The
Minions return for a second go-around in DespicableMe 2,
the animated sequel to the popular Universal property.
Steve
Carell returns
as villain-turned-hero Gru, who is now being recruited by the
Anti-Villain League to thwart an up-and-coming criminal mastermind,
El Macho (Benjamin
Bratt).
Carell is joined by returning stars Kristen
Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell
Brand, Steve
Coogan and Ken
Jeong.Pierre
Coffin and Chris Renaud repeat
their turns as directors and the inspired voices behind the
scene-stealing Minions.
The
first film was a critical and box-office success to the tune of a
$543 million gross and an 89 percent Fresh rating by top critics on
Rotten Tomatoes. Will the anticipated sequel live up to the hype set
by its predecessor?
DespicableMe 2 is
set to be released Wednesday, but critics have already weighed in,
generally praising the Minions’ expanded role but acknowledging
that the sequel lacks the heart and originality of the 2010 film.
The
Hollywood Reporter’s Michael
Rechtshaffen writes
he is a fan of the returning crazy characters, including the film’s
star.
“While
the new edition doesn’t quite catch that inspired spark, there’s
still plenty to enjoy here courtesy of those zippy visuals and a
pitch-perfect voice cast led by the innately animated Steve Carell.”
Rechtshaffen
adds that the film benefits from “an irresistible Looney
Tunes-style nuttiness -- one even more prevalent this time around in
the absence of a more substantial plotline.”
Peter
Howell of The
Toronto Star was
more critical of the film’s uninspired recycled style, one that
leaned on the fan-favorite Minions.
“What
begins as inspiration in Hollywood inevitably turns to calculation.
So it is that Despicable
Me 2 feels
slightly less fresh and more formulaic than its predecessor. DespiteGru’s warning, it has gotten older. The beguiling basics are still
there, including the goofy gadgets and sly references to other films.
But there are a few major twists and changes of emphasis -- Gru’s
babbling Minions, once a sideshow, now come close to stealing the
show. “
Stephen Holden of The
New York Times offers
a rare negative review, claiming Gru’s transformation is just one
example of the sequel turning too sweet, “trying so hard to double
your pleasure.”
“The
film … is consistently diverting and so cute you’ll want to pet
it. Yet it is also weightless and lacks a center. … It is not a
good sign for the future of this franchise that Despicable
Me 2 might
as well be waving a sign that pleads, “Love me, love me, love me!”
In
his San
Francisco Chronicle review, Peter
Hartlaub underhandedly
criticizes the film’s central narrative, which is lacking or even
absent.
“It's
a credit to Despicable Me 2 that
the writing can be so funny in the moment, that it takes time to
realize there's no cohesive story, zero dramatic tension and nary a
practical lesson for either the characters in the film or the people
watching in the theater.”
The
writer also calls out the visual animation team behind the sequel,
stating, “The animation isn't elite, so the filmmakers go for broke
with the 3D presentation, which harkens back to the comin'-at-ya
gimmickry of the 1950s and 1980s.”
Stephen Whitty of The
Newark Star-Ledger provides
rare commentary as well, declaring that he was fonder of the sequel
due to the depiction of the villainous protagonist in the original
material. (“The film called him Gru, but grow on you he never
did.”)
“Gru --
now a good guy, kind of the way Jimmy
Cagney joined
the G-Men -- is developing his own, non-Fester identity. The
‘minions’ -- the bright yellow, humanoid nubbins that do his
bidding -- are more distinguishable too. And, even better, the nicely
eccentric art -- characters turned into boldly geometric jumbles of
cones and spheres, perched on spindly legs -- has not only survived
but thrived.”
Despicable Me 2 opens
in theaters in 3D Wednesday.
Source:
hollywoodrepoter
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