Monday, July 20, 2015

Minions save Queen and Country

Those adorably loony, mischievous and cute little yellow critters finally get to headline their own feature-length movie in ‘Minions,’ a prequel which seeks to address their origin and backstory before their employment by the villain mastermind Gru.  Having enjoyed both ‘Despicable Me’ and its sequel (reviewed here: http://www.moviesaccordingtodave.blogspot.com/2013/07/adorable-me.html) immensely, following the latest shenanigans of these one- and two-eyed minions in denim suspenders is a no-brainer for me.
 
Having served countless masters throughout history since the dawn of time including Napoleon Bonaparte, the subservient minions (think of them as a tribe) find themselves masterless and without purpose when they were exiled after helping one to an early demise through their bumbling incompetence.  In a last ditch effort to bring their tribe out of its malaise, three minions (Kevin, Stuart and Bob) embarked upon a perilous trek to find a new master and ended up in… London circa 1968.  What started as a promising new minion-ship under female supervillain “Scarlet Overkill” (voiced by Sandra Bullock) became a God-Save-the-Queen misadventure as Kevin, Stuart and Bob foil Scarlet’s dastardly plan to fulfill her life-long dream of becoming a princess by stealing the royal crown worn by the young Queen Elizabeth II (remember, this was back in 1968).
 
While Minions can be funny in small doses and in film shorts like ‘Minion Madness,’ they struggle to maintain the momentum when asked to carry an entire movie on their tiny shoulders (not surprising, since they don’t have any to speak of).  Nevertheless, ‘Minions’ delivers a fun and enjoyable experience for the young and old, more so if you’re already a fan of the little terrors.  What I didn’t expect was that the movie is also a homage to the Fab Four era and features classic Brit rock from the period.  There’s even a rather obvious reference to the 'Abbey Road' album cover.  It's a shame that a good chunk of the audience won't be able to connect the dots.
 
Grade: B+
 
 photo minions_ver2_xxlg_zpslxmgvxwk.jpg

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