Considering “Minions” is a animated movie about a horde of adorably silly, squat yellow henchmen with their own incomprehensible language, reviewers knew better than to expect too much.
The Universal Pictures spin-off to “Despicable Me” currently boasts a solid 71 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics pointing out an underwhelming number of female characters, while others focus on its cute factor.
Alonso Duralde wrote in his review for TheWrap:
“‘Minions,’ the new movie, tests the notion that what audiences enjoyed as a side dish can satisfy as an entrée; I don’t know if the movie picks up as it goes along, or if it merely beat me into submission, but after an initially slack 20 minutes or so, I did finally start laughing. It helps that, once the story moves into a world we recognize (albeit the world of 1968), screenwriter Brian Lynch (‘Hop’) and directors Kyle Balda (‘The Lorax’) and Pierre Coffin (‘Despicable Me’) can riff on wonderfully absurd gags about everything from time travel to killer clowns to the musical ‘Hair.’”
Chris Barsanti of PopMatters wrote:
“As every parent knows, when you keep feeding the kids exactly what they clamor for without stop, it will make them sick. That’s what happens with ‘Minions,’ just the latest in the summer’s sequels onslaught and by far one of the most tiring. Misreading the love bestowed on the Minions by those millions of kids who have watched ‘Despicable Me’ dozens of times, writer Brian Lynch (also responsible for the final wringing out of the ‘Shrek’ franchise, ‘Puss in Boots’) provides an origin story and then another washed-out and watered-down super-villain plot.”
Matt Singer of ScreenCrush wrote:
“Without any worthwhile human characters to shoulder the load, it falls to the Minions to carry ‘Minions.’ Kevin, Stuart and Bob are cute and occasionally amusing — the prologue, which charts their quest for an evil master through ancient history, has a couple of decent sight gags — but they’re simply not equipped to carry a full-length movie. They only speak in their own curious language — which sounds like a mixture of Italian, Spanish, French and a kid making nonsense noises after sucking on a helium balloon — so forget about the possibility for any verbal humor, let alone any character development or growth.”
Carolyn Cox of The Mary Sue wrote:
“Suffice to say that if you want to take a little one in your life to a movie with a positive female character in it, be warned that ‘Minions’ only has three ladies: a caricature of the Queen, an irredeemable villain (voiced by Sandra Bullock), and a fire hydrant. But yes. History’s greatest monsters are still very, very cute.”
Scott Mendelson of Forbes wrote:
“I guess I wish it were funnier and I wish I laughed more than a half-dozen times. But my daughter laughed enough to give it a recommendation (although even she didn’t care for the 3D, telling me to close one eye to make the image more enjoyable) and I imagine my younger son will be entertained if the occasion ever presents itself.”
“Minions” opens in theaters on July 10.