Review of Despicable Me 2 (2013) by Xando — 20 Jul 2013

Didn't really like this movie coming away from it. This was a big surprise I like the first one and I heard great things about the sequel. As time passes, I've liked it less and less until, frankly, I actively hate it now. Final analysis as to what turned me off: it's such a chick flick. It is a romantic comedy with minions. If you are into that genre, as most women are, you'll probably love Despicable Me 2. If you are an adult male, this one is poison you have to suffer through. Luckily the minions launch attacks against the estrogen assault periodically trying to break the monotony (and they do wind up stealing the pic). That is your only consolation.

The main plot and the majority of the subplots are anchored upon various femme fantasies. All characterization of each main character is rooted upon either their romantic or mother relationships, except for the villain. The villain is actually worse than a cardboard cutout villain. He's fat, hairy, underdeveloped, and notably unsexy and unsympathetic in any way. That last point is a huge surprise given the background of Gru and the whole premise of the first movie (sympathetic villainy). Boys are slammed as dangerous and irredeemable hearbreakers or worse, and sure enough the one boy character is last seen smugly breaking the heart of one of Gru's daughters.

The highlight of the film revolves around the shenanigans involving an awkward date in which the "true love" female saves the bungling male from a And of course, the villain is dispatched via what else but a lipstick weapon in an anti-climatic final confrontation that doesn't match the energy of the date scene. The ending is, what else, a giant wedding concluding when the girls declare they finally have a mother they can love.

Yuk, yuk, yuk. Guys, beware.