I adored "Despicable Me" and my wife and I could never agree which we liked more--that film or the similarly themed "Mega Mind". We liked them both but she preferred "Mega Mind". Regardless, both films are excellent and entertaining for all ages. Because "Despicable Me" made a huge amount of money, it wasn't surprising that soon after they announced they were making a sequel. And, when the early teaser promos arrived in theaters, they stressed the minions and said nothing about the sort of story the sequel would be. This was, apparently, very prescient--as the film turned out to be exactly that--a film with a vague plot but which was worth seeing just for the antics of the minions. In fact, my wife decided to see "Despicable Me 2" simply because she heard me laughing many times at the minions.

The film picks up pretty much right after the first one. Gru has adopted the three little girls and they, along with the minions and Dr. Lethario, are one big, happy family. However, trouble is brewing. Some super-villain has stolen a top secret formula that transforms nice creatures into killing machines--and a top secret international organization approaches the ex-villain, Gru, to help the locate the formula. They give him a spunky female sidekick and eventually romantic sparks fly. As far as the secret formula and the villain are concerned, this really seemed secondary to the romance and antics of the minions--and this plot seemed to wrap itself up quickly and easily.

As I said, the plot, for what it is, is minimal and seems to be just an excuse to watch the minions as well as the romance. And, for me, this was enough to justify recommending the film. Clearly not as good as the original, but filled with fun nonetheless.

After being nabbed in the original Despicable Me, Steve Carrell as Gru is given a kind of furlough from villainy and attempts to go straight with his kids. But a top secret laboratory is stolen from its Arctic site, I mean the whole building is just lifted from the ground with a giant magnet and transported to wherever. Those research facilities in the wrong hands could have a devastating impact on humankind so we set a villain to catch a villain.

Kristen Wiig returns as Lucy, agent from the anti-villain league and truth be told she's enjoying the assignment though even because she brought Gru down in the first Despicable Me, she has a thing for him.

As for Gru he suspects that supervillain El Macho whom he runs into in a mall hasn't retired from the villainy business. I really did like what Benjamin Bratt did with his character. Sounds like he was having a great old time with the part.

Despicable Me 2 is a nice animated feature good for the whole family.

So Despicable Me 2 is a very family funny/friendly animated comedy which at points really does make you laugh! If you are reading this now and haven't yet seen the trailer, I would recommend you don't watch the trailer and just go straight to the film, Some of the best parts are shown in the trailer. To watch this film you don't really need to have seen the first however I would recommend you do as at points the film refers to Despicable Me (1).

I'm going to keep this review short and simply say, I gave this film a 9* rating as I found it strongly entertaining, not as funny as I thought but still a great film! The story line was also very easy to follow and keeps you engaged throughout.

Would recommend this film to anyone! I would say most people will enjoy this film, find it entertaining and recommend it to there friends!

This film is perfect for any family to view!