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The minions successfully find great masters, including a T. Rex, a caveman, an Egyptian pharaoh, Dracula, and Napoleon, but after accidentally executing them all soon after, they decide to isolate themselves from the world and start a new life in Antarctica. By 1968, the lack of a master drives them into depression, so the lead Minion Kevin comes up with a plan to find a new one.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for Minions is mixed to moderately positive, with most reviewers acknowledging the film's appeal as light, harmless family entertainment. The Minions themselves — their physical comedy, gibberish-laced antics, and inherent screen presence — are the most consistently praised element across reviews. However, several critics point to a weak, aimless narrative as a significant drawback, with some finding the thin plot insufficient to sustain even the film's brief runtime. A handful of reviewers also note that the novelty of the characters has worn off, and at least one critic dismisses the film as uninspired and dull despite its colorful presentation.
16 reviews · 7 positive · 5 mixed
AI-generated summary of 16 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (16)
"The plot's serviceable at best, never as smart as a Pixar offering, or even a Despicable Me film. But it's consistently goofy, and coasts along on the strength of its frenetic action and slapstick humor. Directors Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin recognize that it's these banana-loving, gibberish-spouting Minions themselves that are the biggest draw of this film, and they mine laughs from their nonsensical singing and childish shenanigans."Read full review ↗
"At 91 minutes, these tiny yellow blobs steal the show from their human counterparts. With charming elements galore, adorable gibberish talk and winsome screen presence, the film is cuteness overload."Read full review ↗
"Overall, directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, have ensured that Minions have all the elements and star power to be a great family entertainer."Read full review ↗
"But what got us the most was the stunning voiceover performance from Sandra Bullock. Despite being a definite far cry from her usual films and roles, Bullock does a good job with Scarlett, bringing a human dimension to an animated character. With notable references to pop culture and conspiracy theories thrown in among the gags, MINIONS is a treat for both the adults and kids."Read full review ↗
"Minions works because there is enough slapstick comedy to entertain the kids and lots of cultural references to keep the adults amused. The emotions maybe a little less but the laughs are few more. The central characters help the film sail through, they are clumsy and silly but in a smart way."Read full review ↗
"Here's a film that won't fail, but it won't be one of the best animation films this year either. Your kids and you will probably watch it all of once and then move on to the merchandise. Yeah, that's it. I can't imagine revisiting this film. And that's really disappointing for a film that should've had world do-minion on its agenda."Read full review ↗
"The element of surprise is gone, but there sure is fun in the familiarity. There's only so many times you'll giggle at the Minions cutely saying 'banana'. Ultimately it's harmless fun, and the kids will surely enjoy it, so it becomes an easy watch and an even easier recommendation."Read full review ↗
"it provides a valuable lesson without preaching and communicates much of its ideas and themes visually, and does so without losing its lightness of spirit, and even allows for a Minion speaking in gibberish to be highly resonant and emotive in many key scenes."Read full review ↗
"Minions is a fun 90 minute watch filled with silly humor. Definitely a weekend watch for kids!"Read full review ↗
"While Minions are insanely cute and do offer you short spells of laughter, this is nothing to go bananas over."Read full review ↗
"Too long to keep its audience glued, Minions could have been a much better watch were it Minion sized."Read full review ↗
"There is an intrinsic problem with this film about creatures who exist just to serve. When it actually gets going, Minions finds it hard to hold down a thought, let alone a relationship."Read full review ↗
"The characters are amusing, the colour palette gorgeous and the gags suitably silly but if you are looking for a cogent storyline you have to bring along a magnifying glass. Bullock doesn't really fire on all cylinders and after a point the narrative, like its principal characters, gets a bit wobbly as the directors literally go for Overkill."Read full review ↗
"The yellow-coloured minions are among the most critic-proof animated characters ever created. Considered opinion and critical distance are useless defenses against the sight of even a single one of the mites with its wide eyes and goofy grin bobbing across the screen...It's sometimes aimless, often hilarious and always silly, everything you would expect the minions to be."Read full review ↗
"...brightly coloured and laden with music, the movie is paisa vasool time pass slapstick. Small children may find some of the scenes distressing but teens and adults will enjoy the music and deciphering minionese' (I did) a mish mash of gibberish and words from languages like Spanish, French, Swahili and I thought I even heard Marathi!"Read full review ↗
"Minions isn't interested in provoking anything — neither ideas nor emotion. It would like to bombard you with yellow to the point where you switch your brain off and slump in the cinema. At least that way you can distract yourself from the fact that you bought into the publicity machine and paid for a thoroughly uninspired and dull movie."Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Sandra Bullock · Scarlet Overkill
- Jon Hamm · Herb Overkill
- Michael Keaton · Walter Nelson
- Allison Janney · Madge Nelson
- Steve Coogan · Professor Flux and Tower Guard
- Jennifer Saunders · Queen Elizabeth II
- Geoffrey Rush · the Narrator
- Steve Carell
- Pierre Coffin · Kevin
- Hiroyuki Sanada · a sumo wrestler
- Kyle Balda
- Chris Meledandri
- Janet Healy
- Brian Lynch
- Heitor Pereira
- Claire Dodgson
Director
Writer
Music
Producer
Narrated
Editing
Details
- Release Date
- 10 July 2015
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Language
- English
User Ratings & Reviews
2 ratings from the community
Community Reviews (1)
Adults generally relate with the Despicable Me franchise not because of the evil factor, but because of the emotional connect that is present in its oddball narratives. In Minions, however, there is a gaping lack of emotions. Three minions are on a quest to find a fitting, evil master for its tribe who, we are told, have been around since the dawn of the time. They were friends with dinosaurs and still there was no mention about them in Jurassic Park (1993). In the year 1968, the trio go to the Big Apple and then to the English capital, after having seemingly found their master, a female antagonist (Bullock). Then the plot is more or less about her evil plan. One will not feel touched with the things that happen in the film, most of which are straight mindless. While there are too many factors that betray the film of originality, even the minions fail to deliver. The sequels (2010 and 2013) are good, relatable films that are high on humor. But in here, the humor is all situational and these are boring situations that I am talking about. Also goes a bit annoying towards the end with that save the world crap. As is apparent from the sequels, minions are again only a small part of the film. The duel between good and evil is also badly handled as the climax ends the charade with a delightful surprise. BOTTOM LINE: Minions is a perfect example of a studio that has run out of ideas and is only making films to make some moolah out of "gibberish." VERDICT: 3 stars out of 10. ONLY for kids. Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES




















