I found Despicable Me (number one) to be a fairly well animated, but not terribly diverting, 95-minutes aimed entirely at small diminutive creatures. This time, taking note, I took a diminutive creature of my own, Zeno (age 7), but still hoped that the film might offer up something for the adults corralling their progeny. It didn't. Unless you find the word 'bottom' quite funny, and I've been assured that it is funny, so feel free to discount a lot of what follows depending on where you sit on 'the bottom spectrum'.
Gru (Steve Carrell) is again forced to operate outside his comfort zone and connect with the world, all because a villain is stealing laboratories round the world to do... Something. Honestly, the film doesn't really care about the villain or what he's up to, so let's not worry about it here. Gru's story, which mostly revolves around dating, is fine, but it's the only thing going on in the second act, stalling all plot momentum. The girls from film one are still in his care and get even less to do this time round. Margo starts to notice boys, Edith stands around filling space, and Agnes continues to do her cute thing (which, I'll admit, is cute enough that it even worked on my cold, scabrous, adult heart). The minions have been given a more prominent role ahead of their own film next year, but do little besides make random 80s and 90s references, talk gibberish, and get turned into sort-of-Gremlins. Despite all their extra screen time there's no attempt to flesh them out beyond affirming that they're just The Three Stooges. But Smaller. And Yellow. I get that they're clones and all much of a muchness, and that that's part of the gag, but there's nothing to them as characters. How are they going to a carry a whole film? (Perhaps there's a dark tale to be told about their strange, possibly forced, segregation into groups of three - which never includes clones from their own batch. By keeping them to the same group dynamic Gru stops them from learning and changing so that they're always under his control... No, they won't make this film, but God knows what they'll make instead.)
I am not the intended audience for this. Clearly. So let's check in with the target demographic:
Me to Zeno:
What'd you think? 'It was funny' Why? 'There was loads of action.' Which was the best bit? 'The purple bit.' But it was devoid of character. 'Don't care.' *sigh* I'm going to have to teach you about character. 'Nope.' Well what would you give it out of ten? 'Ten.'
Overall: 3.5/10
Zeno's mark: 10/10
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