Synopsis: This is the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created.
What We Thought:
Minions & Monsters is a better homage to old Hollywood filmmaking than Babylon. I am 100% serious about that statement. While the youngsters are laughing at the weird, yellow creatures, adults who are into cinema will be cheering on the countless Silent Film Era Easter eggs and references to early talkies and movie stars. Scenes straight out of silent films will go over the heads of the young audience, but adult cinephiles will have a blast with all the Charlie Chaplin-esque scenarios.
The film may be the 7th release in the Despicable Me Universe, but like the previous movie, Minions: The Rise of Gru, it’s a prequel film establishing more Minion lore. It starts off with the Minions setting out to find a new Big Boss to serve and eventually they find themselves in 1920s Hollywood. They soon become overnight successes in Silent Films, but once movies become Talkies, the creatures who speak a combination of languages get the boot. But two Minions, Henry and James, have already fallen in love with making movies and with the help of Ed, set out to make their own movie involving monsters they conjure from a spell book. Meanwhile the rest of the Minions latch on to a new Big Boss named Dort who claims to be an Alien robot who wants to destroy the Earth. Both teams end up combining to help defend the Earth from the Monsters.
I’m a fully grown adult man who doesn’t have children. On paper I’m not the target audience for this film or any in the franchise. Yet I’d be lying if I said I haven’t seen every single one at the theater and have enjoyed each one as well. Rise of Gru being set in the 1970s gave it its own set of jokes and references. The latest being set in Old Hollywood does the same exact thing. I cheered and laughed at all the Easter eggs while the children in the crowd laughed at the Minions. It’s a great combination that has been proven to work for almost 2 decades now.
Did we need yet another Minions movie? No, of course not. Did I kind of love Minions & Monsters regardless? Absolutely. It’s the summer, we need films that can shut our brains off as we sit in air conditioning escaping the outside world. I like these movies and enjoy almost everything Illumination puts out. It should be another hit for them with kids having a blast and adults getting something out of it as well.
RECOMMENDED!
The Nerds Templar 