I'm not expecting high art when it comes to a "Despicable Me" Movie. This isn't a Pixar, Studio Ghibli or Liaka film, it is an Illumination Movie. Just turn your brain off and have a good time. But even with that in mind, this movie fell short for me. I mean the film was nominated for 2 Oscars and made north of $900 million dollars at the worldwide box office, you think it should produce more than a "meh" from me.

I watched "Despicable Me 2" with 4 kids ages 4-10. After the first 10 minutes, I didn't hear a single laugh from any of them. At the 80-minute mark I was being asked when the movie was going to end. It is a bad sign when a comedy fails to entertain its target demographic.

The movie has great voice actors doing funny voices, but not saying anything all that funny. They have both Kristen Wiig and Kristen Schaal, how can those two not be funny? They just weren't given very good material to work with.

On a story telling level there is a lot that doesn't add up. Plot points and timelines feel disjointed, one action does not organically lead to the next. Story beats are abandoned, and solutions are pulled out of nowhere. The film lacks a certain energy. A lot of it takes place either in the mall or at the girls' house. It just has this leisurely pace for the story beats, which soon bored the younger kids.

What I think this film does well, and why people keep coming back is for the characters. I do think Gru works well off of the 3 girls, the agent and I liked the new villain more than the previous film. I also think that the soundtrack for this film is really great.

At the end of the day, you can probably tell from the trailers whether this is the film for you. I think it is perfectly fine, not great but not despicable to me.