Despicable Me 2 (Rhoades)

“Despicable Me 2” Is
Delightfully Gru-some

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Back at Marvel Comics, we knew that a superhero was only as good as the villain he or she faces. However, what do you do when it’s a supervillain vs. a supervillain?
That’s the situation in “Despicable Me 2,” the CGI-animated sequel to the first “Despicable Me” that’s currently playing at Tropic Cinema.
Yes, Steve Carell is back as the voice of Gru, the supervillain who (in the original movie) changed his ways to parent three cute little girls. Sure, he has his memories, like that time he stole the moon, but all that villainy is behind him.
That’s why Gru (Carell) didn’t want to get mixed up in the undercover assignment offered by the head of the Anti-Villain League (Steve Coogan). Seems an agent named Lucy Wilde (Kristin Wiig) is determined to bring down El Macho (Benjamin Bratt), a new supervillain who has a chemical compound that can transform lifeforms into invincible killing machines. You see, Gru kinda has a crush on her. Even after she kidnaps him and two of his yellow minions.
Next thing you know Gru and Lucy are working in a cupcake shop in the mall where they can keep an eye on the owner of a restaurant called Eduardo. He might just be El Macho.
You may recognize some of the other voices: Russell Brand and Ken Jeong, in particular.
Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures are marketing “Despicable Me 2” like, uh, faithful minions. An action video game has released. Seven books have been published: The Junior Novel, The Anti-Villain League Handbook, Undercover Super Spies, Attack of the Evil Minions!, Make a Minion, and Meet the Minions. Plus a big yellow blimp, designed to look like a minion, has been sailing around US skies as an eye-catching promotion. I’m surprised they didn’t do a deal with Kellogg’s Corn Puffs, since that cereal is pretty much what a minion looks like. A missed opportunity!
Don’t worry. No matter how “Despicable Me 2” does at the box office, there’s a spin-off film already in the works. Titled “Minions,” it stars Sandra Bullock rather than Steve Carell. You see, this is a prequel, harking back to the days before the minions met Gru. In this one, the little guys are competing to become the henchmen of a female villain called Scarlet Overkill (Bullock, of course).
Perky Sandra Bullock, America’s Sweetheart, as a villain? Makes me want to resign from the Anti-Villain League.
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