Monday 29 June 2015

REVIEW - MINIONS (KYLE BALDA AND PIERRE COFFIN)


There's mileage in them minions yet! Few places within the film industry are as keen and as capable at expressing cinema's remit to entertain as the family movie sector. Minions may not push the needle much, but it's a blithely spirited piece of tremendous entertainment. It's also an exceptionally simple proposal - whether narratively or tonally, but even in its structure: this chaotic cacophony of silliness is designed to appeal to all ages in one marvellously madcap swoop, the same material for adults and children alike. This is an animated film bereft of intelligence or cultural relevance - it brings to mind the willful stupidity of Aardman's style of slapdash, though without that studio's more layered comic construction. Minions is just one daft gag after another, and how delicious to witness such shameless debasement on screen, and to participate in it with the kind of senseless abandon that only a gratuitous snort and a rousing belly laugh can express! Perhaps due to its immaturity, Minions is hardly a triumph of the screen - yes, it's a knowingly, and rather winningly, daft kids' film, but it's also a film like any other, and even judged against many similar titles (like the aforementioned Aardman Animation's), the prosaic animation style and the spotty hit rate of the jokes don't rule in this film's favour. Better, then, not to compare, and simply to bask in what favours we're offered herein. A particular pleasure comes in identifying the voice talent, and Minions benefits from excellent vocal work from Jennifer Saunders, co-director Pierre Coffin (as the minions themselves), and sublimely juvenile narration from Geoffrey Rush.

No comments:

Post a Comment