Viewed – 08 December 2013

The first DM was a welcome surprise.  I had low expectations, it wasn’t by Pixar or Dreamworks and featured a quirky art style.  But why did it work so well?  Let’s just say it had a surprising amount of heart, telling the tale of down on his luck super villain Gru (Steve Carrell) whose plan to steal the moon(!) is complicated when three orphan girls come into his care.  It was funny, full of ‘aww’ moments and genuinely charming.  This follow up has former villain Gru getting recruited by the shady Anti-Villain League to track down a stolen top-secret formula, and is aided by spunky female agent ‘Lucy’ (Kristina Wiig) who as you can guess becomes an unexpected love interest for our put-upon main character.

This sequel showcases the ingenious creations that won so many fans last time, namely the ‘minions’ as well as some great chemistry between Gru and Lucy, and plenty of continued ‘aww’ moments with the children.  I felt that unlike the last movie which focused on Gru’s relationship with the girls, making them more of a side line was a mistake – they are the heart and soul of this concept, but instead we get secret agent action, gadgets, lots of minion moments (never a bad thing) and a rather disappointing villain.  However on a visual scale this is a tour-de-force.  It’s definitely one of the most visually captivating and eye-meltingly gorgeous movies I have ever seen.  Animation house Illumination have really out done themselves. 

There is a lot going on, a few twists here and there and a fun ‘who dunnit’ plot, along with some great site gags (the sushi bar moment) – so overall this was almost as good as the first, but by throwing in more action and a predicable love story, the magic is missing somewhat.  Taken on it’s own merits however, I still had a ton of fun.

Verdict:  4 /5