Three years ago ‘Despicable Me’ was a pleasant surprise, as it wasn’t from Pixar nor Dreamworks Animation. It was funny and cute, most notably Agnes and those darn Minions. So of course a sequel had to be made. But where the original had an interesting story to tell, the sequel comes off as unnecessary and tiresome, though Agnes and the Minions are still darn cute.

Gru (Steve Carell) has settled comfortably into parenthood. He’s perfectly fine with just taking care of his three adoptive girls and no longer has any need for villainy. But when a new villain shows up, a secret government group called The Anti-Villain League requests Gru’s help to find and defeat this new threat.

The AVL state they need Gru because they need someone who thinks like a villain. Sure, that’s a good reason to get Gru’s help but the story doesn’t present any circumstances where this reason is true. They force him to go undercover at a shopping mall and pose as an owner of a bake shop. His skills as a villain have absolutely no effect on the mission. It’s not his experience as a villain that helps find the new villain but rather the spy gadgets that the AVL provides.

So, aside from the new spy theme, the film also has side stories involving Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), an AVL agent and Gru’s partner and love interest; Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) getting a boyfriend that Gru doesn’t approve of; and the minions, who have a much larger role this time around, and seem to be in their own little movie most of the time.

There’s way too much going on in this film for any of it to develop. The Margo love story is barely focused upon. The Gru and Lucy story feels forced. But at least the Minions are cute, right?

There was an issue with the film when Al Pacino (who was to voice the new villain) decided to quit a mere few weeks ahead of the release date, forcing the filmmakers to find a quick replacement for his character. The new voice actor, Benjamin Bratt, and the filmmakers have spoken about how brilliant Pacino’s voice work was in the film. I would love to see that version because from what I’ve seen in Despicable Me 2, the villain is boring and forgettable. Idk how Pacino’s “brilliant” voice work could’ve saved it.

Anyway, Despicable Me 2 is merely an okay animated film. It’ll definitely keep the kids entertained because this time around it has more fart jokes and slapstick humor. But as for the adults, they may be bored most of the time.

Two out of four Kent's.

Ps: a spinoff film featuring The Minions is set for release December 2014.