It feels as though I had to wait forever for Minions to come out on Sky. Ironically, I don't even particularly know why I was waiting so eagerly - sure, the other parts of the Despicable Me franchise were cute, but they carried about as much substance as a wet fart. Even then, I was never as sold on the dungaree-clad Minion characters as a lot of people - I always thought they were a low-rent rip-off of the genuinely hilarious aliens from Toy Story. Still, times are tough, and I suppose lately I've been feeling as though I need all the cute I can get in my life.
Let's start by stating the obvious: your enjoyment of this one is going to be predicated upon your enjoyment of the Minions themselves. If they annoyed you in their previous movie appearances, this isn't going to convert you - heck, even if you're a confirmed fan, 91 minutes is an awful lot of time to spend in their company. It passes briskly enough for the most part, especially in the early stages when we watch Minion evolution from single-cell organisms to their present form. Unfortunately, however, once the main plot arc kicks in, it all rather slows down, with the likes of Jon Hamm, Sandra Bullock and Michael Keaton doing what they can with a script that feels ludicrous even by the franchise's own low standards.
There were cute touches, though, and I smiled a lot even if I don't recall laughing out loud. I liked the 1960s setting and music, and as Mr. Beaupepys pointed out, it was refreshing to see cars that looked distinctively recognisable as well as merely period-appropriate. The Minions themselves were also tooth-achingly sweet, but I know some people find their babbling insufferably smug and on a different day, I might have been one of them.
On the whole, I'd say this was one for the kids. Make sure you stick around for the opening titles, however, which are the funniest part of the whole film.
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