Minions & Monsters

 

Greeting once again from the depths of the recently vacated movie theater. This week’s film outing had me take in the latest offering from Illumination, Minions & Monsters.  This time around the little yellow guys are adventuring through 1920's Hollywood led by a new foursome, besties James and Henry, their buddy Ed, and (eyeroll/sneer) Dick. This third standalone Minion film varies from the two previous ones by splitting the focus between finding the Minions next “Big Boss” and delivering a love letter to Hollywood and the film industry.

Minions & Monsters delivers a pretty standard film that’s widely enjoyable but also a bit of a mixed bag. The pacing is rough. The subplot with Dort is more of a lazy plot device and excuse for more gags than a necessity. It feels more like a distraction and gets tiresome. The first third to half of the film definitely falls under the been there seen that formula that’s wearing a bit thin and isn’t as charming and engaging as it was in the 2015s Minions, so the film feels flat. 

For me, things became more engaging upon arrival in Hollywood, by not from the story itself, but the homages and referential material. Being a film nerd with some film history knowledge I enjoyed seeing all the references, parodies, tributes, and recreations of classic scenes from Buster Keaton to Citizen Kane, and the “workings” of the studio system shown. I’m not sure how much kids in general or adults that catch them will get out of these things though.

By the halfway mark, Minions & Monsters finds its footing and starts hitting its chaotic stride. Being halfway through however, means that there’s little time to develop characters and events feel rushed. There are some seriously missing elements as a result that keep M&M from being as solid as a film that I hopped. Everything is too surface level.

Overall, Minions & Monsters feels rushed. Messy, underdeveloped plot and characters. Wonky pacing. It isn't one of the franchise's best or most memorable adventures, nor it’s worse. The creative premise and let’s face it the lovable Minions in general still made it enjoyable. I respect that this film was trying to be a love letter to Hollywood and filmmaking in general, I just wished it had lived up to its full potential in doing so.

I’m going to give Minions & Monsters a 6.

#MinionsandMonsters