Despicable Me 2

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwXbtZXjbVE

Sorry to be a grumpy cat but I wasn't  a big fan of the first Despicable Me. I thought it was pretty funny and did have genuine heart but wasn't quite worthy of the huuuge following it got. I wouldn't compare it to Pixar for example [excluding Cars 2, I know]. After watching Despicable 2 however I have to say my feelings towards the franchise have...stayed exactly the same.

It's sounding like I really hated Despicable Me 2 but that isn't the case. I laughed out loud at a lot of the minion stuff and again it had an emotional backbone. With kid's films I feel there's those made for just kids and those made for the entire family and Despicable Me 2 probably falls just short of the 'mum and dad will love it as well' category. The humour is all slapstick but that's not really a bad thing, the minions fighting and blowing raspberries is actually the best bit about the film.

Then there's Agnes, the little girl from the first one, who wins the award for cutest character in a film ever. Every scene involving her gets a big laugh followed by an 'awww'.

I feel the film could have flowed a little better. The rapid comedy is kind of forced into every single scene and  it does start to feel a bit repetitive. I can watch  an episode of Looney Tunes for example for 15 minutes and love it with it's constant slapstick and people getting blown up and falling over but probably not for 90 minutes.

Like the first one I just feel like there's something missing to make the film really get to the level of a truly memorable animated film. It's good that it's set in such a zany world and gives the film character but it does make the film seem a bit more childish than say Toy Story or Up.

I usually stay away from going to see films during the day due to there being potentially noisy kids there but if you go see Despicable Me 2 I'd recommend going on a busy Saturday afternoon when there will be kids there. Their laughter will probably rub off on you and you'll enjoy the film more.

Despicable Me 2 is a good effort and a lot of fun. I'd say it's better than the first one but I don't think it's quite as good as everyone says it is. Maybe Despicable Me 3 will finally make me get on the series fan train.

7/10