Movie Review: "Despicable Me 2" (2013)

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Movie: "Despicable Me 2"
Director: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Year: 2010
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Gru (Steve Carell), now playing the father role and trying to start a business in jams and jellies, misses the villain lifestyle just a bit. He gets recruited by Lucy (Kristen Wiig) of the Anti-Villain League (AVL, for short) to find a missing mutation chemical stolen from an Antarctic science lab. Gru and Lucy pose as shop owners in a local mall to try and track down the master villain who stole the serum.

GRU!!!!!!!!! MINIONS!!!!!!!!! MORE!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!

"Despicable Me 2" is the sort of but maybe not anticipated sequel to the wildly, surprisingly successful first installment of the series featuring Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, and his now-daughters Agnes, Edith, Margo, and Dr. Nefario, voiced by Russell Brand. The movie starts off where the first film ended, with Gru being a father to the three girls and doing everything in his power to keep an honest, non-villainous life. He gets recruited by the AVL (the Anti-Villain League) to figure out why an Arctic lab with a dangerous mutation chemical was stolen off the face of the Earth. This time around, we meet Lucy, voiced by the wacky and wonderful Kristen Wiig, a crazy/eccentric/silly AVL agent who becomes Gru's partner-in-crime to try and solve the mystery using the mind of someone who used to be a criminal. Gru and Lucy's cover is a cupcake shop in a local mall; there, the two try to figure out which shop owner is really an undercover criminal villain mastermind. Gru's suspicions grow deeper as he accuses restaurant owner Eduardo, voiced by Benjamin Bratt, of being a thought-to-be-dead super-villain named El Macho. Along the way, these characters find love, heartbreak, betrayal, and new-found bonds in this almost-equally heartwarming sequel. Though this film is not quite as spectacular as the original, it still has a lot of touching moments and fun, though some of this is rehashed and can feel a little bit dragging from short time to time.

We have no doubt this movie was made specifically to showcase The Minions once again since kids loooooooooved them in the first "Despicable Me" film. Judging by the third installment, a prequel set to debut this week, spinning off the Minions origin story, we know we're right. "Despicable Me 2," beyond being a marketing ploy, is actually a really extremely cute film. We both found ourselves smiling throughout the entire movie. The plot was good, the actors did great voice work once again, and we think it has a very touching message throughout its shortish run time. Steve Carell can do no wrong in our eyes and he is fabulous once again as Gru. Though his priorities have shifted to father mode, we see a lack of spark in his eye and we know he's missing the villain lifestyle just a teensy weensy little bit.

We went to see this movie during a late night showtime and the theater was packed with mostly adults and teenagers. There were probably only 5 or 6 kids in the entire theater. The guy behind us didn't stop laughing the entire movie. And when I say laugh, I mean LAUGH, like hearty, guffaw type laughing. He loved the Minions, which proves you don't need to have kids or be a kid to enjoy cartoon movies. We are in the same boat as him, since we're kids at heart. Overall, if you enjoyed the first film, chances are, you'll love the second and chuckle and get teary-eyed like we did, and be wondered and amazed by the great graphics just like we were.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 74%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!