Minions
Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 10, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
17
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 9, 2015
Minions' all-silliness all-the-time philosophy will put a smile on faces and keep it there, like a fizzy beverage on a hot afternoon. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonJun 24, 2015
The action sequences are wild, the jokes relentlessly dumb-but-smart, and the sheer sense of anything-goes daftness...is glorious. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithJun 23, 2015
The breakout stars of the Despicable Me franchise seize the spotlight in an enjoyably demented off-shoot that is guaranteed to send their young fans bananas. Read full review
80
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJun 18, 2015
A surprisingly demented delight; a crazy, spirited, if simplistic fusion of off-beat adult humour blended with the sensibility of an anarchic toddler. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 10, 2015
All nutty, all nonsensical, all aboard. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonJul 9, 2015
It’s relentless in its depiction of the slapstick-infused shenanigans that will keep the little ones entranced in their seats. Read full review
75
HitfixGregory EllwoodJun 24, 2015
Minions lives and dies on its sight gags and luckily for Coffin and Balda they are almost non-stop. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisJul 9, 2015
The good news is that the minions are more (unconsciously, if perhaps also strategically) in touch with their anarchic side than the typical onesie-wearing crusader, which suits the directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda’s well-tuned sense of the absurd. Read full review
70
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJun 25, 2015
While the minions are certainly little, yellow and different, Minions has probably mined them for about as much comedy as they can provide as leading men. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 18, 2015
Stronger on concept than story, Brian Lynch’s Minions script emphasizes scale over quantity. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJul 8, 2015
Best yet, there’s a mid-film bedtime story, made to look like stop-motion, that’ll take your breath away. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 9, 2015
Many of the jokes are either obvious or have been exposed through pre-release marketing material. I kept waiting for the clever or insightful moment that never arrives. The bar is set pretty low for Minions. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittJul 9, 2015
There can be too much of a goofily good thing. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 9, 2015
I, too, once enjoyed the Minions, in the small doses that they came in. But the extra-strength Minions is, for better or for worse, too much of a good thing. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 8, 2015
Minions will tickle the very young and has roughly twice as many laughs as those Disney “Planes” pictures, or Pixar’s “Monster’s University.” So “Kumbaya,” kids, kumbaya. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 9, 2015
There are a number of laughs to be had in what ends up being an uneven but surprisingly likeable dose of low-calorie nonsense. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJacob HallJul 9, 2015
Introduced in “Despicable Me” in 2010, those yellow, pill-shaped, gibberish-speaking “Minions” now have their own spinoff — and they still ride a fine line between irritating and adorable. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsJun 23, 2015
Farty, burpy, fall-y over fun tied to a pretty inconsequential plot. Your kids will explode with joy. Read full review
58
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJul 9, 2015
The new team thinks that if mayhem is funny, five times the mayhem will be five times as hilarious. That’s not how movie math works, and too many scenes spin out of control. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernJun 24, 2015
If Minions were a toy, you’d hide its batteries. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 10, 2015
The questions is: Can the minions carry a movie all by their mischievous mini-selves? 'Fraid not. This origin story, while being utterly harmless and far from despicable, wears out its welcome way too soon. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJul 9, 2015
With its episodic stream of slapstick gags, Minions has moment of piquant absurdity, but mostly it’s shrill-but-cutesy anarchy works as a visual sugar rush for the preschool set. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEric HendersonJul 9, 2015
It's a buzzkill to enter the world of Minions primed for a tidal wave of gibberish-talking lemmings to tear the roof off, only to see them once again led astray by the ordinariness of human affairs. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 9, 2015
Comedy and narrative demand more rhythm than simply scamper, jabber, fall but that's what Minions bring to the table. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 9, 2015
What Minions does have is abundant if relentless cuteness, which audiences are sure to accept in lieu of content; people love these little guys. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoJul 9, 2015
You’ll have to appreciate what fleeting cleverness you can here. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelJul 9, 2015
The Minions themselves aren't as endearing as they are in the previous movies, maybe because there are fewer of them bumbling around, or maybe because they just haven't found their true supervillain love yet. Or maybe some sidekicks, no matter how loveable, just aren't cartoon-hero material Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJul 9, 2015
Minions is product, pure and simple. Little kids will love it, but grown-ups will feel like they’re being held hostage in a Fisher-Price test laboratory. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJul 8, 2015
Minions has idiosyncratic roots, but it’s a franchise play all the way. Finally, even 5-year-olds have their own movie that mechanically cashes in on something they loved when they were younger. Read full review
50
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJul 7, 2015
It's all perfectly OK, and even, at times, delightful.... Yet Minions doesn't add up to all that it should. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijJun 18, 2015
The story [lacks] a clear narrative or emotional throughline to connect all of the film’s setpieces. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJun 24, 2015
What’s surprising about Minions is that it squanders these yellow oddballs’ new-found freedom. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithJul 8, 2015
By far, the highlight of Minions is hearing The Beatles’ “Got To Get You Into My Life” over the closing credits — the first time I think I’ve ever heard it used in a movie. Otherwise, the prequel to “Despicable Me” is like trying to form a rock band out of three Ringos. Read full review
25
The PlaylistDrew TaylorJul 9, 2015
The marketing engine of Minions is undeniably powerful. This is something craftily designed to sell toys and theme park tickets and special cans of Tic-tacs. But it’s not a movie. It’s an eyesore. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 9, 2015
The bottom line is that the filmmakers are working with nothing here — no characters to speak of, no interpersonal relationships, no story with any suspense or capacity to engage, and no script with any humor or wit. What can they do? Read full review
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