मिनियंस द राइज ऑफ़ ग्रु

'Minions: The Rise of Gru' follows 11 3/4 year old Gru (voiced by Steve Carrell) trying to make a name for himself and join the ranks of an elite villians group, the Vicious 6. With humble beginnings as a troublemaker in his mother's basement, the minions (voiced by Pierre Coffin) are determined to help him succeed in his mission.

The film is a sort of origin story for Gru, despite having elusions to his childhood in the 1st and 3rd movies. The wacky and wonderful minions carry the film, but sadly, the plot seems haphazard. The henchmen, Jean-Clawed (voice by Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (voiced by Dolph Lundgren), and Stronghold (voiced by Danny Trejo) all seem to be second-string compared to Belle Bottom (voiced by Taraji P. Henson) and Wild Knuckles (voiced by Alan Arkin). The animation is fairly standard of the earlier movies, the flow is solid, and the film's ending kind of makes sense, but the plot in general is a bit of a hodgepodge.

Worth a watch with the kids.

Its a fun movie. Minion scenes are more than Gru and thankfully so. The chemistry between minions characters is epic. Love Kevin, Bob and Stuart.

There is no deep meaning or higher message, a simple carefree movie which is supposed to be seen that way.

The latest from Illumination Studios is another adventure, actually a prequel this time, as we follow how Gru, still voiced by Steve Carrell, tries to get in the door to join the Vicious Six (voiced by Alan Arkin, Taraji P. Henson, Jean Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Danny Trejo & Dolph Lundrgren) after they have betrayed Arkin during a sacred stone heist. Dismissing him as being too young & distracted by another potential try-out, Gru manages to steal the stone sending the baddies on his tail but due to one of the accompanying minions trading the stone out for a pet rock, the race is on to get the rock back before the Vicious Six (really five at this point!) get their collective mitts on it. Sure the film is threadbare plotwise (being an excuse to have a bunch of minion antics running throughout the story like socks on a laundry line) but the film is nothing but fun & unlike the Shrek films which acted as an alternative to the Pixar output, at least the Illumination team keeps pushing the envelope on perfecting their visuals (standouts include the textures on the minions' goggles & Gru's realistic expressions when he's upset or challenged). Returning champs to the franchise include Julie Andrews as Gru's mom, Russell Brand as Mr. Nefario (he's not a doc yet) w/Michelle Yeoh as a kung fu master the minions get lessons from & the Rza as a biker who gives a minion a much needed ride to San Francisco.

The movie did have some solid laughs, but they really overdid it with the butt jokes and fart jokes. That just doesn't appeal to me (although I know who it does appeal to, so I'm somewhat sympathetic). Otherwise I would've given it an 8. Still, a fun short watch.

Nothing too impressive or new.. Te scenes look contrived. Learning kung-fu scenes were an utter waste of time. Too slapstick even for kids. Hope there will be a better storyline next time.