With 2 years of postponement and high anticipation for a back-to-normal summer, there was no doubt that “Minions: The Rise of Gru” would succeed in theaters. Crushing box office records, this movie brought young kids and teens together, eager to see fan-favorite characters from a long franchise of movies. 

A sequel to the original 2015 movie, Minions 2 explains the uprising of supervillain Felonius Gru (Steve Carrell) and his yellow sidekicks, the minions. After Gru makes enemies with the villain group, the Vicious Six, he and the minions work together to fight them and prove Gru to be a legitimate supervillain.

The minions were incredibly funny in this movie with focus on the three main minions: Bob, Kevin and Stuart. We saw the addition of a new minion named Otto, a confused young minion with braces who desperately wants to prove himself. The minions’ chaotic nature and irregular speech never fail to charm and captivate viewers. 

Compared to other backstory movies which are often slow moving and boring, Minions 2 was engaging and had a great plot. Much of the “Despicable Me” storylines and characters were explained well and there weren’t any plot holes. Considering that there was a two year postponement, I felt that the movie could have been longer and less rushed as the runtime was only 1 hour 30 minutes.

The lack of conflict and action of the Vicious Six disappointed me in this movie. The Vicious Six was an interesting group of characters including Nunchuck, an elderley nun who uses nunchucks as a weapon. I felt that their screen time in the movie was cut much too short and I hope they reappear in future movies. However, the few fight scenes between the Vicious Six and Gru and the minions were well executed. The graphics were unique and eye-catching.

The soundtrack was another highlight. I enjoyed the sped up version of “Despicable Me” by Pharell Williams which is a classic song from the franchise. “Turn Up the Sunshine” by Diana Ross ft. Tame Impala was a fantastic addition and contributed to the bright and happy vibe of the movie.

For the amount of anticipation that was built up, this movie lived up to its potential, falling short in very few places. Overall, I think this movie succeeded in making the audience laugh and provided a terrific segway into the “Despicable Me” universe. 

Grade: A