to-impress redhead Lucy. Can the two solve this mystery before it is too late or will the mysterious villain conquer the world?
The sequel to Despicable Me takes place approximately one or two years after the first film. Gru has settled into his life as a father figure and he now focuses all of his attentions on his daughters as opposed to trying to take over the world. The peace does not last very long, however, as he is soon recruited into the Anti-Villain-League. The AVL has been monitoring a new villain who has stolen a very dangerous serum and they are relying on Gru’s experience as a villain to help them figure out who the villain is and to locate the serum before it is put into use. To help him on this mission the AVL has assigned onto Gru a partner; the perky and quick-to-impress redhead Lucy. Can the two solve this mystery before it is too late or will the mysterious villain conquer the world?
Review
I am a big fan of the first movie. While the idea of a villain-turned-goodguy is not a new concept by any means, the way DM handled it was very well done. Gru is not a character who has completely turned over a new leaf. He is no stranger to picking on, teasing, or straight up destroying the property of those who annoy him. This is something that I really enjoyed from the first movie and I am very glad to see it carried over to the second. Gru loves his adopted daughters to death but that doesn’t mean he cannot be a bully to his neighbors when they get on his nerves.
The largest positive of this movie is the fact that it gives a little more screen time to Gru’s adopted daughters; Margo, Agnes, and Edith. They were my favorite characters from the first movie – from Margo’s maturity, Edith’s aggression and tomboyish nature, and just how perfectly adorable Agnes is – and giving them more screen time is a huge positive.
The biggest challenge that I see with this movie was the fact that they had to balance so many elements. The movie not only had to deal with Gru’s relationship with his daughters but his partnership with Lucy all the while trying to stop the mysterious supervillain. While the villain-side of the storyline may feel like it was shoved to the wayside (the actual villain was – overall – a very small portion of the actual film), the movie is less about the villain and more on Gru’s relationships.
In terms of humor, a majority of the humor falls on slapstick and the Minions. This follows the original movie’s formula but the Minions’ screen time has skyrocketed in comparison to the first film. I can see how this may be a turn-off for some people who may see the Minions as a gimmick for quick, cheap laughs but I personally love the yellow guys. Using pop-culture references (mostly through songs), their immaturity (laughing at the word ‘bottom’), and the sheer randomness of their personalities just adds a lot of laughs to this film.
The little girl trio also works wonders for the film. Margo is getting a bit older which gives us an idea of what happens when an ex-villain gets over-protective and Agnes is just so bloody cute that you will feel your heart melting with every sentence she provides. Edith is the perfect middle child in the sense that she is both annoyed by her sisters but at the same time protective of them.
Lucy was a welcome addition to the movie. While she seemed a bit too random at times, overall she worked very well to the storyline. She is an interesting character who seemed to be a good counterpart to Gru’s general grumpiness.
In terms of the animation, this movie was just as beautiful as the first one. The colors are vibrant with great detail. It’s a great blend of cartoony visuals with sharp textures. The hair on some of the characters are especially beautiful and there are some scenes that felt so well detailed and lit that they looked as if they were actual props as opposed to cgi-animations.
If I need to find faults with the movie it would be the lack of focus on the villain. It is really a minor character and something that isn’t focused on throughout the film. This can be disappointing to some people that want to see a good battle between good vs evil but this movie is less about stopping a villain and more on Gru’s adjustment to a non-villain life.
The humor is silly and light-hearted, the animation is top-notch, and the storyline works very well. It’s one of those sequels that helps move the story forward as opposed to just mimicking the plot of the first film. I would not mind seeing a third movie if they are able to keep the story moving. I recommend this movie to those who like silly, light-hearted humor with some “Awwww!” moments.
The largest positive of this movie is the fact that it gives a little more screen time to Gru’s adopted daughters; Margo, Agnes, and Edith. They were my favorite characters from the first movie – from Margo’s maturity, Edith’s aggression and tomboyish nature, and just how perfectly adorable Agnes is – and giving them more screen time is a huge positive.
The biggest challenge that I see with this movie was the fact that they had to balance so many elements. The movie not only had to deal with Gru’s relationship with his daughters but his partnership with Lucy all the while trying to stop the mysterious supervillain. While the villain-side of the storyline may feel like it was shoved to the wayside (the actual villain was – overall – a very small portion of the actual film), the movie is less about the villain and more on Gru’s relationships.
In terms of humor, a majority of the humor falls on slapstick and the Minions. This follows the original movie’s formula but the Minions’ screen time has skyrocketed in comparison to the first film. I can see how this may be a turn-off for some people who may see the Minions as a gimmick for quick, cheap laughs but I personally love the yellow guys. Using pop-culture references (mostly through songs), their immaturity (laughing at the word ‘bottom’), and the sheer randomness of their personalities just adds a lot of laughs to this film.
The little girl trio also works wonders for the film. Margo is getting a bit older which gives us an idea of what happens when an ex-villain gets over-protective and Agnes is just so bloody cute that you will feel your heart melting with every sentence she provides. Edith is the perfect middle child in the sense that she is both annoyed by her sisters but at the same time protective of them.
Lucy was a welcome addition to the movie. While she seemed a bit too random at times, overall she worked very well to the storyline. She is an interesting character who seemed to be a good counterpart to Gru’s general grumpiness.
In terms of the animation, this movie was just as beautiful as the first one. The colors are vibrant with great detail. It’s a great blend of cartoony visuals with sharp textures. The hair on some of the characters are especially beautiful and there are some scenes that felt so well detailed and lit that they looked as if they were actual props as opposed to cgi-animations.
If I need to find faults with the movie it would be the lack of focus on the villain. It is really a minor character and something that isn’t focused on throughout the film. This can be disappointing to some people that want to see a good battle between good vs evil but this movie is less about stopping a villain and more on Gru’s adjustment to a non-villain life.
The humor is silly and light-hearted, the animation is top-notch, and the storyline works very well. It’s one of those sequels that helps move the story forward as opposed to just mimicking the plot of the first film. I would not mind seeing a third movie if they are able to keep the story moving. I recommend this movie to those who like silly, light-hearted humor with some “Awwww!” moments.