Saturday, August 7, 2010

Despicable Me (2010, U.S.)

Despicable Me was a very strange movie. A super villain named Gru loses his place as the world's worst villain, replaced by a nerdy kid who goes by Vector, smart smart but not world-smart. To break into his arch-enemy's lair, he adopts three girls from an orphanage that sells cookies so that they can infiltrate Vector's fortress.

I wish they had focused more on Gru doing despicable things at the beginning. I loved watching him waltz into Starbucks and using a freeze gun to cut in front of everyone in line. I guess this was the kind of movie that's made for plot rather than character development, but with such a good lead character, it's a shame they didn't spend more time on him. (Side note: why are villains always eastern European? What stereotyping!) I also loved his minions, who were adorable and hilarious.

I don't often notice sets unless they're really out of the ordinary, but the "sets" in this were awesome, especially in the two villains' lairs. The furniture, technology, built-in shark tanks, weapon systems, and more were really cool. This definitely couldn't have been pulled this off in a live-action film. Gru's big dark house in an otherwise cookie cutter neighborhood also gave me a laugh.

The use of Pharrell Williams as a composer was an interesting addition to the movie. It varied in feel from serious spy to goofy and then a combination of the two, plus some weirdly unexpected R&B. The title song, "Despicable Me," was awesome. So awesome that I want to download it and make it my personal theme song.

Rating: 3.5

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