Despicable Me 2

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Bee-doh, bee-doh, bee-doh.

In a time when animated films are becoming more about family-centered quality than kid-centered slapstick, one would expect Despicable Me 2 to not only live up to its predecessor but also have a chance of outdoing it. One who would think that would be wrong. I liked Despicable Me 2. Gru, Agnes, and the minions brought plenty of laughs, and the movie was a breath of fresh air at multiple times. However, it's not easy to look past the many flaws in this sequel, which unfortunately bring it to a lower point in filmmaking than the clever original.

This follow-up to the hilarious original puts a reluctant Gru in compliance with the Anti Villain League (AVL), who are trying to apprehend a thief that stole a top-secret lab (in a totally plausible scene involving a giant, flying magnet). His assigned partner is Lucy - a tall, anorexic, and totally annoying newbie agent, whose character simply exists to fulfill the movie's predictable ending. During his time off from the AVL, Gru is still raising his three adopted daughters: Margo, Edith, and the irrefutably adorable Agnes.

Where the original had respectable yet charming comedic moments, Despicable Me 2 relies too heavily on adult humor at times, which can easily shy away the parents paying for the tickets. A few subtle jokes that fly over the kids' heads and make the parents laugh are expected in family movies, but to indulge in situations that involve alcoholism, humping, suicide, faked deaths, underaged dating, judging based on body image, animal experimentation (with needles), and desensitization of murder are a little too much for this type of movie. Believe me when I say Despicable Me 2 has earned it's status as a PG movie, and that disclaimer from the MPAA for "crude humor" is there for a reason.

At many times, it seemed Despicable Me 2 existed solely to be a generic sequel, and not to concretely follow the story or add anything new. The laughs came, but unfortunately, they weren't as frequent or as hearty as the ones from Despicable Me. I liked this movie, am glad I saw it, and recommend it, but you might want to wait for the DVD on this one. Go see Monsters University if this is the kind of movie you want to see. Or stay home, save your money, and watch the original again. If you do go see this, you won't be disappointed (I wasn't). You'll just wish that what you saw was a lot better.

Rating: 3/5