Despicable Me 2

2013

PG

Produced by: Christopher Meledandri, Janet Healy

Directed by: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

Written by: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio

Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt

Universal Pictures

4.21/5 Stars

Consensus: While it lacks the wit and charisma the first film contained, Despicable Me 2 still manages to be a wacky and entertaining film.  

Plot: Gru (Steve Carell) is recruited by the AVL (Anti-Villain League) to help foil a new villain who has recently come a-large, meanwhile Gru must maintain the newfound stressors of being a parent.

Directing: Nothing spectacular is exhibited in this realm. The film is executed in a safe and fun fashion that is marketable and well done, just not notable. Things seem to go in a predictable and safe manner. ***

Acting: Steve Carell is as fun as ever and seems to have refined his character voice for Gru. He executes this well and his familiar and appealing screen presence translates to voice acting quite well. The voice acting done for the minions (by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud) is also an extremely impressive example of voice acting. The film shined most in this area. *****

Editing: A couple interesting sweeps here and there manage to work well for the film. Some framed pull backs also add to the fun film and fit with the theme that not all things are as they appear, or, don’t judge a book by its cover. One shot in particular, of a group of minions vacationing on an island, pulls back to prove that in fact the minions are captive for some future experiment. The camera’s ability to maintain some mystery or intrigue about the new super villain was also effective. ****1/2

Art Direction: Everything flows together in the fantastic and off-beat feel that the entire film has, the gadgets stand out the most in this area but Gru’s world, his neighborhood and the absurdity of his situation all work quite well and the animation of this film is perhaps the second most appealing aspect it has. *****

Cinematography: As with most animated films, the cinematography is secondary, and, in fact, essentially non-existent as the film was animated and camera angles where not a central feature at all, other than the pre-disposed rule of thirds used in the creation and animation of the product, ergo… *****

Screenplay: Offensive at times and littered with mindless fart jokes at others, this area is where the film struggled the most. The second installment of Despicable Me seemed to lack almost all the wit of the first film. That this wit was replaced by obvious fart jokes, blathering minions, and painful “bad-date” references ads insult to injury. It even managed to be offensive and mock departed loved ones, divorced families, and a myriad of other “not okay” (or at least not for a children’s film and not in my book) areas. Not that the screenplay is a total failure, even at its most obvious and painful, it had its moments, there just aren’t many of them, and you can see them all coming from a mile away. The majority of the gags where shown in the trailer and, again, the wit seems to have been pulverized out of the original concept. **

CGI/Special Effects: The animation looked sleek and clean and fun. It worked perfectly for what was intended with the product. *****