Minions: The Rise of Gru

Nonsense is underrated, particularly as we struggle to make sense of the soul-grinding wheel of torture known as the news cycle. Minions can help—a little.

The rest of The Rise of Gru shows how Gru and his little yellow helpers scramble to reclaim the Zodiac Stone, with Belle Bottom and her gang in pursuit. But the chaos they bring to bear is nothing compared with the madness of the real world. He’s sent off an application to join the Vicious 6, a crew of evildoers with a top-secret lair in the basement of a local record store. Belle Bottom ( Taraji P. Henson), a comely baddie in a fuchsia satin jumpsuit, has recently become the leader of the Vicious 6 after overthrowing its founder, the aging hipster Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin, with his marvelous Brooklyn lilt), ironically just after he’s risked his life to procure the Zodiac Stone for the group. But even though Gru successfully boosts the Zodiac Stone, his loyal and eager-to-help servants, the Minions (all voiced, in trademark gibberish-speak, by one of the franchise’s masterminds, Pierre Coffin), aren’t as meticulous. Minions: The Rise of Gru is hardly the best of the Despicable Me movies or spinoffs.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” takes place in 1976. Had I seen it that year, I would have laughed my six-year-old self silly and demanded to see it again and ...

There’s Stronghold ( Danny Trejo), a nunchaku-wielding nun named Nun-Chuck ( Lucy Lawless), the Nordic strongman Svengeance ( Dolph Lundgren), and a dude with an enormous lobster claw for a hand. Especially if you’re old enough to get the 1976 jokes yet feel young enough to find bemusement in all the goofy slapstick. As punishment, Gru is subjected to a type of torture I would happily endure: He’s tied to a giant record player that will spin, for 48 hours straight, the greatest disco song ever recorded, the Andrea True Connection’s “More More More.” Seeing the star of “The Sound of Music” get her ass kicked by a nun is my kind of meta! This time, however, it’s a tad less exhausting and actually works to the film’s advantage. Nefario gives Gru a 45 of Linda Ronstadt’s cover of “You’re No Good,” the key to entering the secret hideout. Now that the much-older Wild Knuckles is out of the picture, The Vicious 6—I mean Five—are looking for a much younger replacement. As a result, this latest (and hopefully last) chapter in the Despicable Me Universe (DMU) felt tailor-made for the less mature aspects of my sensibilities. Readers of this site know of my soft spot for the Minions, those yellow, pill-shaped purveyors of trouble who are hopelessly devoted to Gru ( Steve Carell). They make me laugh and I’m not even remotely remorseful about that. With her ever-changing wardrobe and enormous Afro, (which is animated with an impressive amount of texture) Belle looks like Cleopatra Jones. The other four members have equally pun-based names. They are there to retrieve a necklace of gems called The Zodiac Stones. Once retrieved, it will give the Vicious 6 an unlimited amount of power on the night of the Chinese New Year. Considering all the groan-inducing needle drops that occur in this series, I expected The Zodiac Stones to be accompanied by that trash classic-slash-astrology lesson “Float On” by the Floaters. Unfortunately, the filmmakers are not that clever. Granted, that song came out in 1977, but “Minions: The Rise of Gru” uses Lipps Inc.’s 1980 banger, “Funkytown” not once, but twice.

"...the story settles down to a predictable yarn occasionally enlivened by an outbreak of Minion-inspired mayhem"

When the Vicious 6 bump off their leader Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), Gru spots an opportunity for infamy designed to impress his future peers. And then there’s the one that asks how Gru became a supervillain with a horde of Minions at his beck-and-call. The setting of the early ’70s provides plenty of opportunities for period-specific gags, but once we’ve negotiated the opening credits (a funky tribute to ’70s-eramovies) and the first scene (the latest parody of the tomb-plundering sequence in ), the story settles down to a predictable yarn occasionally enlivened by an outbreak of Minion-inspired mayhem.

Steve Carell (Gru) · Taraji P. Henson (Belle Bottom) · Michelle Yeoh (Master Chow) · Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean Clawed) · Lucy Lawless (Nunchuck) · Dolph Lundgren ( ...

He also had a big role in The Expendables series, reprised his role as Ivan in Creed II, and was a part of the Aquaman cast. He’s also had some parts on television as well, with most having been guest appearances or for his own shows, such as Brand X with Russell Brand. However, he did have an acting role as Lance on the HBO series, Ballers. He’s also guest-starred on shows such as Outlaw, Gang Related, The Simpsons, and more. But, for the sake of the length of this article, we’ll go over some of his best. Lawless has lent more of her talents to television, with roles in several big-time shows after her time as Xena, including Battlestar Galactica, Sapartcaus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance, Parks and Recreation, Ash vs. Another iconic actress that is added to the cast list of Minions: The Rise of Gru is Michelle Yeoh, who voices Master Chow, a kung-fu master. I for one can’t wait to see what they do next - that is, after having a run at those pesky little minions. Here is where you might have seen - or heard - the cast of Minions: The Rise of Gru before. But, as an actor, he’s appeared in many movies and TV shows as well. However, Carell has also been plenty active in movies as well. You ever wonder what a nun with nunchucks would look like? They’re back and they’re better than ever!