Despicable Me 2 starts with the theft of an Arctic laboratory by a mysterious new supervillian. Meanwhile, Gru, the Minions, and the girls are living a life of quiet domesticity; birthday parties and bedtime stories are the order of the day. Things are disrupted by the arrival of Lucy, an agent from the Anti-Villain League (AVL for short) which wants to recruit the reformed Gru to deal with this new menace. Before long Gru and Lucy are knee deep in espionage, while Gru tries to deal with eldest daughter Margo’s newfound interest in boys and the fact that Agnes wants a mother. Meanwhile, Dr Nefario has headed to greener pastures and the Minions are mysteriously disappearing…
Like its predecessor, Despicable Me 2 offers a lot to enjoy for both children and adults. It has a great thread of slapstick humour throughout, as well as a few witty comments just for the grown-ups. The scenes where Gru battles with the fact that Margo is growing up will be both hilarious and relatable for many parents in the audience. It also takes the opportunity to explore new areas in a family friendly way: romance for Gru and what happens when the bad guy stops being bad. Since it already offers an original take on supervillains, this just makes it all the more likeable.
In terms of bad guys, it’s unfortunate that the main adversary for Gru comes along so late in the movie. When the antagonist does finally show up he is a little disappointing, mainly because all he seems to have is a very basic plan and a lot of explosives. For most of the film the audience has to watch Gru chase red herrings (including one suspect hilariously voiced by Ken Jeong) and negotiate with the AVL, which seems almost as sinister as the Bank of Evil we saw in Despicable Me despite supposedly being the good guys. However, the charming Lucy fills the gap left by a villain; the bad guy in these movies is mainly there for comic relief, at least at first, and her ditzy and enthusiastic antics are great fun to watch. There is also a lovely chemistry between her and Gru and their romantic subplot is nothing short of adorable.
One of the best things about this movie is the use of action scenes and big dramatic set pieces, all while keeping the dialogue witty and the tone light. There are plenty of action sequences to maintain the excitement, and of course we get to see Gru dancing his socks off on a few occasions. This film never gets boring, and remains funny and charming throughout.
If you are looking for a great film to wind down with, or want to entertain your kids for a couple of hours, Despicable Me 2 will not disappoint.
