The cutely devious henchmen of supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) from 2010's "Despicable Me" and 2013's "Despicable Me 2" didn't speak much more than gibberish and were treated strictly as supporting comic relief, but they were the runaway hits of said animated features. The prospect of such minor, interchangeably one-note characters getting their very own movie didn't sound promising in concept, but in "Minions," returning helmer Pierre Coffin and co-director Kyle Balda (2012's "The Lorax") have found an inventive way to use them to their strengths. Slight but wholly diverting for 91 minutes, the film works as a spin-off, a prequel, and a groovy triptych through 1960s culture.
The yellow, bespectacled title creatures have been around, it turns out, since the dawn of intelligent life on the planet. Their goal: to serve and devote themselves to the baddest, most despicable masters around. Through the ages, their ill-fated bosses have ranged from a dinosaur, to a caveman, to Dracula himself, whom they learned the hard way did not take kindly to light. Feeling lonely and without purpose, Bob, Kevin and Stuart (all voiced by Pierre Coffin) leave behind their tribe to search for the most evil soul they can find. The year is 1968, and after a quick jaunt in New York City the trio of minions set out for the International Villain-Con being held in Orlando. It is here that they meet Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), the world's first female supervillain, and get swept away to her England castle lair. Scarlet hands the minions one simple mission to prove to her they are worthy of joining her criminal empire: steal Queen Elizabeth's crown so that she may at last rule the land.
See Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com. for full review
