2013, dir. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud;
IMDb /
allmovie
The former supervillain Gru is trying to be a good father. But
supervillainous schemes are still afoot.
Oh well. Despicable Me wasn't a film that extended an existing
franchise, but this one most definitely is, and feels like it. Nothing
challenging, nothing demanding, all the chrome from the first film and
none of the heart.
The first problem is that there isn't enough supervillainy. This film
is a hymn of praise to conformity: Gru must have a wife, not because
of any lack in his life with the three girls he adopted, but because
normal families have a mummy as well as a daddy. When the oldest
girl shows interest in a Boy, does Gru solve it by being true to
himself, i.e. a supervillain with a heart? No: he becomes Clichéd
Movie Dad, completely panicked at the very idea that his daughter
might have anything in her life not put there by him. Women last time
were, well, mostly villains, but basically normal people; now they're
for rescuing and marrying, or for running away from romantic
encounters with.
Bodily function jokes? Yeah, obviously we needed lots more of those.
Dressing up in drag as a source of comedy? Repeatedly. Ethnic
stereotypes? Hey, Ken Jeong's in the cast, that means it's not racist,
right? Tasering as a source of harmless fun? Sure, sure, throw it all
in. Even the distinctive personalities of the three girls are
basically now reduced to a few sight gags. Casual continuity errors
(disappearing tripwires and tattoos) abound.
Really, this is only saved by the Minions, and they gradually
disappear as things go on. There are some decent moments, and this
isn't a complete waste of time, but it's a gust of stale air compared
with the slightly fresh breeze of the original.
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