DESPICABLE ME 2: Lovable and Funny as Ever, But ...

July 6, 2013

The first "Despicable Me" back in 2010 was an unexpected heartwarming surprise for me. I did not think I would like that film because of the strange-looking artwork of the unorthodox characters. But the main story of the film, about how a super-villain named Gru, who wanted to steal the Moon, reformed to become a dedicated family man to three orphaned girls Margo, Edith and Agnes, was its best feature.  My review of the first DM was posted HERE.

This story of this sequel is about the reformed Gru (still voiced by Steve Carell) being recruited by the Anti-Villain League to be their secret agent.  His mission is to discover and apprehend an evil criminal who had developed a toxin which can turn any living being into destructive purple hairy monsters upon injection. 

While this mission was going on, Gru was also having difficulty admitting his romantic feelings for kooky partner Lucy (Kristen Wiig), as well as trying to break up another romance budding between his eldest daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) and her dashing Latino admirer, who was the son of the man Gru suspects to be the diabolical El Macho.

For me, the story is not really much to be excited too much about this time, unlike the first one which was totally original and endearing. The first film was already perfect as it was as a stand-alone film. I actually thought and even hoped back then that there would be no more sequels to that one. But you know Hollywood, they will try and squeeze out whatever they can from a successful franchise like this one.

The star of this film is the vibrant and colorful artwork. We watched this film in 3D and it was awesome, absolutely worth the extra money it cost. The face of Gru himself alone, with that pointy nose of his, is made for 3D.  The 3D animation was breath-taking in so many of the far-out action scenes, especially those where there was a speeding submarine underwater, the car hurtling out of the mall window, a jelly gun battle of epic proportions, an exploding volcano, up to the Minions antics during the final credits.  

I have to say liked the first film better than this one. This sequel, while still lovable and enjoyable as ever, focused more on the relationship between Gru and Lucy.  It had little of those delightful encounters between Gru and his daughters which made the first film uniquely appealing.  I wanted to see more of cute little Agnes most of all.  While she had her little touching moment at the end, it was just too short to make too much of an impact.  

But make no mistake, definitely, this is one very funny and entertaining film for the whole family.  Fans of those naughty little yellow Minions will rejoice as they have practically half of the movie running time dedicated to them, and there are so many more of them here.  Fans of good 3D effects will really find this film so cool.  I just missed some of the heart that made the first installment more than special.  7/10.