I've been a bit busy lately and thus haven't been able to go to the cinema for over two weeks, which is very long by my standards. However, this week, I was able to make a return, and what better time than the release of two new entires in two franchises I'm a fan of!
First of all, Minions: The Rise of Gru. I'd say I'm a fan of the Despicable Me series, or at least some of the films in the series. The first two entries are great, both getting the perfect balance of comedy and heart, as well as having some solid animation, though I don't remember an awful lot about the third film. As for the spinoff, Minions is okay in my opinion; I do enjoy the antics of the little yellow blobs but only in small doses, so when they're made the protagonists of a feature film it just doesn't work as well. So, with that in mind, the prospect of another minions-led film was something I wasn't so keen on. In this film, after becoming servants to the young Gru, the minions aid their boss as he tries to impress his villainous idols, the Vicious Six.
Despite my ambivalence towards this film, I'm glad to say I enjoyed it. It succeeds by simply being much funnier than I expected. After rewatching Minions the night before and not laughing or smiling much throughout, I was anticipating more of the same here. But, instead, I chuckled very frequently. This might be because the jokes in the first film are ones I'm more familiar with whereas these are all fresh, but the fact remains that this new film was more entertaining. It is a lot more bonkers overall with the minions learning Kung Fu and fighting big monsters among many other set pieces, and I think this is beneficial. What also might be working in the film's favour is that, even though it's titled after the minions, it feels more like it's structured with Gru as the protagonist, thus resembling the nature of the main Despicable Me films where the minions are on the side of the main narrative. This helps because, as I said, the minions work best in small segments, and making them the protagonists is purely overkill. Other than that, the animation is terrific and a lot of the voice acting is solid. If I had to point out any issues I'd say that, obviously, it's quite a shallow watch and doesn't offer much beyond the jokes, thus making it a bit tiring and somewhat forgettable. But, because it made me laugh at a fairly consistent rate throughout its concise runtime, I'd say Minions: The Rise of Gru is a good enough watch.
I'm going to give Minions: The Rise of Gru a 7.0/10
Secondly, I was also able to see the latest MCU film, Thor: Love and Thunder. Being a film in this franchise, obviously I was happy to check it out, but I honestly wasn't really that excited for it. This may be because it's following not one but two entries in this universe that I was extremely excited for and so, in comparison, it just seems a lot less interesting. But, I also think it could be because I just don't think that more Thor is something we needed, even if it's coming from Taika Waititi, who basically salvaged the reputation of this character's solo films with Thor: Ragnarok, which was my favourite MCU film for a short period of time. So, my expectations were relatively low but I still hoped I'd find it enjoyable. In the film, after getting back into shape following Avengers: Endgame, Thor is faced with a new threat as the evil Gorr the God Butcher seeks to murder him and all other gods, and things only get more complicated when his ex-girlfriend, Jane, returns wielding his old hammer, Mjolnir.
Thankfully, I very much enjoyed this! What I admired most about Love and Thunder was the way it balanced its comedic elements with its dramatic elements. Ragnarok is a hilarious film for sure and I love all the comic flair that Taika brought to this previously dull side of the MCU, but I do think it goes a bit too far in a few places and that some of its emotional beats could have been fleshed out more, as most of them are undermined by jokes. Here, however, it feels as if that issue has been recognised as we get more of the zany and quirky humour, but also a fair amount of compelling drama that is sufficiently explored, and they intertwine rather perfectly, leading to an ending that is delightfully wholesome. This was something I really appreciated as it felt like a direct improvement of my only key flaw with Ragnarok. That being said, it is unfortunately true that this film isn't as funny nor as quotable as the latter, which is a shame. Narratively, I liked what the film did with Thor and Jane's relationship, being both heartfelt and also funny in places. However, the best relationship in the film is a highly unconventional one, that being between Thor and his axe, Stormbreaker. The film does a brilliant job at personifying this weapon and creating a hilarious conflict of sorts between it and Thor, where they seemingly don't get along now that Mjolnir has returned. Visually, it's another absolute treat, with some very dazzling settings and very creative uses of colour, particularly when the characters enter a shadow realm where everything is black and white with a few glimpses of normal colours. All the performances were great; Christian Bale is very effectively creepy as the Gorr, the film's villain, though not as memorable as Cate Blanchett's Hela from Ragnarok. Overall, I'm happy to report that this was a very enjoyable, albeit slightly superfluous, entry into the MCU.
I'm going to give Thor: Love and Thunder an 8.0/10
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