In the heart of the 1970's, amidst a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans, Gru (Steve Carell) is growing up in the suburbs. A fanboy of supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. Luckily, he gets some mayhem-making back-up from his loyal followers, the Minions. Together, Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto--a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please--deploy their skills as they and Gru build their first lair, experiment with their first weapons, and pull off their first missions. When the Vicious 6, including Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Jean-Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Stronghold (Danny Trejo), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren) and Nun-Chuck (Lucy Lawless), oust their leader, legendary fighter Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), Gru interviews to become their newest member. It doesn't go well (to say the least), and only gets worse after Gru outsmarts them, and suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. On the run, Gru will turn to an unlikely source for guidance, Wild Knuckles, and discover that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.
Others to round out the cast are Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow, Julie Andrews as Gru's Mom, Russell Brand as Nefario, RZA as Biker and Will Arnett as Mr. Perkins.
This was frenetically directed by Kyle Balda ("The Lorax" (co-dir.) '12, "Minions" '15, "Despicable Me 3" '17) plus shorts and videos, co-directed by Johnathan del Val ("The Secret Life of Pets 2" (co-dir.) '19) and Brad Ableson (TV and shorts). This was certainly directed in the same vein as the other Minion and Despicable Me films--of course, with the same one (Balda) behind the camera, it's definitely easy to see this. Much of the credit goes to the character development of Gru and the Minions, but considering Carell and Coffin's rendition of the Minions, it simply pulls the audience in. However, Balda's ability to maneuver these characters within the story certainly shows his talent as director. He truly has the lion's share of experience here, however, I'm sure the co=directors both del Val and Ableson were able to convey their input as well. It was creatively written by Matthew Fogel ("Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" '11, "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" (story) '19) plus a TV movie, based on a story by Brian Lynch and Fogel. Even though the experience with this writer is limited, he was definitely able to pull off an effectively funny script. The writing of the Lego movies has always been the best aspect of those films, being written in such a 'tongue and cheek' way. I wouldn't call this 'tongue and cheek', however it clearly kept the story on that hilarious roller coaster which makes for great summer escapism. Other than a couple of small areas of inconsistencies, this story was spot on. And, of course, the animation by Illumination Studios was amazingly creative.
If you love this particular franchise, you'll love this. It has it all: humor, adventure, while showing us that we need one another more than we know. It was also presented in an IMAX format to give it that up, close and personal feeling. Enjoy this little gem. Kids will love it!
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG 87mins.
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