by Devina Gunawan
While watching “Minions,” one could not help but wonder, “Whatever happened to the character development that was so well done in Despicable Me 1 and 2?”
To be honest, listening to Sandra Bullock’s voice was a thrill. It was probably the only time I could feel a sense of excitement watching the movie. The rest of it felt a bit forced and the characters seemed very flat. There was barely anything to the human characters, and older audience would notice how the characters were almost one dimensional.
So the story began with how the minions had been searching for an evil master to serve. Unfortunately, they kept on ‘accidentally’ murdering their masters and ended up stranded in a bored, unmotivated community.
Kevin, a minion smarter than the rest, decided to step up and start up a journey to find a true master. He dragged along with him the hippie Stuart and the baby in the group, Bob.
The three of them landed in the States, and saw on TV a woman they believed would be the one master they had been searching for: Scarlet Overkill.
Knowing that she was visiting Florida, the trio headed to Florida.
From then on, the plot moved as expectation. The underdog, baby Bob ended up winning a contest Scarlet had set up to find her perfect minion, and she took the trio to London. There, she ordered the trio to steal Queen Elizabeth’s crown.
Obviously, “Minions” got a lot to offer in its plot. I did not anticipate a lot of the twists in the plot line; however, a lot of the jokes were not as funny as I thought they would be. A lot of the funny moments seemed forced, almost as if they just had to be there for the sake of being there.
Of course, one does not go to see “Minions” without expecting to laugh out loud. I can assure you that you will laugh watching this movie.
There were moments in the movie when I was just confused. To me, the minions are creatures that are just naturally adorable. They have the ability to be funny without even trying. So I was a bit disappointed when I felt like the story line was forcing the comedy, instead of just focusing on building more engaging characters and letting the humor sink in.
By the time the movie ended, I could not say I had enjoyed it thoroughly. It was just a movie, not that great, but it was not bad. I could say it was an unnecessary installment to the already wonderful Despicable Me chain. It was entertaining, but that was just it.
Despicable Me won us over by Gru and his girls. Their character development, their depth, and their interaction felt natural and relevant. Watching Despicable Me, both the first and second, was more engaging than watching Minions.
The minions are very cute, so much that they break internet every single time a post about them is up. However, that is all there is that we like about them: that they are cute. The minions do not provide us with the engaging emotional interaction that human characters interaction does. They simply are.
Adorable. Irresistible.
So even though I have heard many comments from people on how disappointed they have been with “Minions,” I have also heard so much of how “King Bob” has become the new joke in social circles.
I wish that the writers had done more for Scarlet and Herb, but I can understand that they knew they could rely on the minions alone to save the movie. Which, in their defense, they totally did.
The minions are cute. That is all. I would totally recommend you to go see it because it is a very entertaining movie. However, do not expect the magic of Despicable Me, because you will not find it there.
OpinionHuis 