Most of the time, I try to avoid kids movies. Not because I have anything against them, because there are always a few (like Spirited Away or Toy Story 3) that stand out and do the job of catering to both the kids and the parents. That being said, I always wanted to watch scarier, sexier, more violent movies when I was a kid, and for years I was forced to watch movies that were more "appropriate" for my age. Now that I am practically an adult I am very much enjoying how I can basically watch whatever I want. Yet there are times when I let my guard down to see if a recent kiddie movie is any good. Sometimes it works out okay, and other times.....eh.
Let's face it, people; the movies that have come out this summer so far have not really raised the bar too high, with the exception of Man of Steel. I needed something to do on Monday, so this is what came up. I understand that the concept of not-making-a-sequel-because-the-story-should-end-where-the-last-movie-ended is pretty foreign to most Hollywood directors, and this movie proves just that. I did like the first movie a lot. Despicable Me was mostly original, it was funny, and had enough wit to entertain the kids, teenagers, and parents. Too bad it did well, because as soon as that happens the Hollywood producers start insisting on a sequel, and usually it happens. And those sequels, like this one, are wholly unnecessary.
The plot centers around Gru, who is now a single dad to his three adopted daughters. He is kidnapped and brought to the headquarters of the Anti-Villain League because they want to recruit him to help stop a mystery villain from using a stolen serum to destroy the planet. Gru is then assigned a female partner named Lucy and they snoop around the local mall to catch the perpetrator. But the pressure to provide the girls with a mother and troubling details from the past are complicating things for Gru.
I will give this film credit because I understand that computer animation (or any animation) is a real bitch and you have to be in-it-to-win-it when you are a part of that type of movie. That being said, there have been better computer animated movies. I know that, because this is a kids movie, producers think they can get away with overdone or terrible jokes and minor plot inconsistencies because of the old, "Ah, kids, they're too stupid to understand" reasoning. But they have to understand that parents (and to some degree, teenagers) are probably coming along as well, so they have to be entertained as well. Sure, kids need stuff shoved in their faces "in case they don't get it", but I think that most kids can figure most of the plot out on their own, so you don't need to make every plot "twist" so blatantly and obviously foreshadowed that it's simply annoying. Also, there are a few inconsistencies with the characters at certain points, most notably when Lucy acts a bit cold when she kidnaps Gru and then all of the sudden she's a nice girl. And some of the designs for this film are a little uncomfortable. The colors are so bright that it feels like every inch of the screen is shouting at you, or it seems like you've died and gone to some Play-Doh heaven.
The biggest issue presented in the movie is the concept of single parenting. They touch on it a lot, and I was wondering if this has made any single parent uncomfortable. They also try to dumb down the concept considerably so kids will understand it, which is kind of weird considering the seriousness it presents. I'm not saying that Hollywood is trying to start domestic arguments or anything, but introducing somewhat-mature and serious issues into children's films are getting kind of old by this point.
Don't forget the minions. I get that the minions are really the only thing that appeal to the majority of the audience, but they have milked their appeal so much that it's tiring. They promoted the crap out of this movie and the minions were basically the only things they used. Isn't it soooo convenient that kids movies are so damn marketable?
All in all, this film is just another drawn-out, lukewarm, bland film. So much more could've been done, but they wasted the opportunity with overdone jokes and awkward dialogue.
Overall Rating: 4/10
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