Movie Review: Minions and Monsters

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

This movie is not only a delight for fans of the Minions but also for cinephiles. 

Minions and Monsters can be split into two halves. The first half revolves around the Minions coming to Hollywood and getting jobs in the movies. The second is a more typical Minions adventure involving our yellow friends facing monsters and meeting spacemen. 

If I was only grading the first half of this movie, I would give it an "A+." This first half is a truly hilarious send up of Hollywood and classic movies. There are many references to classic movies that help make this just as much of a delight for grown up film buffs as it is for kids. With the Minions first coming to Hollywood during the silent era, this film is full of references to silent cinema. I did not expect to see a modern animated family comedy that pays homage to Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Méliès, Lang and the Lumière brothers. There are even references to such beloved sound classics as The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Citizen Kane. This was a delightful surprise, and it helps that many of the homages are actually really funny (the Harold Lloyd gag cracked me up). These classic movie homages are brilliantly combined with Minion slapstick, much of which is also very funny. The chase scene when they first arrive in Hollywood is slapstick comedy filmmaking at its best. Even the bits before they arrive in Hollywood, such as the scenes with the cyclops are really funny. Besides just being funny, there is a wonderful sense of comic energy and true love of the movies that shines through this movie's first half. For what is the seventh feature length movie in this franchise, it is amazing how fresh and clever this first half manages to feel. 

Unfortunately, the second half doesn't quite hold up to the wonderful first half. In this second half, the story becomes more generic and predictable. At the same time while there are still some strong gags in this second half, they are not as plentiful as they were in the first half. Yet there is still some charm to be found in this second half as the Minions are still such enduring characters.

This movie was directed by Pierre Coffin, who is not only the voice of the Minions but served as a co-director on the first three Despicable Me films as well as the first Minions spin-off movie. Coffin co-wrote this movie with Bryan Lynch, who had written Minions (2015) and co-written Minions: Rise of Gru (2022). He also served as a co-writer on both Secret Life of Pets films. 

While the second half may not be as strong as the first, the first half is great enough to make this a must-see comedy.