Review: Minions & Monsters offers more of the same with some fun cinephile touches
I like the Minions more in theory than practice, and more as supporting characters than as the stars of the show. Their appearances in the Despicable Me movies have been more enjoyable for me than their spin-off movies where they take the spotlight. I've tried to figure out why. I think they're cute, funny, and the Minionese is fun to listen to and decode. Their antics are funny, but I think not clever enough, or maybe specific enough? They're chaotic slapstick agents who lack a strong identity beyond that, so the humor they're used to deliver is broad, repetitive, and ultimately pretty limp. There's not a strong sense of purpose beyond being silly and out-of-control, which is a fine mode to operate in, but certainly gets old after seven movies. That said, Minions & Monsters at least goes a bit against the grain by having, for a while, a new perspective and unique setting for the little yellow dopes to play around in. For the first half hour or so of the film, I...
