• Home
  • Movie News
  • Movie Trailers
  • Reviews
    • Cinema Reviews
    • Home Entertainment Reviews
      • Blu-ray Review
      • DVD Review
  • Competitions
  • Features
    • Interview

Movie Muser

Have your say about cinema

Minions (Blu-ray Review)

15th November 2015 By Tim Isaac

minions-review-slideStarring: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Jennifer Saunders
Directed By: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Running Time: 91 mins
BBFC Certificate: U
UK Release Date: November 16th 2015 (UK)

Our Score

I severely doubt that when the creators of Despicable Me came up with the Minions as a bit of comic relief they ever thought they would become the phenomenon they have. Indeed, you could be forgiven if you’d forgotten those films were about Gru, due to the massive wave of Minions merchandise in the shops, and now a spin-off movie that has massively eclipsed its predecessors, becoming only the third animated film ever to gross more than a billion at cinemas worldwide.

The film takes us back to the origins of the little yellow creatures, who have been look for the evilest boss to follow around for millions of years, from prehistoric fish to the T-rex. However, the last few hundred years have been tough, with the Minions losing all their masters and retreating from the world and hiding away at the South Pole.

In 1968 three of them – Stuart, Kevin and Bob – decide it’s time to strike out and find themselves a new evil master to follow. That brings them to Villiancon and the world’s first female supervillain, Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock). She enlists the Minions to help with her plot to steal the Queen of England’s crown, with the hope she’ll eventually take the throne itself. However, while Minions may love to follow baddies, their help often brings more problems than it solves. As a result, Scarlet finds it’s not her who’s the new monarch, and she isn’t happy about it.

It’s certainly not up to standard of the best of Disney or Pixar, but Minions is still pretty fun. It didn’t get particularly good reviews at the cinema, and I can’t help but feel that’s because it’s a film that aim itself squarely at kids in both tone and content. Although there are quite a few jokes that will go right over their head to make the adults smile (and to be honest, with some of those jokes, even a lot of the grown-ups won’t quite get the 60 reference), it doesn’t spend as much time pandering to parents as many other animated movies.

It was always going to be tough to stretch the little characters into a full movie (as Penguins Of Madagascar discovered), as while they were great fun in Despicable Me, they were essentially one joke that was kept alive by being inventive. Getting them to hold a whole film was asking a lot, especially as they speak gobbledegook. Thankfully though Minions pulls it off.

The film could perhaps have done with being a little more inventive and zany, as while it is pretty crazy at times, it’s the sort of animated anarchy that is amusing rather than inspired.

Stuart, Kevin and Bob are entertaining company to be in, and while the film never properly explains quite why they all want to follow bad guys rather than goodies, it ensures this doesn’t matter too much by concentrating on the bond of friendship between the ‘buddies’. They may not be the best henchmen in the world, but they’re certainly entertaining ones and their loyalty to one another and endless enthusiasm is rather sweet and infectious.

There’s also no doubt it looks great on Blu-ray, and with three extra Minion-related cartoons and plenty more in the special features, it’ll keep you and the youngsters entertained beyond the movie too.

Overall Verdict: Although it’s not a masterpiece, Minions is pretty fun and with its silly sense of humour and daft but entertaining plot it’ll keep the kids smiling.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

Special Features: Three Original Minions Mini-Movies; ‘Behind The Goggles: The Illumination Story Of The Minions’ Featurette; Around The World Interactive Map; Jingle Bells Minions Style; Trailers

Minions (Blu-ray Review) reviewed by Tim Isaac on 15th November 2015 rated 3.5 of 5

Related

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Jennifer Saunders  DIRECTORS: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin  

Filed Under: Blu-ray Review

Search this site…

Get Social

RSSTwitterFacebook

Get new posts by e-mail

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Latest Cinema & Home Ent. Reviews

Mortal Engines (Cinema Review)

Anna and the Apocalypse (Cinema Review)

Suspiria (Cinema Review)

Overlord (Cinema Review)

King of Thieves (Cinema Review)

Isle of Dogs (DVD Review)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Cinema Review)

Tomb Raider (Blu-ray Review)

The Bridge 4 (DVD Review)

My Friend Dahmer (Cinema Review)

Latest News & Trailers

Detective Pikachu Trailer – Pokemon is going live action with Ryan Reynolds

Toy Story 4 Teaser Trailer – Woody & the gang are coming back once more

Aladdin Teaser Trailer – Guy Ritchie directs Disney’s latest live-action adaptation

New Glass Trailer – The worlds of Unbreakable and Split meet

Aquaman Extended Trailer – Jason Momoa goes to war under the seas against Patrick Wilson

New Overlord Trailer – Soldiers take on Nazi-created zombies in the JJ Abrams produced movie

The Mule Trailer – Clint Eastwood is an octogenarian drug runner opposite Bradley Cooper

Vice Trailer – Christian Bale transforms into former Vice President Dick Cheney

Mary Queen of Scots Trailer – Saoirse Ronan & Margot Robbie get Elizabethan

New Mortal Engines Trailer – London is literally on the move in the steampunk fantasy

Handpicked MediaHandpicked MediaCopyright © 2025 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in
Movie Muser is a member of The Handpicked Media network

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.