Minions: The Rise of Gru
Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 1, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
19
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
ABC NewsPeter TraversJul 1, 2022
This Minions prequel would have to go some to make it as flimsy, but Steve Carell is pricelessly funny doing the voice of a pre-teen wannabe villain wrangling an army of goggle-wearing little buggers and you could do worse in a search for animated family fun Read full review
60
Time OutPhil de SemlyenJul 1, 2022
Short on plot, long on silliness, the return of the little yellow troublemakers is a fun but fleeting helium high. Read full review
60
TimeStephanie ZacharekJul 1, 2022
Minions: The Rise of Gru is hardly the best of the Despicable Me movies or spinoffs...But the ridiculousness quotient of The Rise of Gru—directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val—is still high enough to spark at least mild rejuvenation. And whether you have one eye or two, six hairs sprouting from your pate or none at all, you could probably use a little of that right now. Read full review
60
Screen RantRachel LaBonteJul 1, 2022
While Minions: The Rise of Gru still can't entirely justify itself, it does provide a far more heartfelt and fun outing than its predecessor. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJun 30, 2022
There’s nothing all that special about The Rise of Gru, but it runs like a well-oiled machine. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsJun 22, 2022
Like the Minions, this instalment is barely distinguishable from any of the others, but it’s easy to be won over by its nutty joy and enthusiasm. Read full review
60
SlashfilmRafael MotamayorJun 14, 2022
Minions: The Rise of Gru will not usher in a new era of animation, nor change the way we treat prequels. What it will do is entertain kids with more Minions shenanigans, a fair number of fart jokes, and references to other characters in the franchise. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredTricia GilbrideJul 14, 2022
Perhaps it’s a relief that the film does not, as is a trope in recent films, end in Gru’s temporary redemption, but at least that would be a conclusion of some sort. Instead, we’re left with entertaining but toothless villain-lair-building. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJul 1, 2022
For all its efforts at wild humor, The Rise of Gru never quite builds up a comic head of steam. It’s filled with laugh lines, but they feel like placeholders — a lot of middling bits about the time period plus a tired assortment of anachronisms. Read full review
50
IGNSiddhant AdlakhaJul 1, 2022
Minions: The Rise of Gru is more Minion compilation than Gru prequel. It wastes its fun ideas and comedic setups in favor of disconnected slapstick gags, which may delight the diaper-wearing crowd, but will end up a chore to anyone forced to comprehend its inert dramatic scenes and ’70s pop culture references. Read full review
50
PolygonJosh SpiegelJun 30, 2022
This is neither a uniquely marvelous film nor a teeth-gnashing pain. It’s OK in the moment, and it evaporates as soon as the end credits roll. Read full review
50
IndieWireKate ErblandJun 30, 2022
It’s colorful and madcap and zany, and while that might not make it suitable for all audiences, it will delight the very one it is made for. That’s fine for now, but if this franchise wants to survive, the next entry will have to take on a much tougher mission: stay silly, but get a whole lot smarter. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 30, 2022
Amiable and colorful as it is, the movie is also spectacularly inconsequential. Read full review
45
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJun 30, 2022
As lackluster as this scattered-brained saga is, the animation team of “The Rise of Gru” does excel at constantly reminding us that we are in the 70s via its production design. Read full review
45
CNNBrian LowryJun 30, 2022
"Minions” certainly has to be evaluated in the modest context of what it’s trying to achieve – like fueling fast-food giveaways and toy sales – but even compared to the earlier movies in the franchise, this one feels particularly limited in its scope and ambitions. Read full review
42
The PlaylistJason BaileyJun 29, 2022
This notion, of the supervillain antihero and the gibberish-spouting minions who serve him, remains an awfully thin premise to hang a movie on – much less five of them. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyJul 1, 2022
None of these skits congeals into anything like a plot. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJun 29, 2022
These references, and the relentless assault of ‘70s needle drops, are fun, to a point, but the movie itself is 87 minutes of pure chaos, a hallucinatory, cacophonous fever dream of nonsensical subplots and Minion gibberish. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 23, 2022
Although the character of Gru is mildly funny, the minions are unfunny without him and have never convincingly attained spin-off hero status. This is another of those intellectual property concepts whose trademarked quirky voices and characters should be laid to rest. Read full review
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