Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
★★ — Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Minions: The Rise of Gru is a prequel-spinoff hybrid, the fifth entry in Illumination's Despicable Me franchise and the second film to centre the yellow henchmen rather than Gru himself. Directed by Kyle Balda (who co-directed the first Minions in 2015 and has worked almost exclusively within this franchise since), the film was originally scheduled for a summer 2020 release before the pandemic pushed it back two full years. That delay produced one of the odder cultural footnotes of the early 2020s, when a TikTok trend of teenagers dressing in suits to attend screenings ("Gentleminions") gave it an unexpected marketing boost on arrival. Set in a 1970s-inflected world of supervillains and retro kitsch, it reunites Steve Carell and Pierre Coffin and features Alan Arkin in one of his final roles before his death in 2023.
Another day, another Minions cash grab. The Rise of Gru doesn’t so much tell a story as shuffle through a checklist of loud noises, garish colours, and tired gags. We’re back in the 1970s, watching baby Gru try to join the Vicious 6 while three yellow blobs with no common sense cause chaos, grunt nonsense, and somehow remain the main attraction. It’s all been done before, and done better, back when the Minions were sidekicks, not the entire point. The animation is slick, sure, and there’s a faint pulse of charm in the retro soundtrack and kung-fu parody vibe. Jean Claude Van Damme as a egomaniacal 70s martial artist villain is alright. But it’s not enough to save a film that’s utterly predictable, emotionally empty, and creatively bankrupt. The plot is paper-thin, the stakes nonexistent, and the humour relies almost entirely on slapstick and repetition, the same jokes, the same falls, the same shrieking, over and over. It’s not the worst thing ever made, it’s too harmless for that. But it’s just nonsense in the most corporate, soulless way. A feature-length toy commercial dressed up as a summer blockbuster. The Minions aren’t funny anymore; they’re a brand. And this film is just another cog in the machine. Two stars for existing without actively ruining your day, just barely.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2022 | Watched: 2025-08-14
Where to watch (UK)
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Kyle Balda: Despicable Me 3 (2017) · Minions (2015)
More with Steve Carell: Beautiful Boy (2018) · Despicable Me (2010) · Little Miss Sunshine (2006) · Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
More from the 2020s: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · The Long Walk (2025) · Americana (2023)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)
