Minions & Monsters (English) Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Pierre Coffin, Christoph Waltz, Trey Parker
Director: Pierre Coffin
Minions & Monsters Movie Review Synopsis:
MINIONS & MONSTERS is the story of the mischievous creatures and their adventures in Hollywood. A tribe of Minions (Pierre Coffin) is roaming around the world, trying to find a villain whom they can serve. After working under many such villains (and unintentionally causing their downfall or death), the Minions reach the outskirts of Los Angeles in the mid-1920s. There, they witness a man fleeing after committing a robbery. They chase after him, hoping he could be their next master. Instead, he turns out to be an actor shooting for a film. The Minions ruin the shoot, causing financial loss. However, the producers, the Bright Brothers (both voiced by Jeff Bridges), spot the Minions in the rushes and find them highly entertaining. The director, Max (Christoph Waltz), is asked to shoot more scenes with the Minions. The Minions become the biggest superstars of Hollywood, but soon, their downfall also arrives. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Minions & Monsters Movie Story Review:
Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin's story is fresh and different from the rest of the films of the series. Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin's screenplay is fast-paced and peppered with a lot of entertaining and crazy scenes. The dialogues are conversational.
Pierre Coffin's direction is light-hearted and family-friendly, even when the scenes sometimes reek of dark humour. This time, he takes a different route altogether and sets the film in Hollywood. It adds a brilliant touch. The film-within-a-film angle and the madness that ensues, incidentally, also remind viewers of last week's Bollywood release, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE! The climax is grand and thrilling. The final scene is unexpected.
On the flipside, as mentioned earlier, the humour in the beginning is a bit too dark and may not be acceptable to families watching the film with kids. The film dips at the beginning of the second half with the entry of Dort (Jesse Eisenberg). Most viewers may not even realize that his track is a parody-cum-homage to THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL [1951]. His scenes divert attention from the filmmaking and the Monsters track. Thankfully, everything gets neatly summed up towards the finale.
Minions & Monsters Movie Review Performances:
Pierre Coffin is perfect and adorable as the voice of the Minions. Trey Parker (Goomi) leaves a strong mark. His voice has the perfect balance of sounding adorable and creepy, which works well for his character. Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges and Jesse Eisenberg are impressive. The others who do well are Allison Janney (Olivia; tour guide), Zoey Deutch (Debbie; activist), Bobby Moynihan (Philip) and Phil LaMarr (Howard).
Minions & Monsters movie music and other technical aspects:
John Powell's music is in sync with the film's mood. The animation is top-class and the colours used in the scenes of the Monsters are vibrant and appealing. Claire Dodgson and Gregory Perle's editing is sharp.
Minions & Monsters Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, MINIONS & MONSTERS is a fun, visually vibrant and fairly entertaining ride that may have a few uneven portions but has enough madness and charm to appeal to its target audience, especially kids and families.